Feb 27, 2014

Simplifying by NOT Buying Ahead

Simplify by Not Buying Ahead - chieffamilyofficer.com

For years now, I've prided myself on my ability to save money by buying ahead. I've stocked up on laundry detergent, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, juice boxes, cereal, crackers, and my kids' clothes.

But as I walked through Target the other day, I found myself reluctantly perusing the clearance rack in the boys' section. And I realized that my reluctance stemmed from not wanting to buy something just to stick it in the closet for a few months or even a year.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I've discovered that a clutter-free house is easy to clean - and that has made me averse to bringing things into the house, especially if they're not consumable but sometimes even when they are.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still a bargain hunter, and I'm still stocking up. But only on those things I am absolutely confident we will use up - things like toilet paper, facial tissue, and OxiClean, and only enough for a few months at most. I've been passing on deals on things I'm not completely 100% positive we'll use up - things like cereal, mouthwash, and even toys.

I've also been making an effort to use up what we have, and to get rid of things we don't need or won't use. I think my house feels better without all these extra things in it. And I know I feel better having less clutter around!

Image via FreeDigitalPhotos.net by sumetho.

4 comments:

Theresa said...

We're preparing for a cross-country move this summer, so I've been very deliberately using up our food and toiletries stockpiles and buying things in smaller quantities than usual. It's been quite eye-opening to be using shampoo I bought before my 4yo was even born, and has really made me rethink just how much money I was saving as now I throw things out because they are past their prime or just not the right thing at the right time.

Chief Family Officer said...

Yes! That's exactly how I've been feeling, as I've gotten to using stuff that's been around for years. Good luck with your move!

scrapper al said...

One thing I wished I had stockpiled more was paper goods, but other than that, I don't stockpile as much as I used to. This is partly because coupons are not the great deals they used to be and partly because I don't want to deal with finding space for things. But then, I was never that big of a stockpiler except for food (30+ boxes of pasta anyone?).

Chief Family Officer said...

LOL on the pasta! I don't think I've ever had that many, but I know what you mean. Paper goods - especially tissue - seem to be the one thing I always think I have plenty of, and then I'll look and there's only a couple of boxes of tissue, toilet paper rolls, or paper towel rolls left ...