Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge: A nice break

Welcome to the Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge, co-hosted by Laura at Frugal Follies, Denise at Shopper Strategy, Robbie at Going Green Mama, Crystal at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, and Rebecca Jean at Midnight Maniac.

We invite you to join us!   Please read the rules of the challenge first.

Last week, I posted my goals for the challenge - in a word, simplicity - as did my four co-hosts.  Here's what they had to say:

• Going Green Mama is figuring out how to use the canned food and obscure condiments in her pantry, instead of throwing them away.
• At Shopper Strategy, Denise is clearing out her freezer in anticipation of Freezer Food Month (lots of great deals!) in March.
• Rebecca Jean from Midnight Maniac is trying to get rid of the clutter, not just food but also personal items.
• Mrs. Happy Homemaker is reducing her grocery bill this month.

In total, 16 bloggers and lots of others joined us for the challenge!

So how did it go this week for you?

So far, so good here.  I've only run out of two items.  I ran out of salsa, but made some during Freezer Cooking Days this weekend.  And, I ran out of the everyday paper napkins that I use, but we still have tons of fancy napkins (which I got for free, except tax, a while ago and have been sitting around since) and paper towels.

I'm realizing that my stockpile really wasn't all that deep.  Especially after having watched TLC's "Extreme Couponing" (click here for my reaction to the show).  Wow, now those were stockpiles! 

As for my goal of simplicity, that has definitely happened.  I haven't been rushing around four days a week to plan out shopping trips and to hit all the big sales.  I've had extra time to work on this blog, home projects, and even a little thumb-twiddling.  I only shopped at ALDI this week, except for two little stops - one to CVS to buy milk (paid for with Extra Care Bucks left over from December) and one small trip to Publix to get jalapenos for the salsa.

Still, I miss the couponing.  When I went into Publix, it was confusing and disorienting to go in without a plan, to see all the different sale items, and not knowing whether they were good deals for not.  No wonder I rarely shopped sales before discovering all the great blogs and message boards about couponing. But the mental and physical break has been good, and when I get back, it will be with renewed energy.

Have you been participating in the Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge? Leave a comment about your experiences so far. Or, if you're a blogger, link to your post about the challenge below!