Safety Alert! 9 Easy & Fast Tips To Declutter Your Makeup

Declutter your makeup! I have experienced nasty eye infections by using old and out of date mascara. Eye infections can be painful and cost a lot more than a new tube of mascara.

Because I don’t see an expiration date on any mascara I use I now discard after 3 months because this is what is recommended. Why? The constant opening and closing of the tube can cause bacteria build up and eye irritation or infection.

9 Tips to Declutter Your Makeup Today

• Free samples are great! Use them or toss them.
• Be safe and discard out-of-date makeup, stuff you have had around forever. You likely do not use these anyway.
• Clean makeup brushes! Cosmopolitan has an informative article about cleaning makeup brushes.

• Some makeup works better than others for our skin and temperament. Be honest about what works for you.
• Donate unused products to a good cause. There are groups that collect and distribute work wear for ladies entering or re-entering the work force. Dress for Success is an awesome organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support.

I can think of no greater cause to donate to than helping women help themselves. In fact if you have nothing to donate you can still do so from Dress for Success by buying gift cards.

• Sell unopened products on eBay. Some people have so much expensive makeup it may be worthwhile to sell on eBay or other online platforms. My community has a very active Facebook yard sale page.
• Recycle empty makeup containers.
• Use up a product before buying something new. This is a novel idea, isn’t it. We don’t really do this though, do we?
• Just say no. Do you really need this or is this just an impulse buy for the newest shiniest thing? Marketers are good at their jobs. Beauty companies spent an estimated 7.7 billion on advertising in 2022. Not bad because in 2023 they sold over 35 billion in just online sales.

Round Up All Your Makeup Products

The first step to decluttering anything is to gather it all in one place so you can see what you have and sort accordingly. Seeing everything you own in one place can be eye-opening in itself.

Go around and grab all the makeup you have. Don’t forget your makeup bags you have packed for your overnight trips and the tube of mascara in your vehicle’s glove box. Sometimes we don’t realize just how much we have until we see it all together.

Toss Expired and ‘What Was I Thinking!’ Products

Once you have all your makeup products in front of you, it’s time to declutter. Get rid of anything expired or that you don’t like. If you haven’t used the product it is safe to say you do not like the product. If you purchased something but don’t love it, either pass it on to someone who will use it or just throw it out.

There’s no point to keeping products you don’t like and that don’t suit you. If you won’t use these they are just adding clutter!

Makeup has a limited shelf life once it’s been opened. Like I said earlier about mascara, all makeup expires eventually, usually within 2 years of purchase and sometimes as little as 3 months for eye makeup. Pressed foundations and eye shadows can have a shelf life of up to 3 years.

Decluttering 101

Like everything you declutter making categories works best. The categories include keep, donate, sell and discard.

With makeup you could also add the categories of everyday wear and special occasion wear. You probably don’t wear the same makeup to the office as you do to a wedding. Some folks add a third category which recognizes the products you use that fall between work and weddings like a Saturday night date night.

You have divvied up your products into categories now assess what you have and declutter. Be painfully honest with yourself if you want to do a great job. Ask yourself what will you actually use and be realistic when answering.

How many lipsticks or concealers does one really need? Only keep the products you use. Toss the products ‘you think’ you may use one day. After all you bought this product 6 years ago and have not seen fit to use it yet.

Declutter Like a Pro! 101 Everyday Items You Can Toss Today

Take Inventory After You Declutter

I tend to use the same products repeatedly. My logic is ‘If it ain’t broke why fix it’? I can rely on the product doing what I expect it to do. When the product is on sale I can stock up ensuring I never need to run out and search for what I need.

I save all sorts of time by not having to pore through endless marketing data. Using the same old tried and true products also and most importantly keeps me clutter free! I realize ‘my way’ does not work not for many.

This is precisely the beauty of decluttering! Everyone needs to declutter and organize according to their likes and dislikes, and how their brain operates. Living clutter-free is about surrounding yourself with the things you love and removing all that weighs you down.

Organizing Products

I love to organize anything! First step though is to purge all the excess. You have tossed and sorted all your makeup and now it is time to organize for efficient access.

Find an Organizational System That Works For You

How you organize your makeup products will depend on the amount and type of space you have, as well as how much makeup you have. I use clear acrylic organizers for the few makeup products I own. Transparent containers are great because you can see quickly at a glance what you are looking for.

A quick online search will give you plenty of good options. The cost has come way down for these. If you don’t want to spend money – be creative and find containers already in your home like pretty bags, baskets and trays and even glassware.

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Maintain Your Makeup

Good job! You have streamlined all your makeup, brushes and self care products. Doesn’t it look awesome! You can clearly see all your favorites.

The One-Touch Rule!

The One-Touch rule means use it and put it away. The key is to use whatever it is you are using and immediately return it to where you found the product, every time, even when you are dashing out the door.

The One-In, One-Out Rule

I have a simple trick I aim for to maintain my clutter free environment. For every thing that comes into my space something must go. It is impossible for clutter to build up following this rule.

If you follow these steps you can win the war against makeup clutter! Give yourselves a hearty pat on the back and keep up with the clutter so you will never have to do battle again!

Marj Bates is a life long ridiculously organized declutterer and artist. Less is more are words Marj lives by in everything she does except collecting dogs. “Dogs are like potato chips! Can’t have just one.” says Marj. Marj wonders if growing up with a fanatically clean Jewish mom means her decluttering and organizational skills are in her blood.

For more Declutter Buzz & Freebies check out our safe and private Decluttering community on our Facebook page. We are a safe and private space of like minded folks tackling this all encompassing clutter thing once and for all. No shame allowed! We will have a few laughs too!

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