Making ₵ents – Save Money by Using Up the “Almost Empties”

Making Cents

On a lighter spring-cleaning note …

Do you ever buy a personal item for, let’s say, the shower before you need it? Get tired of the same product that seems to replenish itself when not in use? Do you like the body wash and creams in a variety of fragrances to match your mood? If you looked under your sink, what would you see?

Recently I was going through my “supplies” of personal bath products. I was surprised by how much stuff I had tucked away that was never used up, the almost empty bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, etc. It was not intentional. I was tidying up my bathroom and pulled all these different products from the shower, drawers and cabinet. I found enough items to last me through the rest of spring and into summer break.

MakingCentsJune2013
What will you find when searching your bathroom cabinets? Why not clean and save at the same time?

I don’t buy many unique or expensive products; I bought most at the Super Target. However, I did find a few specialty bath washes as well as matching body lotions from a store in the mall. I must have bought them when there was one of those buy 3 get the 4th item free. Can’t have too many, right?

I think my problem comes with the boredom of using the same product day after day. So, when I bring home a new wash or lotion, I start to use it and ignore the old. It either is pushed aside or placed in a drawer or in the cabinet under the sink.

Because of this discovery, I decided to challenge myself. No more buying anything if I have anything in each category represented until I have purposefully used up the oversized samples I have collected. This includes shampoo, conditioner, body washes, facial cleansers, toners, and lotions and who knows what else. If you travel, you may find a cache of small travel-sized products. It’s just depressing to see how much usable product I have that has been lurking nearby, hidden in the dark just dying to be used.

After three weeks, I have managed to get rid of quite a bit and am still working on the rest. I think by using what I already have, I will easily save over thirty dollars in the next couple of months. It may not sound like a lot, but a penny saved is a penny earned.

The other satisfying result of this endeavor is that my cabinet has been cleaned out. It’s nice to know that I actually have knowledge of what is hiding in the cabinet beneath my sink. In addition, as the products are getting used up and are truly empty containers, I put them in the recycle bin for pick up. Another benefit of having cleared out the cabinet is that I have variety again without purchasing any new items. Now that’s a bonus from cleaning that I wasn’t counting on. Time to move on to the guest closet … I wonder what I will find in there?

 


 
4-Walls-Money-Coach-200Kate is a financial expert of what to do and not do with money as well as owner of 4 Walls Money Coach, A Coaching-Focused Company. She has attended and completed Dave Ramsey’s Counselor Training. Follow Kate on Twitter 4WFCoach, reach out to her via email at kate.4walls@gmail.com or visit www.4wallsmoneycoach.com. Feel free to share ideas or questions for future articles.

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