The Process of Elimination | How I Declutter My Makeup

The Process of Elimination | How I Declutter My Makeup

Many of us beauty lover have more than the average person have when it comes to makeup or any beauty related products.  Let me define who I am in terms of being a beauty lover: I am an enthusiast, but I am not a collector.  Is there a difference? Yes.  Beauty enthusiasts and/or lovers acquire a lot of beauty products based on what they love that will work for the needs of their skin.  Beauty collectors acquire products of each line and brand and collect most of them even if they end up not using them.  Can you be an enthusiast and a collector at the same time? Of course.  Nothing is wrong with being either or both, it is really up to you.  I am always a promoter of doing what makes you happy. For me, only those I really love and work for my skin are the only ones that I keep, regardless of price, brand, packaging or sentimental value.

Being a beauty enthusiast and/or lover instead of a collector helps me narrow down what I have pretty straight forward and base out of usefulness of each item.  Having read Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, it allowed me to part with things, in this case, makeup and other beauty related items with less emotional attachment.  I am sure many can relate to keeping items because of sentimental value.  Well, I have broken that habit.  Here are points I keep in mind when I declutter my makeup stash:

1.  Look through current inventory.  Also, do it often.  Looking through what I have allows me to get an inventory of old and newer items in my possession.  I look through my vanity table and drawers when I plan on purchasing new items and when I start putting away the new items in the drawers.  This way I can either figure out which ones I can possibly let go prior to buying or after, especially when I see multiple duplicates of a shade.

2.  Choose to keep items most likely to repurchase.  As I take a closer look at what I have, I pay attention to items that I will most likely repurchase.  Once I know which those are, then the rest are all in consideration for the declutter pile.

3.  Second chance or call it quits.  Makeup is the only one that are allowed to have second chanced in my book.  If I haven't used or touched an item for more than 6 months, I ask myself why is it still in my possession.  Some items usually can be answered with "I don't like the formula or shade" which makes it easier to get rid of them.   However, there are some that I feel iffy about so I put those items in my weekly or monthly drawer for a second chance.  That way, I can really decide if I want to keep them or not.

4.  Avoid the sentimental value trap.  If the product is no longer working for me or I end up not liking it after all for whatever reason (our skin changes through the years and products react to it differently over time), I choose to not keep them regardless of who gave them to me.

Do you declutter often? Is it hard for you? What helps you make the process easy?  Share your thoughts! I'd love to hear them.