Everyday Ginger

Because I've been working on my living space and downsizing how much stuff I have, I thought I'd go through my makeup collection and really have a thorough clear-out. While I am pretty good about getting rid of things that are clearly too old to use, I hadn't done a strict declutter in a very long time. Makeup, like clothing, is an easy thing to accumulate and lose sight of how much you actually own versus how much you actually use on a regular basis. I ended up clearing out a lot of stuff that I just wasn't using and was very strict with myself when it came to justifying things to keep. Here are some guidelines I followed to make this whole makeup declutter a successful one:

Check Expiration Dates ~ Checking to see if a product has gone off is the easiest way to start culling through a makeup collection. Especially with lip and cream products its easy to tell when something is past its lifetime. Meg, from Lips So Facto wrote a really helpful blog post a few years back, which goes into detail about expiration dates of makeup and is very useful if you are unsure if a product has gone off or not. While I don't stick strictly to the expiration dates, because I use my makeup on only myself, it can be a helpful tool to get rid of things that are beyond useable.

Empty Out Your Drawers ~ I always find whenever I am doing a clear out, whether it be for makeup, clothing, or miscellaneous items that it is very helpful to empty out everything you are clearing out from the storage system its in. I cleared out each drawer and put all of the products on my bed so I could sort through them easier. I think its also somewhat of a mental exercise to clear everything out because then its easier to feel like every product is subject to the declutter instead of leaving the things you think you'll use in the drawers without scrutiny.

Compartmentalize Your Products ~ Obviously, not everything I wanted to keep were things I used on a daily basis. In order to work out what I wanted to keep in the strictest way possible I compartmentalized my collection into two categories: daily makeup and special occasion makeup. Once I did this I feel like I could be more rigorous about the products in each category. In terms of daily makeup I used the test of whether I had used the product in the last three months, or if it was out of season if I had used it in the season it was appropriate for. In terms of occasion makeup, it was harder to use the test if I had used it recently. Instead, I made sure it hadn't been bought ages ago. I then went through and made sure each thing was something I would definitely use for a specific occasion I have planned in the relatively near future.

In terms of what's left from this clear out, I kept all of the products that are in my every day makeup bag. I also kept all of the products in my Muji drawers that I use on a regular basis for daily makeup or that I use for nights out and special occasions. I got rid of a lot of my blushes that I hadn't used in ages because I have almost exclusively been using the Glossier Cloud Paints since they launched. I also did a thorough comb through of my eyeshadows because I had an absolute ton, a lot of which were similar to one another. All of the MAC products I used will be recycled using the Back To MAC program, however I will most likely give some of the free eyeshadows or lipsticks I acquire through Back To MAC to my sister or mom, since I don't want to get rid of a load of makeup and then replenish my collection with products I might not use. After doing all of this decluttering I feel like I have a much more thoughtful and useable selection of products at my disposal. Most importantly, I think that going forward this will make me much more thoughtful in my approach to buying makeup.

What are your decluttering tips and tricks?