The benefits of getting organised!

misty

I have more products particularly body moisturisers/butters/dry oil sprays/foot sprays/bath bombs/ that I can ever get through. I do like bottles/packaging etc. I think also I tried to fool myself that it wasn't costing much eg £5 here and there BUT added up it can come to a lot - but cos it wasn't in one lump sum didn't seem so bad. I have made the decision not to buy anymore until I've worked my way through 80% of what I already have and that should take several years literally - added to that the inevitable birthday and christmas pressies I'll get. I have bought stuff but only on offer and only for Xmas pressies.

spurtle

BOB

the way round that is not to buy anymore of the new stuff till the old stuff is used.

The quicker its used up the sooner you get in the new fave

works here, anyway!!!

Misty, I have found its false economy to buy something just cos its on offer. If you have one you are using and a spare there is plenty time to go before you NEED to get another!! But by the sounds of it you wont NEED anything or a while yet!!! (If you do, it cna go on the prezzie list!!!).

lilac_lady

Thanks for the advice smiley_mum. This is my first post but I've been following the threads for a while. Lots of good advice on this site. Think i'm becoming addicted.

Curry_Queen

misty wrote:

I have more products particularly body moisturisers/butters/dry oil sprays/foot sprays/bath bombs/ that I can ever get through. I do like bottles/packaging etc. I think also I tried to fool myself that it wasn't costing much eg £5 here and there BUT added up it can come to a lot - but cos it wasn't in one lump sum didn't seem so bad. I have made the decision not to buy anymore until I've worked my way through 80% of what I already have and that should take several years literally - added to that the inevitable birthday and christmas pressies I'll get. I have bought stuff but only on offer and only for Xmas pressies.

When I was clearing out one of the boxes in my bedroom the other day I came across goodness knows how many pots/bottles/tubes of creams/lotions/toiletries etc that I've bought over the years but had never finished them before buying the next "superdoooper new improved product" :rolleyes: and I ended up throwing away a bin liner full of products. I dread to think how much it had cost me :eek:

Food and toiletries are my biggest downfall when it comes to shopping and, like Smiley Mum, I often buy enough to cater for a small army (think I still shop and cook for a family of five instead of two) and as a result all my cupboards are bursting at the seams with un-perishable goods, purely because I might need them one day for a particular recipe. I can't just tailor it down to getting one specific thing that I would use frequently, oh no, I have to buy the whole range. For e.g. I wanted to make a recipe using soba noodles so I found a website that sold Japanese cooking products and ended up buying a whole range of stuff because it either sounded nice or I thought I'll give that a try sometime, and guess what! ... I haven't cooked anything Japanese since! :rolleyes:

When I do my weekly shop at Tesco online all I basically need are perishable goods, and to replace any stock items I might have run out of, but I can't resist checking out all the special offers first and sticking anything I fancy in my basket with no real idea or aim to use it within the week!

I've tried to do the meal planning thing but I can't seem to stick strictly to just what I need for those meals, and because of my illness there are days I don't end up cooking whatever I had planned so I often end up freezing stuff or using up fruit and veg the following week so aren't at their freshest. I reckon if I was to calculate the value of all the food and toiletry items I have here it would be a tidy little sum that could be sat in my bank account earning interest instead of those that I bought from

Curry_Queen

lonelyinlondon wrote:

Brilliant advice there, just what I need. I will think of all that next time I go into Boots/Tescos. They must deliberately set up the stores to tempt us, very clever!

Oh of course they do! I worked in retail for a year and know all the tricks of the trade to entice shoppers to buy and how to display products to maximise profit etc. All your loss leaders, which are there to entice people into a store, are at the front in baskets, with all the weekly/monthly offers on end gondolas to catch those people that shop selectively rather than from aisle to aisle and might miss the products. They also place the more expensive profitable products at eye level, with cheaper versions either low down or too high to reach

I suppose i have to ask myself WHY do I feel the need to buy this unnecessary stuff? Feeling tired, bored,stressed, fat!"!!! Don't mean to sound a bit of a saddo but what are your feelings about that?

There are many reasons people buy things unnecessarily, and yes, much of it is psychological and can give the person a temporary boost. Boredom, stress, depression etc can all lead to people overspending and racking up huge debts - been there done it myself. I'm bipolar (manic depressive) and during high periods (mania) I've spent fortunes and bought stuff that I don't even need. I've also done the same while at the other end of the scale and deeply depressed, as a way of cheering myself up I guess.

I think one of the major factors of why I stockpile so much stuff these days (and it's all related in a way) is because I'm also agoraphobic and have spent almost 2 years confined to home now so have to do all my shopping via the internet. I panic about running out of things because I can't just nip to the shop to get replacements and have to wait for things to be delivered, so I tend to keep at least three of everything I use regualarly - one that I'm using, one for when that runs out and an emergency supply

Smiley_Mum

Just wondered if there was any websites that people use to help in their quest to get organised. I know of two

www.organizedhome.com

www.flylady.net. this is a bit manic though, don't sign up for the email either or you'll get your inbox full in the blink of an eye.