stuff in a small space

[Zoe Girl]

I am in a cleaning mood. It is the end of the school year so cleaning and preparing to move is what I am doing at work and it translates over to home. My mom buys things for parties at my house so I have paper plates, plastic silverware and a lot of things that I feel bad for using and throwing away. If anyone can think of a place to donate I would love that. It feels like waste but keeping them while it takes years to use them up is driving me bonkers.

And then I was at Target today and wanted to get some mouthwash for my teeth that could use regular flouride boost. They were all huge bottles. I have a small place, I want small bottles. A large bottle could last me over a year since I don't use it daily. They had smaller ones but not in the type I need. Why is it all so large? I am going to try the local drugstore, when I shop at other places in my neighborhood they tend to have some smaller packages for city dwellers.

[rosarugosa]

ZG: I know you are in an apartment, so I don't know if you have secondary storage space or not. My house is very small, but we have storage shelves in the cellar. I'll often buy large sizes at Costco, and then decant them into smaller containers that go in the kitchen, bath, etc. while keeping the larger supply in the cellar. We do this with bird seed and dry cat food too.

[Chicken lady]

Amazon?

Good for you one the home cleaning! when I clean at school, home becomes a mess. Yesterday I closed out my classroom for the summer. My car is full.

i guess your school doesn't use disposable stuff? Check around for programs that might?

[Gardnr]

Take the box of disposable dinner ware back to your Mom. She paid for them. To deter in the future, send home with her what doesn't get used. She'll either take it back, or stop bringing it?

People think there is more value in large quantities....I dont' think that will go away in "Super Size it" USA. Here's a 16 ounce.....don't know if you have a local store.... https://goo.gl/rjg50t

Yea for clearing things out!!!!

[Zoe Girl]

Rosa, I have one walk in closet for storage which I use for important things like camping gear and memory stuff from the kids. But just thinking of costco makes me nervous! I wouldn't really want more space but I would like to be able to put the vacuum cleaner away. That is the only thing that really bugs me about a small space.

I will check out amazon, mouthwash is not my most important thing. And my parents are coming next weekend so I can pack up some things and send them back. My mom has in the past shown up with 2 giant garbage bags of things like hand me down clothes, generally because I am seen as poor rather than making a simple living choice. One time I asked her if she wanted to drive it back home for goodwill or put it in my car for goodwill. That really cut it down after that.

[rosarugosa]

I know what you mean about Costco, you do see people coming out of there with massive quantities of stuff. I think we are pretty restrained, with a modest list of things we always buy there: kitty litter, coffee beans, olive oil, maple syrup, frozen seafood and wine. The prices for eyeglasses and prescriptions are also great. I think our savings on kitty litter alone more than pays for the annual membership.
Tom's of Maine has great mouthwash, small bottles too, but no fluoride. It's kind of expensive, but it was one of my smoking-cessation rewards.

[Zoe Girl]

I used to go to Sam's a lot when my kids were little. We made one run a month and I really used everything. I have only had a big home once, but I would get bulk and find room when it made sense. I do remember the things like vitamins being a great deal.

I am walking to Starbucks this morning, and then to the local walgreens. I can use my new hat and back pack! The starbucks is a half mile away. The mouthwash would be good since I am starting to get cavities now along the gum line, geez, and it is also a little discolored from the tea I drink. On the smoking-cessation reward thing, I am seeing that I have more money now, and since I eat less junk I actually think I have maintained or lost some weight.

[Zoe Girl]

oh doh! I see that I could make some mouthwash with natural ingredients, and then also serve my eco-friendly goals. Well how silly have I been.

[catherine]

Your local drugstore is probably your best bet for smaller quantities. I was going to suggest buying travel sizes, which may not seem cost-effective, but if you hardly ever use it, it might be worth it from a space perspective. Similar to what rosa said, I keep my mouthwash in an oil decanter in the bathroom. It looks a lot prettier than having the bottle out on a shelf... I read that tip in one of Alexandra Stoddard's books.

[ToomuchStuff]

Mixed results here. Part of my job involves going to those clubs for work. (typically Sam's is more business oriented) I also shop at the same time for one or both bosses, myself, and my parents. Sometimes we buy bulk and split it up. (paper towels, multipacks, etc) Some other things like TP, I will buy the big pack and have an overhead closet that holds most of it so I buy once a year.

Things like your paper plates, etc. normally get split up, or go through a friends restaurant and get donated for charity events (use in feeding the crowd). Do you know anyone that does bbq contests as they also tend to do a lot of charity cook offs, or feeding disaster victims, etc.?