The Great Household and Cleaning Challenge - Month 4

It's month 4 on this challenge, instigated by yours truly, to spend only £125 in a year, on all household and cleaning products and I think I might have bitten off far more than I can chew with this one.

This month I have spent exactly £16.95 which has once again gone over the monthly budget of £10.42.  This continues to mean, of course,  that I am still way behind budget overall, having spent £76.30/£125 in just 4 months.

On the plus side, I don't think there is anything too expensive (save toilet rolls) that needs purchasing next month and I'm using up the small stash in my under sink cupboard and creating a bit more space in there which is all good.  I did a good and thorough house clean just before Christmas, so I did use up quite a few  products which I needed to replace in my Christmas shop, but having purchased these before Christmas, so that I didn't run out of anything, there is little that I now need to buy next month.  In addition, I have almost finally weaned myself off using multi-surface wipes, that cost far more than good old rags, washing up liquid and disinfectant.  I did buy and use one pack in my Christmas shop, but this was because I was fast running out of time to finish the cleaning and they are quick to use if you only have minutes to clean the toilet and other areas before your guests arrive.  I intend to resist the urge to buy them in future, but I  don't rule out the possibility of the odd pack sneaking into my trolley from time to time, as they can be very handy for some jobs especially when you have pets.

Here's what my expenditure went on this month:

Toilet Rolls x 36 - £5  +  x 4  - 67p (Extras so I didn't run out over Christmas)

Kitchen Roll x 6 - 99p

Turkey foil - £1

Laundry Liquid Capsules x 20 - £3.99

Black Bin Liners x 15 - £1.49  - I seem to go through an awful lot of these, but I did a bit of major throwing out this month which necessitated using a few more than usual.  We do only throw out one bag of rubbish a week normally might I add, honest.

Smart Price Asda Brillo type pads - 44p

Toilet Cleaner x 2 - £1.50

Multisurface Wipes x 50 - £1

Asda Washing Up Liquid - 87p


The fact that we are away from home for a few days in the lead up to the New Year will, of course, help the budget next month (although not the budget of our hosts I regret to say).  Not one to be easily defeated, I'm looking forward to resuming the challenge when we return home in the New Year and hoping to actually come in under budget for the first time next month, if this is humanly possible.