Good to the Last Drop

As my impending move begins to quickly approach I’ve begun to realize how much stuff I have to pack up and move halfway across the country. True I’ve made similar half-country moves three other times in my life: Milwaukee to New York, New York to St. Louis, St. Louis to Boston. But for some reason, thanks in large part to my blog, I’m realizing that I have more things than ever before. And since I am not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination this concerns me.

As I stood in CVS earlier this week, debating the various nail polish shades in front of me and trying to justify the purchase of an orange color that is oddly similar to the one I already have, I realized that instead of buying more before I leave I should be working on purging what I have. I ran out of there, went home and looked at my cosmetics and toiletry supplies. WHOA! I have half-used bottles of various products that I tried and liked to varying degrees. I have soap I was sent to review or as a gift, I have face wash I bought and then forgot I owned. I have nearly empty perfume bottles that still have a few good sprays in them. Anyway, you get the picture.

And I don’t think I am alone in this matter. From the get-go we ladies use a number of products that guys never need to worry about. My average morning involves: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, foundation, eye primer, several shades of eyeshadow, eye liner, mascara, blush, perfume, sunscreen/face lotion, toothpaste, etc.. I’m a bare-bones compared to some women and that’s just for the morning! We all have dozen of products we use, try, love, hate, etc… and unfortunately whether we are thrifty or not they tend to collect in the bathroom, counter top or some other surface.

With all this in mind, I’ve declared July and August to be the months of Good To The Last Drop. I’m going to refrain from buying new products and work on using the ones I have here, even if that means using ones I don’t love but still work fine. (Things like the shampoo that doesn’t lather but still cleans my hair, but weirds me out because there is no lather.) I remember being a kid and begging for Pantene Pro-V at the grocery store when we were nearing the end of the shampoo bottle. My mom gave in and got it for me, but she finished off the bottle of Suave we had at home. I asked her once why she was using the far inferior product and she gave me a little scolding about not wasting things that still work perfectly fine. It was a good lesson to learn.

I hope this project will achieve two purposes. One: It will help me save a little money for  the move, which is going to be needed whether I fly and ship my things or roadtrip with friends. Two: It will cut down on the number of things I take with me in this new adventure.

But beyond that, I also realized that this is a socially responsible thing to do. There is no need to fill landfills with half-used but perfectly good products. There is also no reason to spend money on things I already own. I’m sure that cash can be put to much better use.

What about you? Do you have a collection of products you don’t use or haven’t touched in awhile? Are they collecting dust?

Want to join me in the Good to the Last Drop challenge. What will you try to use up?

Related posts:

1. Two good things make one good outfit
2. All Good Things Must Come to an End