The Scented Life: All about fragrance

Use it Up Challenge - Assignment 1

by Amy on September 18th, 2007

The easiest way to get a handle on just how much *stuff* we have is to organize it all in one place.  If you’re super-organized (or just an excel geek like myself) you can even track your progress on a spreadsheet.  In either case, if you follow these steps, you will soon find you have a much more manageable supply of smell-goods.

To begin,  gather up ALL your products.  Shower, dresser, under the bed, linen closet - wherever you have it stashed, pull it out.  This might seem like an excellent time to clean the bathroom while you’re at it, but don’t let yourself get distracted just yet.  You will probably find stuff you totally forgot about buying.  I like to call this “shopping in your stash”.  This is the extent of the shopping that you will do during the challenge.

Count how many of each type of item (perfume, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc) you have.  It helps to write it down even if you’re not making a spreadsheet.

Now, the key step: pull out ONE of each type of item.  Generally you will want to grab the one that is the most used up.  Leave EVERYTHING ELSE in the hiding place.  In the case of perfume, you may want to use the one that is most appropriate for your current mood and/or weather.  Perfumes are less of a concern right now because they are smaller and also have a very long shelf life (especially if they are kept in a cool, dark place).  Lotions, scrubs,  and oil-based products (perfumed roll-ons, massage oil, etc) have a short shelf life.  Bath bombs and other bath treats also degrade fairly quickly especially if they’re kept in the humidity of a bathroom area.

If the above steps take you more than 30 minutes, you’re either doing it wrong, or you have a really large stash.

Hopefully, in less than a week, you will have finished at least one product.  Make sure to recycle the container if possible,  then head back to the hiding place, and grab the next product.  Again, you will make the most progress if you choose the most used up product.

Sooner or later, you may run out of all your stash of a certain product.  For us product junkies, it’s a crazy feeling when you actually need to buy something because you’re out, instead of feeling compelled by advertising, in need of retail therapy, or etc.  If you’re used to picking up a bottle of this or that everytime you’re at the mall (especially if your mall has a Sephora), this may be somewhat of a shock.  But trust me, it gets easier with every day, and your financial situation will be that much improved.

And keep an eye on your consolidated ’stash’ - we’ll be revisiting it in a few days.  Not that it’s going anywhere…

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