No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries May 2024

Hodgepodge

Welcome all newbies and regulars to this very friendly and chatty thread where we give lots of lovely tips on how to use up your stash and lots of support and encouragement if you need them.

Thanks to me for starting last month's thread.

Keep up the pampering and keep down the spending: let's make the naughty step an empty and lonely place this month (rather than one so long that it can be seen from space)! Will this be the month when the "usual suspects" rein it in a bit? Let's see..... (but I doubt it!) 

Remember - those products do nothing for you while they are stashed in drawers, boxes, and cupboards! 

We are eternally grateful to Katie Clampet who set up this fab challenge in January 2010. Here's her original challenge post:

"No buying any new toiletries, cosmetics, perfume etc... until I have used up ALL the ones I already have. I got a huge amount of (really nice) stuff for Christmas but I am going to resist the urge to browse Boots, Asda, Superdrug etc, and pop another tub of cream, face scrub, shampoo or conditioner into my basket. I reckon the stuff I have will last me until possibly June. I have decided that the money I save I will put into my special holiday account. Anyone else?"

Lots of us have taken part in the challenge over the past few months (and some of us even years!!) and are making great progress in reducing our stashes and unnecessary/excessive spending.

Regulars can ignore this, but a quick resume is always helpful for newbies:

Why not add the challenge to your signature as a reminder?

How about taking a bit of time to do a stock-take and see if there are any gaps in your stash that you might need to spend on this month? Some of us set a budget for the month for essential purchases or to help with withdrawal symptoms, others like to go cold-turkey!! Other ideas which some people find useful: Listing everything out so you can cross things off as used to increase the sense of achievement, and putting a sum of money in a pot each time you use up an item to save for something you really want, or simply to assist in making future essential purchases "cash neutral".

Remember the challenge is about making the most of your money, enjoying your products, finding which products really suit you best and are worth buying, giving yourself a well-deserved pampering and breaking the habit of buying for the sake of buying. In money-saving tradition, it should also be about making your products l-a-s-t as long as possible (although the temptation of using an unloved shower gel extravagantly to finish it off is sometimes too much to bear!).

Brand new products (or opened perfume) sell well on eBay.

Unsuitable products can be repurposed and used for other jobs (shower gel/shampoo as handwash etc).

Some items can be returned to certain stores for exchange (for essential items or gifts!!) without a receipt.

Unwanted items can be recycled as gifts or for gift hampers (saving the money you'd have spent on gifts).

Unsuitable items can be donated to charity or a local women's refuge as mentioned earlier

Also, why not reward your efforts by banking and recycling your use ups/throw aways with Boots scan2recycle points at participating Boots stores: Recycle at Boots - Get rewarded for recycling - Boots 

Alternatively, simply drop them off at Maybelline Recycling points: www.maybelline.co.uk . Unfortunately, you won't be rewarded for the latter but the earth will thank you :-)

It helps to avoid the places where temptation lurks for you; be it QVC, Boots, Body Shop, email newsletter, the supermarket toiletries aisles, Grabbit board, online toiletries browsing, seductive department store beauty counter offers etc. Remember retailers are making offers and promotions all the time, so there will always be another deal! Honest! 

Good luck all for this month and indeed the coming months, and remember to keep your stash lists updated, keep popping in for inspiration and support and to report your UU's and IN's, especially any sales bargains - we want a nosy! 

Welcome to all newbies - the more the merrier. Please introduce yourselves so we can welcome you properly! Do de-lurk if you are lurking, this is one of the friendliest threads on MSE.

Oh - and anyone thinking "OMG my stash is FAR bigger than all of theirs, I cant possibly join" - believe you me, we have been doing this challenge for well over a year some of us - you wont scare us, and I can almost guarantee that someone somewhere will have had more and survived.... we are very supportive (and protective - so don't be scared!!) oh - and did we mention that are nosy??!!

Useful abbreviations and jargon!

WBA - Will Buy Again

UU - Use Ups

IN - Self explanatory - stuff you've gained into your stash - warning: lines may be given out for unnecessary purchases or you may be sent to the naughty step!

NBI - A non-bought item such as a present, gift with purchase or free sample

WNBA - Will Not Buy Again!

Glitch - when a shop/online store make a pricing mistake so you end up paying less or even get freebies! 

PYN(M/T/W/Th/F/Sa/Su) DELETE AS APPROPRIATE! - Paint Your Nails Monday/Tuesday...... it allows everyone to try and finish those dastardly nail varnishes with group support! You can never be too groomed for this thread. Also see PY(T)N... - for toenails!

Splutterer - the stage where an item is nearing the end of it's life and spluttering - also the most annoying and seemingly never ending stage!

GWP - Gift With Purchase - a sample or mini sized item

HG - Holy Grail - this is the product you would go back for time and time again, it does the job brilliantly, and is either economical, or so fantastic price becomes no object!

