Decluttering Your Makeup and Simplifying Skin Care Stuff

After the epic clothing declutter I have lost a bit of my mojo. Still excited by this project but feeling a bit overwhelmed with it. The cold I have been battling for the last week and half has also not helped.

Decided to get back on it and start with, what I thought were, two small projects. The under the sink area of the main and master bathrooms.

This is not a new area to declutter. In fact, I’ve enjoyed sorting this area many times this year. Neat piles and boxes of grooming items and such. I just never had the balls to actually throw stuff out. Sparkly purple nail polish my niece picked out for me? Check. Still keeping it should she ever arrive and ask to use it. Large Ziploc of hotel shampoos, conditioners and body wash? Check. Despite traveling a fair bit I have yet to get the urge to pack a mini mouthwash with me. Because I know they will have them at the hotel we are staying at.

I did make a dent on this. Miracle beauty products that I have used once were easy; the scads of over the counter medications for colds and coughs were not. Maybe because I am in the middle of sinus torture? Expired makeup that I rarely used? Easy to say goodbye to. It felt great to pare it all down, hand over some rarely used nail polishes to my sister and finally have some breathing room and organization under the sink.

What I kept:

• makeup that I use everyday (mascara + daily sunscreen)
• makeup that I use occasionally (tinted moisturizer, eyeshadows)

What I threw out:

• Everything I’d used once and didn’t like. Gulp. Goodbye hard earned dollars!
• Several skincare sets. I always tried them for a week or two, they usually made my skin worse or I fell out of the routine of using them. I’m in my 30s: it’s time to admit that I’m fine with using a cloth and water to clean my face. Goodbye toners, exfoliants, overnight moisturizers and cleansers!

And yes, we love us some Costco toilet paper! You can be minimalist and still visit Costco. At least, we will.

Here are a few more posts on simplifying beauty and health routines:

• my minimalist makeup routine
• using minimalism to improve your health
• would you go gray for simplicity?