Using what you got

One way I have discovered to be frugal and save lots of money is just using what I already have. Seems like a no brainer doesn't it? Well let me just ask you this. How many bottles of shampoo, lotion, body spray or facewash do you have lying around? If its more that one of each, you have fallen into the same wasteful habit as I have. I have 20+ bottles of lotion in my house! Can you believe that, over twenty! Not all of them are full and not all of them are full sized. Most are purse sized. I admit a while ago I might have hit up a certain fragrance store in the mall during a sale and acquired about six bottles of yummy smelling hand lotion. I still have three of those bottles. Its obvious that more than a year later I did not ever need to get six at a time. I definitely do not need anymore hand lotion, and my old self would be going again to get the new seasonal scents that all my friends are now carrying in their bags. I have decided to hold strong and I am going to use every last lotion bottle before I buy another one. But its not only hand lotion that is a problem. I also have body lotions, gels, creams or butters in large numbers. I have pretty dry skin and sometimes a certain type of lotion no longer cuts it so I switch. I use gels and lighter lotions in the spring and summer; creams and butters in the fall and winter. Now nothing is wrong with this. It is what my skin needs to stay looking healthy. The problem comes in that every season I seem to be buying another bottle of lotion instead of digging out what is left over. I have decided not to do this anymore. I am going to finish every last drop of lotion and then buy only what is needed at the time.

I've noticed a problem with toothpaste. This is not only a problem I have, my husband is very guilty of this one also. He will decide we are getting low or that he needs to try a different type and he will buy another tube. That would be no problem if we would just finish the old tube. Problem is that everyone likes to take the easy road. Its much easier to gently squeeze a new toothpast tube than to roll up and power squeeze the last weeks worth out of an old tube. So I counted up all the tubes of paste we have and there are four adult toothpaste tubes. We DO NOT need to have that many tubes lying around cluttering the medicine cabinet. I have been working on one of those old tubes for the last two weeks now. There was a lot more toothpaste in there that what we thought. Guess we weren't really running out.

Another way to use what you got is to get around to using those products that were given to you (or maybe you bought it) that you don't really like. My husband uses a certain hair paste and I have been trying to get him to use this gel we got for free that is in the hall closet. He won't do it. We purchase a small tub of his hair paste every two to three weeks, if he would just not do that and use that tube of gel for a couple weeks we would have that money to put elsewhere. We already have the gel in our posession, might as well use it. He could even just use it for days around the house when no one but his family will see that his hair is not looking the same. But its not only my husband that is guilty of snobbing things that aren't exactly what we wanted. I to have been picky about certain things. I am changing that starting today. I just ran out of the bodywash and lotion that I use for my son. Usually I would go buy some more, but I am going to use the wash and lotion I was gifted. I dislike the scent, but I am going to save about $7.00 using what I already have. Its not much but it definitely counts. Plus there is the added benefit of decluttering the house. Its much easier to organize when you own less things. I hate clutter and it is definitely an obstacle I have to overcome.

I could go on and on talking about what is over stocked in this house. It is pretty grim. But you get the point. Use what you got and you may find all sorts of savings waiting for you.