NPI - Near Purchasing Incident (OMG we all have those!)

LHJ- Long Haul Job - for those products - love 'em or hate 'em - that never seem to end no matter how often you use them

PRCP - Pink Rose Candle Philosophy inspired by Erma Bombeck who said: 'If I had my life to live over again I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose that melted in storage'. Don't keep things 'for best' or 'for a special occasion'. That day never arrives. Give the best to yourself now and enjoy it. (Thanks to McCulloch29 for introducing this thought provoking sentiment to us)

GA - for an out that was given away to charity, as a present, or "just because" rather than binned or UU

TA - for an out that was thrown away due to going off (generally as it has been lurking at the back of a stash since time immemorial) or for any other reason such as a broken container or spillage

PP - Project Pan: a list of specific items targeted to be used up

If anyone can think of any more we can add to the list so newbies won't be intimidated by our jargon!

Geriatricmum

I'm here for this again this month. I'll update my list when I get a chance, chaos in the GM household lately! 

bamboo_socks

I loosely follow this thread as I vowed to declutter at the beginning of the year, which also meant using up the varied and sundry toiletries I've gathered over the years. Some have been gifts, some have been a 'that looks nice' purchase (when in fact I have several of That at home already).

And guess what? Apart from face moisturiser, I haven't had to buy anything since the beginning of the year. I'm also considering not replacing certain lotions and potions once I've used them up.

It's also been a nice exercise in self care - one reason I ended up with so much stuff is having CBA about using it. Most nights now I moisturise my whole body. I need to be more disciplined about feet though, with sandal weather coming 😅

Clutterbug07

Thanks for the new thread, @Hodgepodge!

Last month
12 INS (6 replacements, 3 new type of products, 3 totally unnecessary make up items)
17 OUTS (16 UU, 1 TA)

So 5 less from my collection than before.  As always, not great, not terrible. 

Two of my INS were eyeshadow palettes though- not quite sure what happened there!!  It was two I had been wanting for ages and I finally pulled the trigger.  They were good discounts (from the US, so they had to be good discounts for me to not mind paying expensive shipping), but I feel I have enough eyeshadow so I'm not really sure what happened. They are both stunning and I will thoroughly enjoy them, but I 100% did not need them!!

Not sure anything from my PP list will be finished this month, but lets see. Possibly TBS hand cream actually, that is low.  Let me use a bit now!  

PP list- 24 for 24: 10 gone so far!

1)      Tony Moly - The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Skin toner: tbh I think the TM toner is actually gone, as I kept topping up the bottle with other toners!  But since I called the toners I used to top up the bottle the empties, and not the TM one, I will say that I still have this to use up.  I wont refill now, and then when finished the bottle I can finally call the TM toner an empty!

2)      Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Body Oil- I WILL use this this year!!

3)      Benefit Gogo Tint: bright cherry lip n cheek tint.  Probs will last a hundred years!

4)      Sugarpill loose eyeshadow in Absinthe:  A sparkly green, of which I have many.

5)      Sugarpill loose eyeshadow in Penelope:  a super reflective metallic copper with extra large particles. Too flakey and annoying, and not really my colour.

6)   Barry M eyeshadow pot in 44:  a copper shimmer

7)   Mad About Skin antioxidant cream:  expired, will use on body.

8)   DERMATORY - Hypoallergenic Cica Gel Cream 50ml

9)   NEOGEN - Dermalogy White Truffle Serum In Oil Drop

10)   Benton - Deep Green Tea Toner: expired, will use on body.

11)   The Body Shop- Body Yogurt in Strawberry

12)   MAC Black Cherry Glow Play Lipbalm:  bought in 2021.... probably should use this up now!

13)   Skin1004 Brightening ampoule toner: used this on my neck for a few weeks before Christmas and no adverse reaction, so might attempt this on my actual face soon!!

14)   The Body Shop hand cream in Winter Jasmine

COSRX - Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence

No 7 Hydraluminous lipbalm in Coral

Lilylolo lipstick in Love Affair

Isntree - Onion Newpair Essence Toner

Collection - Gloss Me Up lipgloss in Pink Fizz

LilyLolo Mineral Blush- Goddess

Collection- Gloss Me Up lipgloss in Lychee
DR. CEURACLE Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence
I'm from - Mugwort Essence
Ample N Ceramide Shot Ampoule

One non-PP UU to report

• Mad About Skin- Protect & Hydrate Sunscreen SPF50 PA++++ 100ml: Love this, got my replacement last month as they had a good sale and I knew this one was close.

Watty1

Following along although very few to go now so following more to prevent the problem re-occurring.  Major declutter at the end of March when builders arrived to redo the en suite. April passed in a haze.

