Throwing things away is cathartic for me. I don't mean just going through life, grabbing half-empty bottles of the shelf, and chunking. I really enjoy squeezing the last teensy-weensy bit of toothpaste out of the tube and pitching it in the trash. Most of the time, Doug decides the tube is empty (long before it's
really empty) and he "gets" to throw it away. Unfair. Recently (sometime in October), I went on a cleaning/organizing spree of our cabinets and discovered 7 bottles of lotion, 4 bottles of body wash, and 2 bars of fancy soap I bought at an outdoor market in New Mexico in 2006. I decided that we would not be purchasing any more lotions or soaps until we depleted our supply. That's fantastic for my budget - we won't have to buy lotion again until the next presidential inauguration. It seems to be working out ok for my skin (I was moderately worried about bouncing back and forth between Irish Spring shower gel and Bath & Body Works Fresh Pineapple), but I'm about SICK of shower gel!
This is how I wound up in this spot to begin with. Enter endless cycle. BBW has a sale. I raid sale and buy many bottles of fun-smelling lotions, potions, and Lord knows what else. I use said shower gel for 2-3 days. I decide I'm not a shower-gel-and-loofah kind of girl. I put the mostly full bottle back in the cabinet and forget about it for years (see above regarding the NM outdoor market). Friends give me bubble bath, shower gel, and body lotions for shower gifts, thus adding to the stash of bottles in my cabinet.
I would LOVE nothing more than to take a shower with a good old gold bar of Dial. At this point of the process, however, it has nothing to do with money. If someone bought, wrapped, and placed a 12-pack of gold Dial bars under my Christmas tree, I wouldn't use them until all of the gel was gone. I'm not sure where this obsessiveness is coming from, but I fully understand that Doug will not be using the Exotic Coconut shower gel. I fully intend to buy
him a 12-pack of gold Dial bars that I will
not touch until all of this gel is gone. I fully do
not understand this obsession! What is wrong with me and why must I rid the Carey home of all bottles of (worthless) gel??
Who knows? All I know is that I'm about sick of smelling like fruit. If anyone happens to notice my tropical scent, please forgive my obsessive-compulsive nature and know that I, too, am suffering.
I have the same problem, although mine stems from teacher gifts. (And a lot inherited when my grandmother died...that's what happens when you are the only local female relative)
ReplyDeleteI found the shower gel works well for cleaning sinks and bathtubs. I read the idea in a book and have used it. Who doesn't love a clean sink that smells like coconut?
You have more self-control than I do...I packaged my half-used bottles a couple of months ago and placed them in a nice bag in the front of the 55+ apartment complex where my grandmother used to live. She always claimed "those vultures would take anything" and they did! = )
Oh Jenny. You are my hero!!! I will soon have the cleanest (best smelling) sinks, tubs, and oh what the heck - toilets - in League City! Bring on the Dial, baby! :o)
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