So, I realize it's already almost a full four months into the year, making me a little late to this party, but I have decided to jump on the challenge of ridding your life of 2015 things in 2015 (as found here). When a friend first mentioned it to me a few days ago, I thought it was insane! No way would I ever be able to part with that many things in a single calendar year, I like my stuff too much! But then last night, while staring at my new walk-in closet that is overflowing with clothes, I realized it wouldn't be such a terrible idea to at least attempt it.
Once I got over the initial shock of how big the number 2015 is, I started thinking about how many things have already been donated/trashed/given away/taken to consignment this year, and was pleasantly surprised, mainly because of moving.
I want my total to be as accurate as possible at the end of the year, so here are my best estimates at the number thus far:
- I took an entire full-sized suitcase to the Dominican full of clothes which I gave to L's step-dad's sisters. I estimate 50 items of clothing there.
- I also took brand new makeup and new/slightly used nail polish to the Dominican, another 15 items.
- I tossed a bunch of old makeup that was well past it's expiration, another 20 items.
- L and I tossed at least 50 old magazines. Why did I think I needed to keep a copy of a MacLeans magazine from 2011?
- While preparing to move, we made it a priority to use up as many open things as possible - shampoo, conditioner, etc. Why we had so many half-full bottles was beyond me, but we were able to finish off ~20 items
- I attended a clothing swap where I took 20 items. All of the items which were not claimed by anyone at the end went into one giant bag, which was donated. It's not something I'm going to track all the time, but I was very proud of myself leaving that party - I only brought home 4 new items (one of which is a pair of snowpants - something I did not own).
- Most of our furniture went to the eco-station when we moved - the couch, tables, chairs, a box spring, old CD racks etc. We bought new furniture for the new house, but it was needed. I'll say 30 items in total went to the eco-station during that time.
- My mom went through a stack of my clothes before I took them to consignment, and ended up taking 8 items.
- Two bags of clothes and shoes (mainly L's) were dropped off for donation - another 40 items
- A friend gets first dibs on the makeup from my subscription boxes I don't want, so she ended up with 5 items last time she went through it.
- We tossed a lot of things while packing - I'll estimate 150 things - old paystubs and paperwork no longer needed, broken items which had found a home under the beds/couches, etc.
- While packing, the cats decided they didn't like the chaos, so they peed in a box - there goes that stuff into the garbage! Sorry old purses and set of curtains... (counted in the 150 above)
- I love consignment! Especially facebook consignment - the company has no overhead cost of renting a store space so they are able to keep the costs of the clothing lower - which means more of my things sell! Plus anyone with a facebook account can buy the items, so mommys can shop while their babies have their nap! I dropped off two large totes at consignment at the end of February filled with ~100 items of clothing. Some of these items will be coming back when I close out with them next week, but they will eventually be donated to Goodwill or taken along to the next clothing swap I attend.
- L and I went through our DVD collections and found all of the ones we had duplicates of. 24 DVD's went to consignment with my clothes in February.
So even though I am starting this challenge four full months late, I already have over 530 items checked off! I really like that you can interpret an "item" however you see fit, and trust me, I'll be counting everything.
Let me know in the comments if you've ever attempted anything like this before, and how you did with it! Or, feel free to join me now, and let me know you're on board! Let's keep each other honest and on track!
xoxo,
Fallon
Thursday 30 April 2015
Saturday 11 April 2015
Lip Monthly March 2015
I believe this is it - the last Lip Monthly bag I'll be receiving. After 8 months, it has never once wowed me (although I did get a few products I've liked and will continue to use).
Ugh, the ugly blue bag has returned. This will head straight into the get-out-of-my-house pile.
Hurray for all the natural light we get in our house! It makes my pictures turn out so much better :)
Product card
Meh, generic drug-store brand nail polish does not excite me at all.
Value: $3?
This is decent, especially for the price! It's fairly sheer, it just adds a pinkish shine to your lips. I don't know if I've ever heard of this brand before here in Canada?
