New here and really need to sort myself out(please move if in wrong place)

gemmajenkins0208

Hi, I'll cut to the chase - I'm hoping to get into some sort of routine and hope that financial bliss will follow basically.

I have a part time job but the 3 days of the week I do work the shifts are all over the place but I'm hoping to hand in a letter during my holiday next month to ask to be put on a full time mon-fri contract when I get back off holiday, which will hopefully provide some sort of consistency to my day to day life.

We also have so much stuff in this house, I'm not talking junk that can just be binned or goods we can sell but I'm talking 5 bottles of the same car shampoo in the shed... Stuff that cost a lot but can't be sold and would be a shame to bin and may come in useful once the garbage men have picked it up.

I have quite a lot of cosmetics but without a routine I'm like 'oh I'll use that up before moving on to the next one!' use it like crazy then just stop, for no reason at all, leaving half a bottle of something to languish for a further 6 months...

This might be a bit tmi for some but I'm perhaps a bit too lax in the hygiene department too... I'll only bother stepping foot in the bathroom if I need to leave the house...

I don't have any children, and I have a boyfriend(who perhaps needs some structure in his life too!) who lives here with me and my parents.

pollyanna_26

Hi Gemma There are a number of os threads you may find helpful .
The Hoarders Thread
Make do Mend and Minimise
The Marie Kondo Thread
Hope this helps and welcome to Old Style
polly

pollyanna_26

Gemma I have bumped the hoarding thread to this page so you can find it . I suggest you read the first post on page one to find if it will suit you .
polly

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you pollyanna.
I will have a read in the morning, when I'm supposed to be performing my hygiene tasks for work!

gemmajenkins0208

Pollyanna, I've just had a quick read through and it looks interesting!
I can't stay though as I must jump in the shower for work now!
Thank you

pollyanna_26

Gemma I have been having a think and have thought of a few things to start you off . I will post later today . Have a good day and enjoy your shower .
polly

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you I look forward to reading!

MandM90

Hi there and welcome!

This thread might help. They are trying to use things up before they buy new.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5439403

If I were you I would make an inventory of everything you have, write it all down, so you can see what you definitely shouldn't buy for the next 3 years(!) and what you will need to replace when it runs out. Forget about offers, I find them a false economy with things that last as long as toiletries as often your skin type/preferences/needs change and you end up throwing things or begrudgingly using them. When I need a new deodorant I buy exactly one.

The only exception for my is my mascara which I've been using for years and retails for about £11.99. It's often on 3 for 2, but I only ever buy three when I'm coming to the end of my current one. Last time I came to the end, I bought a Lidl one instead for about £3 and I really like it, surprisingly!

Also I'd strongly recommend buying Marie Kondos book (or borrow it from the library/a friend), it's changed the way I live completely!

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you MandM, I will head over to that discussion and have a read

pollyanna_26

Gemma good advice from m&m . If you have a wander around the threads mentioned you will often see " cost a lot " and " might come in useful " mentioned often . Some things may come in useful one day but many others will never do so . Long term storage affects the products - tins of paint in a garage that are stored beyond their recommended storage life will alter in colour , texture and quite often begin to smell foul .
Cosmetics have a life span , those you open and then leave for months while you use something else can change in a number of ways .
I wonder if you and your boyfriend are living with your parents while saving towards a home of your own . If this is so every new product you buy will be money wasted if you already have similar items in your stash .
I would think about having a number of things you know you will use , giving away those you don't think you will and being more mindful of what works for you .
As you are hoping to move to full time work now is the time to get a grip and develop a routine . You say the house is full of stuff . Is this your stuff or do other or even all of you have too much ?
If everyone is the same it would be good to deal with the problem together , four people could achieve a great deal and would make for a much more comfortable home for you all .
I wish you luck and will be interested to see your progress.
As regards the bathroom I would set your first routine on the list as a daily shower even if you're not going out that day It will be already part of your daily routine by the time you go full time . I promise just that one daily action will help .
polly

gemmajenkins0208

Thank you so much pollyanna
There are actually 6 of us here, the other 2 being my brother and his girlfriend, and she is by far the worst one... When she moved in she had so many bags and suitcases and just left then on the hallway, which resulted in a lot of trips and falls making way to the loo in the night, but she has merely moved it now from the hall into their bedroom.

Our house isn't hoarder-style cluttered, we just have stuff that isn't getting used stored away. I think its getting to me so much as its mainly me who has all this stuff I've accumulated to use up.

As for the shower a day, I see Sunday as the start of the week, that's the day I change the bed sheets and clear up mess from going in and out from work over the weekend and do my laundry so I'll mark Sunday as my starting point, but will have showers in between as I have work between now and then. Plus I never know whether its best to shower first thing in the morning or just before I get into bed in the evening and that leaves me even more confused

My boyfriend and I are actually waiting for the weather to get nicer so we can do a bonfire then sort out the shed as there are 2 huge heavy duty bags of kindling wood blocking the way.

We aren't saving for anything right now as he is looking for work, but the moment he gets a job the first thing on the list is a new car after he crashed his in January and then we can think about a place of our own.