No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries October 2026

Hodgepodge

If your beauty and toiletries are taking over your life, then this is the thread to help you work through the stash and motivate you to not buy anymore (hopefully!)

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!

Watty1

joining in. Really need to clear some "products", have already done a sort through, donated and ditched and pulled out some to use this month.

Hodgepodge

Welcome @Watty1

We all have an excess of products and are working our way through them.

My stash was once at 265 items and is now down to 53.

I only record skincare, as that is my weakness.

Watty1

A day moisturiser used up - I loved it - contained retinol and SPF - but was tested on animals so I've decided to be ethical and will not replace. I have others to use up (none of which contain SPF and retinol but I will manage for now without as none in the stash, I do have sunscreen however which I could use on top of current moisturiser) It was neutrogederma retinol spf moisturiser.

Also threw out half a tub of a body butter/scrub. It has been sitting in the shower for ages and I tried it last night again and honestly it felt sticky and although it has made a lovely soft moisturised skin this morning it was such an effort to actually wash off and a lump remained in the shower like a thick greasy - well - lump! Too much effort for the reward, no one needs to be fighting a skin product when what is needed is a quick shower and bed.

Two products down

itsthelittlethings

Hello ladies and gentlemen etc etc. Well well well it's me, back again, desperate for friends and beauty chat 🙂

UU - Upcircle shampoo and conditioner. I have two sets in the cupboard and as they say "you only need a pea sized amount". Also I have a rice conditioner bar that needs using up.

UU - two face cleansers. I like to wash my face before bed as it's calming. Challenge wash my face every day in October.

NPI - Gruüm advent calendar. £50 for supposedly £200 of product. Now I'm getting tempted again. Ouch.

WBA - Fussy deodorant. I'm liking this at the moment.

LHJ - I still seem to have some Lush Happy Hippy shower gel floating around. I decanted it into various bottles. I have literally no idea how it cleans so well with so little irritation. I keep using it and using it and it keeps lasting.

PYN Saturday - shall I? Maybe I will. Think I have some forest green varnish kicking around.

IN - I think I am going to buy a light brown or black mascara for work. Maybe Fenty Beauty as I do like them. I have a stuttering set of fringe fixer and hairspray from Fenty that I got marked down at £25 in the local John Lewis. While we're on the subject I'll also make their lipgloss a PP.

Also IN - some ingredients for making some of my own products. I bought kaolin clay for facemasks. Kaolin. It's a funny word.

Also IN - Lidl moisturiser. Suspiciously cheap. It is Halloween season so I will not think about the ingredients.

I need to get my recycling in order as well.

Spinelli92

Hello everyone. I'll be joining this month as I'm on a low buy for toiletries and all things beauty whilst i painfully try to save for an emergency fund.. and maybe eventually a home 🏡

I'm not working from an inventory because there's absolutely no point with the amount of surprises I've squirrelled away in every nook and cranny. I do admire the dedication to the cause of the spreadsheet-keepers though. I could only dream of being so well-organised!!

PP List
- Palmolive Milk & Honey Shower Cream 600ml - sputtering and on its last legs. An easy victory to spur me on, hopefully.
- Palmers Tahitian Vanilla Body Lotion 400ml
- La Roche Posay Toleriane Night cream 30ml
- Mitcham Powder Fresh spray deodorant 200ml
- Curel Deep Moisture Spray 170ml
- M&S Sweet Mandarin EDP 30ml
- Cerave Moisturising Cream 500ml - My long haul job. Aiming to have it gone by next October!!

Good luck everyone and lovely to meet you all!

Hodgepodge

Welcome (back) to @itsthelittlethings and @Spinelli92

New and old members are more than welcome!

I love my stash spreadsheet, as I had no idea how bad my stash was until I started listing it all out. It also helps me make sure stuff gets used up before I have had it too long. It has definitely been the main driver of getting my stash down to normal better levels.

I'm wondering how people feel about changing this to a yearly challenge instead of a monthly one? Or would the thread get lost if nobody posts for a while? Have a think and let me know 😊

Hodgepodge

3 UUs for October

Nourishing Cleanser Jane Scrivner - wnba I like a balm that emulsifies and this one didn't. Lovely fragrance and texture but I had to work too hard to wipe it off.
Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask Fresh - wba Already have. I wake up looking better after using this.
Moisture Recovery Cream Jordan Samuel Skin - wnba Love JSS products and this moisturiser was nice enough but nah