The Great Household and Cleaning Challenge - Month 2

Another month, another challenge.  I do like a good challenge to try to keep my spending in check.  This particular challenge I made up myself and it is to keep any household and cleaning product expenditure to under £125 for the year.

I must admit that I really am not doing too well on this challenge and fear I may fail abysmally within 6 months, but I'll carry on and see how far I can stretch the budget.  Last month, I had a whopping £26.52 spend which in the first month was not good although some of the things I bought should last me a good couple of months.  This month, I also haven't fared too well, but at least expenditure was only £1.60 over budget coming in at £14.10 for the month.

This sum was spent on the following:

Toilet Rolls x 36 - £5.85 - We seem to be using pretty much the same amount each month and I have now managed to source a slightly cheaper alternative from Poundstretcher, namely 36 rolls for £5 so from next month I will be purchasing these.  I know it only means a saving of 85p per month, but over the 10 months left of this challenge that will equate to £8.50 which is quite a large part of the budget.

Disinfectant - 30p

Freezer bags - 63p

Black Bin Bags x 10 £1

Washing up liquid - £1

Firelighters x 3 Boxes - £2.07 - As it is getting colder, I bought a few boxes of these when we went up to Yorkshire as I haven't found them anywhere in London cheaper than these.

Fabric Conditioner - £1-35 - I didn't shop around for the cheapest alternative for this item this month, which I will endeavour to do in the future.

Biodegradable Food Waste Bags x 20 - £1.90 - I completely ran out of these and didn't know how to get a supply for free from the Council, so bought some.  I have, however, now got a web address to order them from the Recycling Team, so I hopefully won't need to pay for them again.

Total expenditure 2/12 months in is £40.62/£125.  I've got a long way to go with this one and a steep non-spending curve ahead.  Wish me luck.