Cutting Back: The Goo Cleanse

So, I have a confession to make to my readers.  

Actually, maybe it's not as weird as I think.  It seems like a lot of people- women, in particular, are prone to this.  Especially girly, beauty-obsessed women like myself.

I am a horrible goo-hoarder.  

Up until recently, I could not be trusted in a drug store where cheap makeup, bath and body products, and nail polish colors (aka GOO) flow freely.  I say "up until recently" because 1) after starting my own Amway business, I have tried to be better about buying health and beauty products from myself from my own website, and online-shopping helps me be less impulsive in my purchases and 2) as I have come to better understand my own body, skin, and hair, I've realized that these cheap products don't always make good on their promises.  Even so, in the final days before a pageant, important photoshoot, or big event, I often find myself running to CVS or Target and spending money on products that promise to cure whatever I think is wrong with me.  Of course, a few days later, I still have blemishes, acne scars, less-than-shampoo-commercial-worthy-hair, and any other flaws that pinterest or Cosmopolitan magazine promised would vanish.  So, the half-full bottle or tube of product gets stowed away in my medicine cabinet (or wherever else I can find space for it).  

Needless to say, goo-hoarding has cost me a lot of money, and it wastes a lot of space, making it harder for me to stay organized.  When I moved into my on-campus apartment last summer, I realized how much time and energy had gone into packing, unpacking, and organizing all the bath and beauty products I had.  So, that's when I decided to go for a goo cleanse.  

I mentally divided all the products I had into their main categories: facial care, hair care, body and nail care. I From there, I divided them into subcategories- for instance, body care products were divided into cleansers, moisturizers, suncare, etc.  Then, I made a resolution to NOT purchase any new products in any subcategory until the ones I had were used up. 

Anything I wouldn't use had to go.  If there were only a few drops of it left or if it had proven itself to be an outright crummy product, it went in the trash (or...I rinsed out the bottle and put it in the recycling!).  If it was something that just didn't work for me personally (i.e. something made for oily skin when I have dry, sensitive skin, or something that would work better on thin hair when I have crazy-thick hair), I gave it away.  If I had had any high-end products that I didn't want to use, I probably would have sold them on ebay, which has been successful for me in the past, but it just worked out that I didn't have any fancy stuff to get rid of.  From there, the rest of the stuff gets used.  No trying that recipe for acne-scar faders from pinterest until I've used up the Mederma, and then the bottle of Vitamin E oil that I purchased for that purpose.  No trying new face masks until I use up the multiple ones that I have accumulated between high school and now.  

And, you know what?  It's curbed a lot of my unnecessary spending, it's cleared up a ton of space in my bathroom and bedroom, and it's actually gotten some results- the downfall of a lot of health and beauty products is that consumers don't use them consistently!  When I'm deliberate about using one product consistently, I actually give it a chance to work!  This is definitely one of the best beauty, organisational, and financial quests I have ever pursued!

So, for other people who are working towards financial fitness, goo-hoarding might not be an issue, but can anyone honestly say they don't have something that tends to cause them to waste money, as well as other valuable sources (time, energy, organisational space)?  Some common ones might be:
Food: people that think they are saving money by couponing and buying in bulk, but have a huge supply of non-perishable food stocked up in their basement, and/or tons of stuff in the fridge that goes bad long before they get a chance to eat it.  Might it help to decide, "No grocery shopping/eating out until we have eaten all the food we already have?"  I have read stories about families who save tremendous amounts of money by doing a food purge at least once a year.

Craft/Sewing Supplies: I envy my friends who can make beautiful homemade decorations, sew their own clothes, or capture every favorite memory in a scrapbook- but I've also heard them lament how much money they can blow at the craft store, or how hard it is to keep craft supplies/projects from taking over their homes.  Would it be beneficial to set aside select supplies and products and say, "I'm not buying anything new until I've used this up!"?
Clothes and Shoes: Okay, so children outgrow clothes, adults wear them out, and they go out of style...and, obviously, in our culture, it's expected that you own more than one outfit.  It's not practical to say, "No buying new clothes until I've gotten rid of every single piece of my current wardrobe."  I've found the best method to be to resolve that for every new piece of clothing or pair of shoes, an old one has to go.  It can be donated or sold (make sure the money goes towards your debt or immediate living expenses, not towards more clothes or shoes!).  This saves a lot of closet space, and it makes me reconsider every clothing purchase I make- is this something I will use more than whatever piece I'm planning to sell or donate?  

Those are just a few that I can think of- if my readers have any other interesting money-wasters that they plan to "cleanse," I'm eager to hear about them!!