As an alternative to a “No Spend” month, this Use-It-Up Challenge encourages you to use the goods in your reserves – your pantry, beauty, freezer and beyond – before buying more.
The Use-It-Up Challenge
Happy March!!
I thought of this idea back in January when I saw a lot of chatter about doing a “no spend” month. Consider this the spring cleaning version of no spend January!
What frustrates me about no spend months is that they are so strict. The line between need and want is so thin that you get something you sort of need and you feel like you have cheated on the challenge!
So instead of not spending any money at all, our focus is going to be to use up your current reserves in consumable categories before buying more.
Example: You have six months worth of wine to drink on your rack at home, but you see a bottle on sale with a really cute label. Your challenge is to not buy more until your stash is at a minimum.
Actual freezer/pantry meal of fish fillets, coconut rice, and green beans!
Why Do We Accumulate?
I have so much extra in my freezer, wine rack, Kindle library, pantry, and beauty reserves that I could probably not buy anything new for months and consume at my usual pace. Why? Because I can.
I keep reserves:
- So I will have a variety of choices at all times.
- To have a backup stash and never run out.
- Because I find a good deal on something and don’t want to miss out!
While none of these are bad reasons to accumulate reserves, they do contribute to the overall clutter in our household.
I love moving because of the natural cleanse it forces in these categories. How often do you hear a family say they are eating up their pantry and freezer and not buying any new consumables in anticipation of a move?
Let’s pretend we’re moving, save some money over the next month, and declutter our reserves!
Use-It-Up Categories
The Pantry
I feel like I am constantly in battle mode with my pantry. There is a very delicate balance between “too much” and “we have nothing to eat.”
I like to keep staples in the pantry for quick meals – foods like spaghetti and sauce, taco shells, canned beans, rice, jarred olives, sardines, and more.
I also try to keep backups of condiments and sauces in case we run out on the spot – mayo, ketchup, jam.
Lastly, we have lots of snacks! With two little boys and a blog that often gets samples in the mail, our pantry is bursting with snacks. I do a Pantry Clean-Out Challenge once a month.
The Goal: Eat from the pantry this month and use up the neglected snacks (like the salted almonds in the back!).
Beauty Products
I’ve always had an overflowing accumulation of beauty samples and products, and now that I use Beautycounter that has not changed! I still stock up during sales and promotions, and I also like to keep product on hand to share as giveaways and samples. So my stash gets quite full!
While I have done several “Raid My Stash” promotions to my Beautycounter list, I also need to just use up some of it myself. No purchases until the pile is half as big!
Books
My mom and I share a Kindle library and I probably have 20 books I haven’t opened yet waiting there to read.
Yet the last time I finished a book (Educated was so good!) my first reaction was to look for something new – either through my library app or a promo at the Kindle store. I wanted a good, fresh beach read after two back-to-back country books (Giver of the Stars was also excellent!)
But with so many books at my fingertips, I decided to start one of those instead. (My mom had Anxious People so I jumped on that one.) No book purchases until at least half of these pre-loaded books have been consumed! Or if you don’t have a super cool mom like me, just vow to use the library for a month (or more!).
The Freezer
All-too-similar to the pantry, my freezer is packed with “just in case” foods.
While this is great when we don’t have time to fit in a grocery trip, the foods pile up! You know the FIFO method of accounting? First in, first out? This method should be applied to the use-it-up challenge too! But just like you always reach for your favorite shirt in your closet, you probably reach for the shiniest object in your stash rather than the oldest one in there.
We have frozen vegetables we bought at the beginning of the pandemic when we thought the world was imploding that we still haven’t used! EEK! I’m making it a priority to eat up some of those veggies, along with my Daily Harvest smoothies, Splendid Spoon noodle bowls, and anything else that needs to be moved to the front row.
Wine Stash
*Raises hand* Totally guilty of buying wine on a whim when I have a full “cellar” in my basement.
Sometimes you just need to jump on the sale, or sometimes you see a super cute label or go to a vineyard and have to buy half a case of something you loved.