In: One new moisturiser to try instead of current one which has been reformulated (Green People) and 5 trial sizes of Verso Night Cream.  I really liked this product and picked up 5 trial sizes on Vint-ed for £10 so a total of 75 ml and a 80 ml pot is usually around the £80 mark and so not a Watty budget option.  

Still a few bits to use up but slowly getting to the only one option for lots of things now.

VALM

I UU 26 items in April and brought in 9 so v pleased. I finished the Laura Geller Peach Sorbet lipgloss and also a Floss one called ATH. The latter was a mix of UU and declutter because the wand component broke. It was at the poibt where i wasnt getting much product on the wand anyway.

My new PP List:-
Carried forward
Skinsense Mask

The Inkey List Vit C serum

OPI Nail Envy

Very Valentino Yellow Dream

Q&A Caffeine Eye cream

Lacura hand cream

ADDED

Indeed lip balm

Eucerin eye cream

BlabzBeautyBar Snow Angel cuticle oil

Loccitane Verbena shower gel

VALM

@Clutterbug07 which palettes did you buy? When I was in TK Maxx I saw the Urban Decay Wild Greens palette on sale. They had 2 of them but as they werent in clam shell protective shields I didnt buy one as they werebt seaked either.

I decluttered 3 eyeshadows this week - MAC Smoky Mauve - this was too frosty for me and the last 2 from my MAC Princess Jasmine palette as they are dark and I have similar shades.

I think the only makeup item I will finish this month is my MAC Primer. Am going away this month so plan to pick up a new one at the Airport.

Hodgepodge

After a great start to 2024 of 0 INs, April was a bit of a fail.
I'm blaming the stress of moving house!
So 7 INs and only 1 OUT.
And May is going the same way, so must get a grip on things again.
Saying that, my stash is 93 items lower than this time last year (and 144 lower than May 2022) so I must be doing something right!

VALM

My updated PP List:-
Carried forward
Skinsense Mask

The Inkey List Vit C serum

OPI Nail Envy

Very Valentino Yellow Dream

Q&A Caffeine Eye cream

Lacura hand cream

ADDED

Indeed lip balm

Eucerin eye cream

Q&A Amino Acid Moisturiser
Q&A Snow Algae night cream

UU BlabzBeautyBar cuticke oil. I have only one more in my stash.
UU Loccitane Verbena shower gel.

Replaced as above.

Clutterbug07

That doesn't sound like a fail to me, @Hodgepodge! We're in May now and you've only brought in 7 new items so far this year?  That's brilliant!!

@watty1 how much did you declutter in the end?

@VALM it was Ace Beaute's Tropical Vibes- a lush swampy green palette, and Unearthly Cosmetics Fairy Frolic, which is like a grungy fairy dream.  I do absolutely love both of them- the eye-look I've done so far with them  But it was a pure moment of madness, saw the huge discounts they were offering and finally caved!  That Urban Decay one looks pretty, but agree, not sealed is probs not very hygienic from TK Maxx!  Would you look for it elsewhere?

Throw Aways

So now I have a few patches of eczema/possible allergic dermatitis on my legs AND as of yday, my inner elbows (so damn itchy!!!), so although I didn't use any of my expired products on my body for about a week so it can't be related to them, I'm just binning them.  I can't be risking it. *sigh*

• Tony Moly - The Chok Chok Green Tea Watery Skin toner: might keep the bottle, has a good pump on it.
• Benton - Deep Green Tea Toner
• Mad About Skin antioxidant cream

They're all from my PP list, so will have a think about if I want to try n find replacement items to go on the list instead.


UU

• Garnier Micellar Water Facial Cleanser For Sensitive Skin 400ml: Just ordered a replacement, but have a little travel size decanted that will tide me over till it arrives!

Watty1

@Clutterbug07 not as much as I thought. Thanks to these threads I had been really focused on using up and repurposing stuff. Gradually all the shower gels, bath products and shampoos have been used to fill the pump bottles i bought so they are pretty much gone.  The hair conditioner that came free with a shampoo I like was used to soften a large blanket that I wanted to keep.

I was ruthless with the make up.  Rather than just keep "suffering" through some products I simply sorted it into two piles, that I use and love and that I "thought I should use up but don't like".    The latter pile was thrown away.   

I had 7 deodorants that had never been used and that I don't like (I have no idea how many ended up in the cupboard) so all gone to the food bank along with some unused bottles of conditioner that i stopped using a while ago.  Again they made me feel guilty I didn't use them up so they went.  Donated some soaps as I had used one and it felt "greasy"  so they went as every time I used the one that was about I thought I didn't like it.  Life is to short for that! 

Almost camping in one room really focused me on how little I need.  I joined these threads wanting to get back to the days when I lived in London and all my products fitted on a corner shelf.  Not quite there yet as I've kept all the body scrubs, face masks, body moisturisers and hand creams as i know I will use these up but getting there.