As you spring clean your home, take a few minutes to refresh and streamline your makeup, skin and hair care products. You will love the cleaner, clearer space in your bathroom and on your dressing table. For more related tips, I invite you to listen to a 10-minute podcast about how to organize your bathroom.
Sort and Weed Out
- Take out all your products and group like things together, such as all your eye shadows, skin creams, and hair care products.
- Discard old or expired items, duplicates and products you don’t use or like.
- Weed out leftover samples and travel-sized packages; save just one of each item you actually use when you travel.
- Keep just your favorites. If you want to try a new product, use a sample or travel size as a test run before you buy the larger package.
How Long Can I Keep It?
- Mascara needs to be discarded after four months (sooner if it smells bad).
- Concealer and cream or gel cleansers can last up to one year.
- Foundation typically lasts 12 months (water-based formulas) to 18 months (oil-based formulas).
- Lipstick lasts one to two years (again, discard it sooner if it develops an unpleasant odor).
- Sunscreen lasts about two years.
- Eye liner pencils and eye shadows can last up to three years.
- Put a small circular label on the product when you open it and jot down the date with a permanent marker so you can keep track of how long you’ve had it.
Storage Recommendations
- Store items with like things grouped together: cosmetics, skin care or hair care.
- Use plastic containers, not glass or porcelain, to avoid shards if broken.
- Consider a shower caddy that rests in the corner or hangs from the shower head. Stores such as Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond have many good options.
- Racks that fit over cabinet doors can maximize your storage space.
- Use drawer dividers to corral smaller items.
- Rubbermaid’s Bento Boxes offer you changeable dividers inside.
- Measure your space before you buy any storage containers!
Rachel M. Gambone is the owner of ReOrganize with Rachel, LLC. In addition to general home organizing, she specializes in helping you organize your office, papers and digital information. Her signature approach is positive organizing where she builds on your strengths, helps you find your treasures, and teaches you life-long organizing skills. See more organizing tips and a link to her free podcast at reorganizewithrachel.com.