I have enough wine right now to last me 6 months (well…maybe 4 pandemic months 
)
No more wine til it’s at least half gone…because we wouldn’t want to get the reserves to zero, now would we?
I like to be prepared, but I also romanticize the lifestyle where you walk to the market to pick up only the food you need to prepare fresh for dinner that night. The minimalist in me wants to be that girl! But the realistic mom knows it’s good to have reserves because when the going gets tough, we need a backup plan. Let’s just not let our backup plan get so cluttered it weighs us down!
(I wish I could apply this to Legos!)
Let’s check back in in a month!
I’ll work on my stash and you work on yours and we’ll meet here in 30 days. No spending til it’s gone! Which categories will you be working on?
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
This is such a great challenge! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
jenny says
In Texas, we already used it up. Trying to replenish, and even tortillas are on limit at the grocery stores right now.
Kath Younger says
Sending my best to your state <3
Hilary says
I keep thinking I’m going to do this. I just dropped $$$$$ at the grocery store and we have so little room in our fridge/ pantry. Oddly, my freezer is pretty sparse… which is a surprise. Anyway- I love the idea of eating what we have and reading what I already have. i’ve even enacted a temporary hiatus on bookstagram and reading podcasts so I don’t keep overloading my library holds/ goodreads list with MORE MORE MORE books. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and it is taking some of the fun out of it for me.
Carla Reyes says
I”ve been kind of doing this lately, too! Half because I started running out of room in my freezer and pantry, and half because after doing a free trial of Instacart Express, I got REALLY lazy about making time for shopping trips! 😮 Like you, a busy working mom of 2 young-uns, the easy meal options and snacks abound. You’ve officially inspired me to pare down as much as possible this March!
Kathleen says
I’m doing this too! Especially with freezer items. The mysterious meat/fish/veggies at the bottom of the freezer will get eaten first. The only grocery trips will be for fresh veggies, fruits, or an ingredient needed to make something like a sauce that goes with the dinner. And I’m going to ride my bike a la Mr. Money Mustache. Cheers to the FIRE life!
Kath Younger says
Haha yes!!!
Laurie says
We will be working on our freezer and condiments…I have a stockpile of marinades and dressings that need to be used before expiration!!
Laura says
Love this idea, I’m in!
Lia says
I try to donate when I have this much excess. I’m not perfect but so my best.
Kath Younger says
If I know I likely won’t use it, it absolutely goes into my donation bin or to someone I know will use it.
Denise says
I’m doing a Meatless March – as in vegan for the month. I’m typically pescatarian but I’m really looking for a reset and hoping all plant-based is something I can sustain for the long run. I really like this challenge because I have a lot of freezer items I need to clear out, and the pantry is full after a shopping run this weekend. When I plan next week’s meals, I’m going to shop them first and then fill in. And keep doing that over the whole month! On a side note, I really loved Educated, and Anxious People was so wonderful!!
Kath Younger says
Good luck with your challenge!
Laura says
Yes! In a way it can be fun to have to “shop the pantry” because it forces you to get creative with meals. During these times, I also remind myself that no one in our family will die if we don’t have XYZ item, fruit, veggie, etc. for a week. 😉 Inconvenient (and a first world problem) – yes. End of the world – no. For example, during one clean-out we didn’t have any sort of milk for a week. My son got creative and asked if he could have cereal with applesauce on it — now it’s become a staple that he often requests even if we do have milk in the house!
Unrelated — I usually read blogs via Feedly. Lately when I click through on your posts it will randomly refresh itself, have lots of ads / pop-ups, etc. and it makes it pretty much impossible to read. I promise I am not complaining / being critical! Just sharing in case you are not aware. I know I’d want to know. 🙂
Kath Younger says
Totally agree on the “out of milk is not an emergency” (I actually have an emergency milk in my pantry for this – guilty as charged!)
Thanks for the ad feedback. As much as you can send me screenshots or screen recordings that is the most helpful solution so I can pass those on to my ad team. It’s hard to figure out the best combo! I did recently switch to a better mobile video player that is much less of a popup and hopefully less obnoxious!
