Marie Kondo got us all throwing our clothes on the bed and sorting through every book we own last year when her show premiered. Decluttering your life isn’t a new concept by any means. A quick search for “makeup declutter” on YouTube will bring you over 440 thousand results. There’s something so freeing about getting rid of the extra items in your life that you don’t need, don’t use, or don’t even like anymore and giving it a new home with someone who will appreciate it in a way you couldn’t before.
But if you’re here, you already know all of this. You’ve emptied out your pajama drawers, tossed out every sock that didn’t have a mate, and found that one library book you ended up paying for because it was stuffed so far under your bed that you couldn’t find it. You’ve decluttered everything, and you feel good as heck. So, what do I do now? Instead of leaving boxes of your decluttered items in the garage for the next three months, here’s how you can get those items out of your life and make use of your newly-decluttered home.
Host a swap with friends
If your friends have also been on the decluttering train, they probably have items they’d like to get out of their homes too. Make a cheese board, grab some $5 Trader Joe’s wine, and set out everything you want to get rid of. It’ll feel like you’re all going on a shopping spree, but it’s free!
Source: @chyism
Donate your makeup
While it might seem weird to donate something that’s used, there are so many ways to donate beauty products. Shelters are often taking foundations and basic makeup products that can be sanitized. Contact the local shelters in your area and see what they accept.
Project Beauty Share is an organization that accepts gently-used makeup items to donate to people who need them for job interviews, events, and just day-to-day life. Instead of throwing stuff out that you won’t use anymore (your summer foundation shade, perhaps!?), donating to Project Beauty Share is beyond easy and helps other people in the process. Makeup is a privilege; think about how happy it makes you to put your favorite products on every day. You could be giving that to someone else!
Obviously, you’ll have to throw out anything that’s old, but if you can give it to a close friend or family member, they might fall in love with products that just didn’t quite work for you.
Source: @brimoysa
Organize your closet (like actually)
It’s impossible to organize a closet when it’s filled to the brim with stuff you don’t even wear. Now that you have everything out that doesn’t work for you, actually get to work organizing your clothes and accessories. Whether you color code or organize by sleeve-length, there are so many ways to perform a closet overhaul.
Give everything a home
When you have all the extra stuff out, there should be a home for everything you own in your space. Find a special place for everything so you never have to worry about where stuff goes and where it is when you need to find it. This will also make cleaning your place so much easier because you’ll immediately know where everything goes!
Source: @briahammelinteriors
Stop buying back-up items
Now that you’ve gotten rid of everything, make it a point to stop buying back-ups! You don’t need five face cleansers and eight unopened mascaras and back-up white tees. Instead, focus on using the ones you absolutely love and repurchasing those (or trying something new!) when you’re done (or well, almost done). Back-ups can take up so much space (physically and mentally), and if you later decide you don’t even like something, it can be a waste of money.
Make a list of everything you own
This is kind of insane, but it’s helped so many people have a handle on everything they have so they don’t buy extras. Sometimes called an “inventory,” make a list of everything you own, from makeup to clothing and accessories to craft supplies to the funny holiday mugs your mom always buys you. I keep my inventory in a note on my phone, specifically for all of my clothes. It helps me when I’m shopping so much; if I find a top I love when I’m out but I don’t have any ideas of how to wear it, I’ll check my inventory to see what pants and skirts I have that I could wear it with. You’ll stop so many impulse purchases right in their tracks.