Value: $1.99
I've generally liked every J.Cat item I've tried up to this point. This colour isn't really my style, but it goes on very smoothly! I just wish shipping costs directly from their website to Canada was cheaper, I have my eye on so many of their products :(
Value: $3.99
Love, love love! This is by far my favourite item in the March Lip Monthly! It's very pink, and oh so pretty!
Value: $13
The total value of this bag is $21.98, which is only slightly more than the ~$17 I paid, and the Hikari Lipstick alone is 60% of that value. Like I mentioned up above, I did receive a few decent products and became exposed to a few new brands through this subscription, but I'm not sad to see my time with them come to an end. Peace out Lip Monthly!
xoxo,
Fallon
Friday 10 April 2015
Lip Monthly November 2014
I, along with a lot of other people have had issues with Lip Monthly's subscription, although I do find their products have been getting better. I prepaid for 4 months (August-November) and then it renewed for another 4 months before I was able to cancel, so March will be my last Lip Monthly.
I'm so happy they finally started switching up their bags, I hated the design of the blue one I received during the first few months of my subscription.
This is so pretty! It's a light, creamy light-catching shimmery mousse. You can build layers of this to get the exact colour you want, I've used it a few times on the inner corners of my eye and it's gorgeous! I've actually liked everything I've tried from City Color, I just wish they didn't charge $25 shipping to Canada from their website :(
Love this colour! I haven't used it yet, other than to swatch it on my hand, but it's such a pretty bright pink.
Ofra Lip Liner in Orchid - $13
I don't use lip liner very often, but I think this colour will actually work with the two lipsticks included in the bag this month!
For being a cheap drug-store brand, this is actually really nice!
Crown Lip Brush - $3
I don't think you can ever have enough brushes, and I love getting them in subscription boxes! I'm not sure if I'll ever use this for my lips, but it won't be wasted!
The total value of this bag was $36.98, which is decent considering I paid about $17-$18 after the exchange rate. This was actually one of the better months for Lip Monthly, I received this bag over 4 months ago and have actually kept everything. But, I'm still not renewing, 8 months with this company is more than enough - their customer service is terrible. From reading other reviews, I guess a lot of these items were included in previous ipsy bags which were sent before I signed up with them so that's a negative for some people, but everything was new to me so I was happy!
xoxo,
Fallon
Topbox Men's Stocking Stuffer
This arrived almost four months ago, so naturally it's time to post it... Seeing as how I have cancelled almost all of my subscriptions (there's just a few hanging on that I can't bring myself to let go) I should be able to catch up someday...
This was the second year Topbox offered a men's box before Christmas, and after seeing the success of the first one I knew I had to pick one up for L. These things sold out insanely quick this time, within a few hours they were all gone. In 2013 there were a few more things included in the box, and it cost $39. For the 2014 men's box the cost was only $19! So cheap!
I knew this wouldn't last until Christmas, so L opened it as soon as it arrived (even though we both knew exactly what was going to be in it).
This was packaged in a mesh bag (which you can opt into on the regular monthly Topbox as well in place of the cardboard tube).
Eau de Toilette samples
Azzaro Pour Homme
Mont Blanc Legend
I didn't place a price value on these, since you can get them for free if you ask at a beauty counter (like at the Bay). L has tried out both of these though, and they are both really nice!
Bioderma Atoderm Gentle Shower Gel - 100mL
Value: $5? I had a hard time finding this for purchase online in Canada
I honestly don't know if L has used this or not? I don't know where half of our stuff is since the move, so it's very possible this is still shoved in a random box somewhere in our house.
Value: $3.49/each
I had previously received the Grape Epic Blend lip balm in a subscription box (I think it was Topbox actually) and I loved it. These smell amazing and feel great on your lips.
Bread and Butter Daily Face Shave Gel (x2)
Bread and Butter Daily Face Cleanser
Value: $35 for a 3 piece set
These three things alone are almost double the cost of this entire Topbox! L had received this shave gel in the 2013 Men's Holiday Topbox, and he was a big fan of it.
The total value of this was about $47, plus the two eau de toilette samples, which is a great value considering it only cost $19! I wish Topbox would offer a men's box more frequently, I would be all over that!
xoxo,
Fallon
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