In January I did this post about wanting to do a big project pan and declutter of everything. Whilst I published it near the end of January I actually wrote it nearer the start of January and with that I had time to use up a few items!

I don’t blame on sharing photos of every single item, perhaps just the odd one that stands out, but I will be talking about all the items I have used up or an getting rid of to some level.

Beauty: Make-up, Skincare And More

Just one item in this section this month and it’s unfortunately not even a big one.

• Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (15ml). This was absolutely getting old. I think the same of it was in the Look Fantastic box I was reunited with when I moved back to the UK. I knew I liked it though so it was a safe thing to bring into my routine. And I thought I had more moisturisers here in my flat but they’re still in the US (or I just don’t actually have any) so now it’s time to consider whether I hold out until I get those or if I go bite the bullet and bring another one in.

Food

This category will make more sense if you read my previous post. If not then let me explain; I have a lot of duplicates of items, a lot of things I don’t really need or even want in the kitchen and there are some things I want to swap out for alternative products. Therefore, for a variety of reasons some of these things need to go.

• Seggiano Smooth Hazelnut & Cacao Organic Spread. This spread was absolutely incredible, don’t get me wrong. I bought it for less than £3 in the local garden centre but at full price it would be £6 and I don’t think I would ever spend quite that much for it. In fact, let me tell you a secret if you’re new here, I’m allergic to tree nuts and peanuts/legumes. Whilst on paper I react the worst to hazelnuts it’s actually minimal but I want to get better at not making my body fight harder. Therefore things like this need to go (peanut butter shall probably always remain).
• Sesame Oil. I had two bottles of sesame oil and, generally, if I’m using it then there will always be enough left in the bottle for another use. Also, it’s rare I use it more than once or sometimes twice in a week. Therefore, if I find myself running out or needing more I can generally just add it to the shopping list for when it matters or go on the ten minute each way walk to do an emergency buying of some.
• Lazy Ginger Jar. This is another thing I got discounted in the garden centre (can you see a trend?) and yes, it’s a great product to have, but it’s so easy and cheap for me to buy fresh ginger in Lidl as part of my weekly shop. And does a jar of Lazy Ginger make life easier? Sure, I guess. But I have a garlic press that I will sometimes put it through or I’ll just use my grater. Yes, it means I need to wash either of those two kitchen gadgets up but fresh ginger normally packs so much more of a punch. Give me my fridge space back!
• One tin of Mushroom Soup and one tin of Chicken Soup. Yes, tinned soup is great and both of these types of soup have places in actual meals as speedy lazy sauces but here’s the thing; I rarely use them as sauces and I love making my own soup! If I need one for a recipe, given I usually meal plan, then I can just buy one and have it sticking in my cupboard for no more than a week. Is it also a helpful emergency meal? Of course it is but a lot of the time it’s unlikely that will be the only option and if it is… I think there’s bigger things for me to worry about.

Housing: Candles, Cleaning And More

There’s nothing to report here, sadly. I have a candle on the go but it seems to be lasting a long time. But I did want to include it here because in Lidl recently there was a mango and passionfruit candle, it got picked up and sniffed and nearly landed in the trolley, but then placed it back on the shelf because I don’t need more candles right now.

So that is everything that, after deciding to “improve” my life and declutter a little, I used up in January. There were absolutely other products but they were more things I would use up and repurchase or aren’t supposed to last a long time anyway. As we progress through this there will be some things that get mentioned that I intend to repurchase; Such as eventually there will be new face creams coming into my life but whilst I’m using up random ones and past supply they will get honourable mentions.

I still keep pondering on doing this as a YouTube video once a month but then I think to myself “do I want to keep all these items, especially any food items, in a corner for up to a whole month for a video?” and the answer is absolutely not. So for now, this is what we’re doing.

Catch you again at the end of February/start of March.