February 10, 2015

February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 10 Recap

Hello again, savvy savers! So today I challenged you all to tackle bathrooms organization, and I must say, this was a pretty quick challenge for me!

I started by clearing out all of the products that needed to go to my stockpile first. I then wipes everything down, thoroughly cleaned my medicine cabinet, and then started to work purging products. When this was done, I found that I was mostly left with products that entirely fit in my medicine cabinet, in my in-shower product shelf, and the only things left were cosmetics and small toiletry samples.

To organize these items, I use Sterlite Office Organizer boxes, sitting on two of three shelves on my behind-the-toilet organizer in my hall bathroom. Each box retails for less than $4.00 each at Walmart, and each box holds over a basket of cosmetics! These boxes despite their small size currently hold over four gallons of makeup, razors, facial products, hair items, and more! I love that each drawer is sub-divided, and as the boxes feature clear front drawers, I can easily spot what is inside each compartment without having to label the boxes!

My favorite drawer, my lip gloss drawer, though used most often, is just as accessible as every other compartmentalized section on this shelving unit! I find this method cuts down on clutter, prevents sink drawers from being bombarded with products never to see the light of day, and for me, the more I see products, samples, or items the more likely I will use them before expiration, or seasonally! So, for me this is my go-to makeup storage and organizational system!

I was also able to corral my perfumes into an area, my face towels have a new spot, and while I give myself facials I can now read my free magazine, as I installed a magazine rack to accommodate these awesome freebies! Two other favorites are the new framed pic I put together reminding others to wash their hands, as well as the “it is, what is is” sign, a reminder for my husband to always replenish our toilet paper rolls in-bathroom!

These small changed have helped me purge three bathroom waste baskets full of junk! With all of the extra space, I was even able to devote extra bathroom real estate to a new area for essential oils, re purposing a spice rack for a new nail polish station, as well as to be able to find new used for older canisters as cotton ball and q-tip containers!

As well today, I was also able to accomplish:

As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
Read my daily devotional.
I waked two miles.

Today I saved:

I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95.
I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag.
My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.
I lost a half day’s worth of electricity costs, and saved $3.00!

So, overall today my family saved: $14.57

This months savings goal remaining: $389.17

A full day, a new way to find to save at home! Be sure to come back tomorrow morning for a new day’s challenge!

Here’s to saving,

Challenge Links:

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February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 10 (Bathroom & Linen Closet Organization)

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, work-minded, and in the mood for cleaning and organization this week!

As you know, this last week, we focused the first part of the week on pantry organization, organizing food swap days, creating meals based on pantry staples, and then switched focus to alternative pantry re-stocking methods, and this morning we are going to scrub, dust, sort, purge, evaluate, and hopefully make a profit in the process! For the rest of the week we will be focusing on mini-areas within our homes, and today I want to tackle bathrooms.

So, today I am challenging you all to accomplish three tasks:

To tackle a one hour cleaning challenge: you will need to start by a visual decluttering and surface cleaning of your home.
To sort and purge from your medicine cabinets, makeup bags/drawers, and to clean out under your bathroom sinks.
To also clean out any linen closets and/or closets within your bathroom spaces.

A few tips to keep in mind today for your bathrooms:

All cosmetics older than one year, should be purged.
All cosmetic sharpeners, brushes, or curlers two year or older, should be purged.
All hair coloring products or kits, two years or older, should be purged.
All vitamins or supplement older than one year, should be purged.
All flue, cold, sinus, or allergy products older than two years, should be purged.
All essential oils three years or older, should be purged.
All first aid items, older than three years, should be purged and replaced.
All digestive aids, older than three years, should be purged.
Any fiber-based supplement, older than a year, should be purged.
Anything half-way or partially opened or consumer, than has not been utilized within the last months, should be purged.
Anything unopened that have in multiples, pharmaceutical or cosmetic, than you will not use in one season, should be moved to a stockpile area.
All expired medications should be purged in sealed Ziploc bags, with your home information blacked out with a sharpie.
Any nail lacquers that have been to separate should be purged.
All manicure and pedicure supplies, that are used, but have not been utilized within the last six months should be purged.
All paper or cotton products should be visible, organized, and easily accessible.
Purge your oldest towel set; towel, hand towel, and wash cloth.

A few tips for cleaning out your linen closets:

Bundle like sets of sheets together.
Keep necessity items, such as bathroom staples, in small baskets, labeled, and clustered on a single taller shelf together.
Corral cosmetics on servings trays for easy removal.
Any mismatched items should be donated.
Any fraying towels should be donated; animal shelters are a great place to send unneeded linens.
Prevent dust from covering linen sets, by placing them inside their coordinating pillow cases.
Antique linens are best to hang; install two hooks and a dowel rod in the bottom of a closet for hanging linens.
Store throw pillows and guest pillows in a top shelf basket.
Store towel sets in stacks for easy removal.
Store like items on like shelves; linens with linens, towels with towels, and the like.

Now, while this list seems extensive, depending on the size of your home, should only take a couple hours today, and in the long run should greatly help you not only today but in the future. This week is not only about creating long-lasting cleaning solutions in your home, but establishing routines that will help you not only keep your home cleaner and safer, but to shave the time it takes you to do so, in half!

Be sure to come back this evening for today’s cleaning recap!