Use it up!!!

One thing I am doing this year is "using it up"! I am a person who while at Target or whatever will see something I use and get it just to make sure I have enough. Hmmm....therapy maybe.....making sure I have "enough". Whole other deeper post! I tend to overbuy in these instances. Like the lip gloss I talked about. I was looking for a badge I needed and in two purses I found six more lip glosses!! Yikes! So I am currently trying to "use them up"! Some I'm wondering if they are more than a couple of years old. I checked a website that told me about them and the date was 2008. Ewww!

Now currently, my feminine products are getting low, but I think I can squeak out another month. I really don't like to be caught without these things. Plus, I've changed to organic products and they are a little pricier. My makeup is going to last all year, no doubt. The good part with this is I'll know everything left is over a year old because I won't need to buy any this year and what I've already had was from last year. Again, I date my products along with food. It's amazing how old some things get! I may have to purchase mascara, but again, I'll see if I can squeak out a few more months! I don't wear it everyday afterall! What I can't understand is I have 2 bottles of liquid foundation and one I absolutely love that has a sponge attached, yet I bought the bottles? So now I have tons of foundation and again, I don't wear makeup everyday. I need to stick to what I love and stop buying the others just because!!!

Another thing I plan to use is my nail polish. Ok, get this! I buy nail polish and I always get a manicure and pedicure at a nail shop and use their polish! Where's the sense in this?? So I plan to do my nails myself because getting them done is not part of my challenge. I plan to use the polishes I have and paint my daughter's as well. I probably have 20 polishes. I'll count and edit to give a more accurate number. And the other thing, I only like pale pink and 19 of them are dark colors! Wow, I've really lost it! Someone commit me!

I've also been doing the "use it up" in my pantry. For instance, I have teas and instant coffees, but I would have my husband bring Starbucks home for me once or twice a week in the evening. I've had to throw these away because the date would be over a year old and.....well yuck! So, I'm using them up by making iced tea- hubby and I drink it everyday for our drink choice. And in the evening sometimes I'm using my Swiss Mocha mix. It probably costs 1/10 of a Starbucks latte, venti at that! Plus I'm sure it doesn't have as many calories. And the money I'm saving! Yay!

We've been using up our drinks-gatorades and cokes. I brought a coke with me Sunday to the snow (my third one this month!) and realized it expired in Sept. 09. (Do they really expire?) Shows you how long that's been in my fridge! Now the million dollar question- do I buy gatorades at Sam's Club or just a six pack at the grocery. Sometimes you can get the bigger one for a dollar. I only use them for the snow. I also read you can make them with a powder version. I may try that! My family and I drink water as our main drink. I'm also not buying water bottles anymore. The ones I have left are from what I bought last year. Also the kind I buy, Sam's Choice, was rated worst water on a website I read!! No wonder it tastes sooooo good!! I'm definitely not replacing the cokes. We don't need them. I'll only get them if we have a party.

So my main thing this year is "using it up"! I will not replace anything until it is completely gone. I'm running low on my Method wood cleaner and almost went to Target right that second to get more and realized I could probably get away with a few more squirts since I use my swiffer duster to dust most of the time. I use environmentally safe cleaners. They are pricey, but at least it's not changing my endocrine system when I clean!
Victoria