We’re having some remodeling work done in our house, and it looks like a bomb went off.
The kitchen is completely out of commission. There’s drywall dust everywhere and all of our pictures, knick-knacks, what-have-you, has been stacked in the center of the great room. The house is one big, hot mess of disorganization.
But this crazy longing for the semi-organized house I once knew and loved reminded me of a post I wrote a couple years back. It was about organizing the makeup drawer. It’s high time for another reorganization. And, really, the timing is perfect because the makeup drawer is the only thing in this house that I’ll be able to restore to order any time soon.
I don’t know about y’all, but organization has never been my strong suit.
I believe the reason is two-fold. First, I love to shop. So I tend to acquire new things somewhat regularly. The other half of it is, I have a hard time parting with things. I am queen of the “I-should-really-keep-this-because-I’m-sure-I’ll-need-it-at-some-point-and-it-would-really-save-me-a-ton-of-money” mentality.
I make mention of all this because my organizational dysfunction has had a disastrous effect on my makeup drawer.
So, in case any of you find yourselves in a similar predicament, I thought I’d show you how to “Makeover Your Makeup Drawer,” in five easy steps.
Step 1: Get it all out in the open
First things first. You want to start by getting a good assessment of what you really have. Empty the entire contents of your makeup drawer out onto a long counter. While you’re at it, hunt down all the other makeup products you might have floating around (in your purse, in the car, in other bathroom drawers and cabinets).
Step 2: Out with the old
Once you’ve got everything spread out, look through the items and toss those that are obviously old or that you don’t use. The same rule that applies to a clothes closet applies here: If you haven’t used it in 6 months to a year, pitch it (creme and liquid type products are only good for about 6 months anyway).
Step 3: Be realistic (and ruthless)
Once you’ve thrown away the expired items, take another look at what remains. Be honest with yourself. I found a lot of products that I had tried once, didn’t like and felt guilty throwing away. I also found a lot of duplicate items. I didn’t really need five neutral lipsticks (in all pretty much the same shade). I threw a lot away, and for those things I felt bad pitching, I saved them to see if my sister might be interested.
Now is also a good time to mention those department store “free gifts with purchase.” Oh, I had a bunch of those. Estee Lauder, Clinique, you name it. Yes, these were perfectly good sample products (in some cases they were brand-new lipsticks and eye shadows), but I hadn’t used 90% of them. I cleared them out.
Because old habits die hard, I did allow myself one small makeup bag where I could store makeup that might “come in handy” someday. You know, like the false eyelashes that “I-just-might-take-the-time-and-effort-to-apply-if-my-husband-and-I-happened-to-be-invited-to-a-black-tie-Christmas-formal.” But the key here is that the bag of saved items is small.
Step 4: Group products
There. The hardest part is done! You should now be looking at a much more manageable collection of things you use pretty regularly. Group these items in a way that makes sense to you. You might place all your everyday makeup together and then group your evening makeup. Or, you might try what I did and separate it out by type of product, such as face, eyes, lips, brushes.
Step 5: Storage
Finally, find a good way to store your products. You’re going to need containers of some sort. This doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy some fancy-dancy brand-new drawer organizer. Try and use what you have on hand. I found two silverware trays that weren’t getting much use and just happened to fit perfectly in my drawer.
You can use clear plastic boxes, shoeboxes, lingerie dividers — anything that will contain the products and keep them from disappearing into the far reaches of a drawer, never to be heard from again.
So there you have it.
Easy peasy.
And really, it makes getting ready in the morning a heck of lot less stressful. I can find what I need quickly and easily.
Mission accomplished.
Originally posted September 2008.
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