Simplify part i – getting rid of lotions and other toiletries
“So toss away stuff you don’t need in the end, but keep what’s important, and know who’s your friend…” –Tom Marshall (lyricist for Phish)
I mentioned that I picked up a bin for our bathroom this weekend. Our bathroom is not that large, and we only have one of them (gasp!). Since I’ve been getting some good deals at CVS, I have been running out of room to put things like toilet paper and shampoo – hence the bin. While transferring items to the bin, I was forced to come to terms with all those useless gifts I’ve been hesitating to throw out.
A useless gift? Could there be such a thing? In this case, I’m talking about lotions and other crap like body sprays that I never use but are always in some gift that I receive. I have a bottle of Suave cocoa butter (I think that it was in the $2-$3 range) that I use in the winter, and that’s all I need. I hate to throw out these things – some of them are from Bath and Body Works, and I keep thinking that there has to be someone who would take them. I do like to use Freecycle, but for these items I rather have them in a location where people can try them before deciding if they want them or not.
I was talking to my mom this weekend, and she suggested bringing them home with me and putting them out at my grandma’s senior citizen complex for free. She did this herself last year, and said that everything was gone within an hour. I would have never thought of this, but I really like the idea. A lot of the people there are on limited incomes, and would greatly appreciate (and use!) these items.
Do you have any other ideas for giving away these items? My mom did check with my grandma’s complex manager, and she thought it was a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to clear up the additional space in our bathroom, and am happy to see these items go somewhere other than the landfill!
That’s funny, I spent about 2 hours throwing all the crap we never use in our bath room, about a week ago.
Sooo much better when your small bath room looks big again haha.
Dan’s last blog post..Brilliant Hope
Dan,
I know exactly what you mean — I opened the bathroom closet today, and there was actually space! One of my goals this year is to really get rid of some of the stuff we no longer use or need, and the bathroom has been a great start.
Thanks for commenting!