Use it up

When I first started shopping with coupons a few years ago. I was amazed at what I could get for free or just for pennies. I had always shopped one store each week. Although I shopped a low priced grocery store for our area I still was not getting anything for free. I would shop sale prices at one other store and that was the extent of my shopping for the week. I never would shop Walgreens or Rite Aid.

Then I started reading about others who saved so much money using coupons and sales. I started doing research online and learned how to match sales prices with coupons. My family and neighbors would give me their extra coupons and I would keep them in a binder so I could find a coupon when I needed it.

I started going to more stores each week. Since I live in a city where I have two Walgreens and two Rite Aids very close to me I would do my shopping on my way to other places. I started shopping Safeway and Albertson for the first time. I was spending the same amount or less money but getting much more. It was great. After a while, I had a years supply of many items we use. Such as toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning solutions and toothbrushes.

Then one day I was at the end of a tube of toothpaste. There was not much left and I thought to myself  “why bother with getting that little bit out I have another tube just waiting to be used”. Just at that moment it hit me. Why go to all the planning to save and shop wisely if I was not going to use the products I purchased wisely.

Even if I got it for free wasn’t it better to use it all up before opening another tube? Of course it was but by having such a large supply on hand it for that moment it did not seems as important to take the time to use it all up.

In our home now we try to use every last bit of every item we buy. Here is an example of what our toothpaste tube looks like when it is empty.

It sometimes is hard to think about being careful to use up all of an item when you have more just waiting to be used. What do you think? Do you use all of items up in your house? Let us know. Leave us a comment with what you think.