A Guide for Decluttering Beauty Products
/Are your bathroom cabinets and drawers filled to the brim? Are bottles toppling over? Do you even know what you have on hand? It’s so easy to accumulate bath and beauty products. You bring home the travel-sized bottles from the last hotel you visited, you pick up a new nail color from time to time, you get free samples with each visit to the beauty counter. All these items pile up and cause frustration and overwhelm when it comes time to get ready. Your morning routine should be simple. Instead, you’re sifting through a whole bunch of products you don’t use to find the ones that make you feel great. It’s time to eliminate the unwanted products and clutter. Follow this guide to get your bathroom clutter free and take some of the work out of getting ready.
Gather Your Products
Gather all your beauty products in one place, like a countertop or on an old sheet or towel on the floor. Compiling all your products in one place allows to you see just how much you have and where you have duplicates, making it easier to decide what stays and what goes.
Depending on just how much you own, you may want to start with your makeup, then once finished, move on to lotions and bath products, then hair products, and so on, breaking up the task into manageable sessions.
Toss Expired Products
Start simple by getting rid of anything that is expired. Some products may have expiration dates printed on them, but many don’t. Take a look at the back or bottom of each container, there is likely a cap symbol with a number followed by the letter M. 12M means the product is good for 12 months. You may need to do a little detective work to find which products need to be tossed, but the general rule is: if you can’t remember when you bought it, it’s probably time to toss it.
Get Rid of Items You Don’t Use
Beauty products are expensive, so I know this step can be a bit gut wrenching. Try to put the cost aside and be real with yourself about the products you are going to use. Would you buy it again? Would you recommend it to a friend? I know that foundation cost a lot of money, but if you don’t like the way it cakes under your eyes, you’re never going to wear it. If you have no intention of using something or it doesn’t work as promised, don’t be guilted into keeping it. Ponytail holders that don’t stay in place… Those free samples that came in your past order… Let them go and make room for the products you love. Opened products should be thrown out, but you can sell or donate unopened items.
Make a Shopping List
As you’re tossing out items, there may be some products that you really do use and love that just need replaced. Go ahead and make a shopping list. Carefully consider how necessary each product is before adding it to your list. If that night cream reached it’s expiration before you used up the bottle, do you really need to replace it?
If you love shopping for beauty products, that’s okay, you don’t have to stop, just be more intentional about the products you choose to bring home. Do your research to make sure you’re purchasing high quality products that you love. That may mean a quick google search when you’re at the beauty counter, or a text to a few friends for recommendations. Only owning products you love and using up the products you have on hand before buying a replacement will result in less guilt and less waste.
Clean up
Keeping your beauty products and supplies clean will make getting ready quicker and more enjoyable. While you have all your products laid out, clean the drawers and cabinets, as well as any bottles, tubes, makeup compacts, applicators, and brushes that you intend to keep. I store a Norwex body cloth with my beauty products to wipe up spills and dust off brushes after each use.
Step 1
Full a cup or jar with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Add a drop of dish soap.
Step 2
Swirl brushes one at a time. Re-make the cleaning solution as needed.
Step 3
Rinse brushes under warm water, upside-down so that they retain their shape.
Step 4
Lay brushes flat or hang upside-down to dry.
Sort + Organize
Aim to get your beauty products off the bathroom counter. Use bins or drawer organizers to sort the items you are keeping into drawers and cabinets. Sort items into categories: hair products, nail care, everyday beauty products, ‘sometimes makeup’ (like that red lipstick, or the pink eyeshadow), and back stock (a second tube of favorite mascara, and a backup foundation). You may also want to create a separate bin for travel-sized items to simplify packing. Keeping a clear, clutter-free bathroom counter will reduce stress and frustration, and make getting ready and cleaning much easier.
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