Save Money With This Simple Trick

there's just no reason for this

I've had this post idea queued up since we moved, but seeing Steph's post inspired me to pull the trigger on it. Have you ever been to a friend's house, use their bathroom, and seen stacks of shampoo littering the shower, bottles of various lotions cluttering the counter and three nearly empty toothpaste tubes curled up on the vanity? (Spoiler: if you haven't, check your bathroom, as you might be that friend)

No shame here. When you see these things on sale, items you use regularly, the impulse is SALE! I have to buy this or I'm losing money! Been there, done that. In our old house, we had super sweet storage; linen closets to spare, cupboards for days, and a pantry bigger than the one closet Brent and I now share. I wasn't stowing all those items in my shower or vanity counters, but they were still there, piled high in secret. When Brent and I started packing for the move, I realized how much I had been stockpiling. I mumbled begrudgingly to myself as I packed all this shit and vowed I was going to start using what I had and stop buying things on sale. This is a good lesson to apply to anything, but I've listed below some of the worst offenders.

Toothpaste
When we were packing up our vanity last spring, we got to the bottom rightward drawer, which we had dubbed the dental drawer. After every dentist visit for the last few years, we'd get home and dump the goody bag; travel sized toothpaste, floss, a toothbrush or two, you know the drill. This drawer packed to the brim with these items, yet I was still buying regular sized toothpaste tubes, so we at least one of those, plus the toothpaste we were currently using, to pack. We started going through those travel sized tubes and have made a good dent, but still have 6 or 7 after using them exclusively since last April.

Dental floss
See that story above about the toothpaste? Now replace toothpaste with floss. We somehow have even more of these, even though they don't last nearly as long b/c the travel flosses are only good for like 10 days. I probably won't need floss again until 2021. 

Shampoo
As someone with a pixie cut, I realize I don't use as much shampoo as ladies with longer hair. I didn't always have short hair, and I regularly had 2 or 3 bottles on hand because I could. If you're going through shampoo quickly, you're probably using way more than you need.

Moisturizer
Another item I stockpiled at the old house and won't be buying until the next decade. Hope there's no expiration date. 

Deodorant 
Deodorant is one of those items that's always more money than I think it is. Like, it's not expensive, and it's obviously worth the price to not be a smelly mess, but whenever I go to the drugstore I'm all $9 for deodorant??!! Better get the value pack for $18. Which is why I have like 3 deodorants to get through before I buy any more. 

Dish Soap
Dish soap is amazingly efficient and I'm still using the bottle that we moved in with in April. That's probably a lie, but I can't know for sure. Either way, this lasts a long time, so stop buying it when you still have a third of the bottle left and end up with a zillion of them under the sink. 

Toilet Bowl Cleaner
We packed up two of these last spring and I just opened the second one. Guys, I'm not exaggerating when I say these products last a long time. 

The trick? Only buy these items when you're completely out of them. Not only is it going to be so nice to not have to sort through the jumble of toiletries in your vanity or linen closet, but think of all the money you'll save! Just because an item is on sale doesn't mean you have to buy it. The whole "I'll use it eventually so let me throw it in my cart" is the mentality that made Target the behemoth it is today. Going through your stockpiled items, whether it was an intentional surplus or they sneaked up on you, is going to save you a lot of stress and money in 2020, I promise.