Angie says
We’re finishing our basement and had to bring up all the food and toiletries upstairs. Our dining room looks like a mini Costco! I hate it. But I’m looking at the expiration dates and donating some things to a food pantry. But we won’t be going to Costco for a very long time.
Hillary Gras says
I love this challenge. We did a freezer meal last week or rather I challenged my fiance to make dinner from the freezer. It ended up being DELICIOUS. We need to do it more! I love applying the use it up challenge to other areas of my life too.
Ilana Schlesinger says
This is so so great, thanks for doing this and for being such a great role model!!
Becca says
I really like this idea and am going to try it this month, mainly on the pantry side. I noticed this past weekend that some of the things I bought during the height of the pandemic (and haven’t yet used, apparently!) are about to expire. I was never one to “stock up” until COVID-19 and I’m still doing full shops every week, even though it’s not necessary. Thank you for this post and great idea.
Tracy says
Totally guilty here! I think this pandemic has affected my mindset on making sure there is always more than enough food in the house. This should no longer be a concern!! I need to work on using up my deep freezer and pantry.
I’m also guilty when it comes to my Kindle library. I have a habit of buying a book that sounds good because I don’t want to forget about it, I also have a cool mom (and a cool daughter) that all share a kindle library. We have so many books to choose from. This is a great reminder to read more of those books. Thanks!
Emily J says
I love this idea! I’ll probably work on pantry and freezer.
K~ says
I started this back in January! I am working on beauty, pantry, and my lesser-used spices. I am definitely making progress in all of them, especially beauty and spicea.
I always make sure to have some meals/muffins/berries/veg in my freezer for the many days when I work extra hours or get called in a short notice. Instead of trying to reduce my supply, I am making sure that I eat what is in there and replenish it so nothing sits there for months…
Hillary says
I think because I’ve lived in small spaces since college, I can’t relate. I rarely have reserves of much. Our pantry/freezer/fridge gets pretty bare week after week. I don’t have the “stock up” mentality, but sometimes it would help… so I’m not running to the grocery store every other day 😉
Christina says
Have you thought about donating some of your excess samples and snacks? There are lots of folks in need these days…
Kath Younger says
Yep! I always donate what I know I won’t use up.
Katie D. says
Perfect timing! My favorite grocery store is closed for remodeling, so I stocked up on our “must haves” (pb, applesauce, etc.) and am using the closure as a challenge to use what we have on hand.
ellie says
I love this – one thing that’s helped me is keeping a running list on my phone of “staples” that I have on hand — i.e., in the fridge I have this, in the freezer I have this, in the pantry I have this. It helps me plan and make sure I don’t have 4 jars of chili powder (not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything!).
I actually did move a few months ago, and I ended up donating a lot of that back stock to a local church that has a food pantry/unhoused ministry. Felt good to declutter and also to help others in my community. Plus, I panic bought all kinds of stuff at the beginning of COVID that I don’t even eat regularly — I have probably cooked pasta at home 3 times in the past year, but I had boxes of the stuff. *insert eye roll emoji* I’m sure there’s something like that (and I know you like your local Buy Nothing group after you posted about your amazing trike? bike? find!) in Cville if there’s something you really won’t use.
Abby says
I’m in too! We are getting ready for a BIG move in 4 months and need to start working on this in the book, toy, clothes, medicine cabinet departments! We are coming back to the States after 4 years in Mexico. And I too want to be the woman who walks to the market every day for fresh food. I only get to the market once a week so I have an overstuffed fridge and fruit and veggie bowls too!
Tess says
I’m doing this with books lately!! I miss the library and I have been keeping my book budget for buying gently used kids books for my kiddo, so I’ve been making myself finally read all the cheesy novels I accumulated over the years browsing sale racks at bookstore in my mid 20s- early 30s. Some of them are terrible but I’m finally accomplishing a goal to read them and then I get to de-clutter a bit by giving them away on my local Buy Nothing FB page. I also love a good pantry freezer challenge but that’s been trickier during the pandemic since we get everything delivered in smaller quantities. I definitely don’t but lotion or shampoo or conditioner until I’ve finished or gotten close to the end of one. On the same lotion bottle I bought the week lockdown started a year ago! Crazy!