In my bathroom, you could find immense amounts of body washes lining the sides of the tub, body lotions and creams shoved under the sink collecting dust, and worst of all, an overwhelming number of body mists that I could no longer find space for. What began as a fun collecting hobby slowly turned into hoarding products for the sole purpose of owning them. Over the past two years, I accumulated more and more items that remained untouched for months and, sometimes, even years. To end this cycle, I set a simple goal for myself: use up these products through Project Pan.
When I tried to trace back what caused this spiral of overconsumption, I landed on one major culprit: TikTok. Before my collection grew out of control, I spent hours watching creators share fragrance routines and massive shopping hauls. Seeing everyone else buy these products made me want them too. I slowly began accumulating more and more items, and before I realized it, I was running out of space. Ironically, while TikTok helped encourage this spending habit, it also helped stop it. It was through the platform that I first heard the term “Project Pan.”
At its core, Project Pan is a challenge designed to encourage participants to use products in their entirety before purchasing anything new. To most people, this may seem like common sense. However, as someone stuck in an endless cycle of buying, it felt almost impossible. Before acknowledging my shopping addiction, I convinced myself that my overwhelming amount of products was simply the result of collecting. I constantly hunted for limited-edition body care items for the sole purpose of owning them. Whether or not I enjoyed the product was out of the question; my only intention was to buy it before it disappeared.
As a result, I found myself spending absurd amounts of money at Sephora, Bath & Body Works, Ulta, and countless other stores. It wasn’t until I moved into my apartment that I realized this behavior was no longer harmless. Instead of prioritizing necessities, I focused on which fragrances needed to come with me. My car ended up packed with boxes of body care products. While it wasn’t a dramatic wake-up call, it was a moment of clarity. Something needed to change. Although my spending slowed between August and November, the reality truly set in during the holiday season.
After receiving an overwhelming number of products as gifts from family and friends, I vowed not to carry this pattern into the new year. My room no longer felt like a space to relax and unwind. Instead, it resembled a secondary retail store, overflowing with body care products. That was the moment I realized the cycle had to stop, and with that realization, my Project Pan journey began.
At the start of 2026, the first step I took was getting rid of unused items I no longer needed. I gathered everything together and sold some products on Facebook Marketplace in hopes of earning extra cash. Clearing out these items allowed me to begin with a clean slate. With a clear understanding of what I already owned, I created a spreadsheet to track each product I used throughout the year. Each month, I recorded my usage and set personal goals. I also tracked how much money I spent each month, believing that seeing the true total would help discourage unnecessary purchases. As simple as it sounds, this method has already proven successful.
Although 2026 is just getting started, I believe that implementing Project Pan will help me become more intentional with my spending and finally allow me to use and enjoy what I already own. With that, I deem 2026 the year I put an end to my overconsumption streak.