Everyone desires to look beautiful. I know I would like others to perceive me as beautiful and each of us is beautiful in many ways. However, apparently, enhancing our outward beauty is a multi-billion dollar business. The media is saturated with cosmetic ads of all kinds. As a result, many women have an overabundance of specialty items; from eye shadow, blushes, lipsticks, and facial creams. Women generally have so many items that using these beauty items becomes challenging as the clutter and disorganization becomes overwhelming. Our financial investment if underutilized and if something is not easily accessed, we purchase more to lessen the frustration. The by-product of our beauty enhancing products is clutter, toiletry chaos and waste.  Often, the items don’t work for us and then are kept in the back or bottom of a drawer creating more clutter and chaos.  It is time to deal with the most efficient use of our beauty resources and allow them to work to enhance our lives. These items are tools that you will use to ensure that you are improving your life each and every day. You will “get your money’s worth” from these items and making the investment in them work for you in positive ways. If you have an abundance of one particular items, then by using what you have now will save you money as you obviously have over-purchased. Now you won’t have to buy this item for a while and can focus on adding other beautiful items to enhance your life.  We are going to organize and capitalize on our investment, instead of allowing them to continue to just take up space. Some items may need to find another use or be purged but I will help you with how to use the majority and find solutions for those that don’t work for us.

Make-Up

The first step is to get that healthy beverage ready. Grab a notepad and pencil and whatever music you’d like (optional). Light a scented candle and get ready to begin another Transformational Organizational process to take control of clutter and enhance your inner and outer beauty. The goal here is to sort, categorize, and then make accessible the items we have invested in for the purpose of enhancing our lives. You will need to decide where you are going to house your make-up and other toiletries for ease of use and accessibility. A drawer, basket, decorative box or even a nice toolbox will work. The bottom line is that you have purchased these items to enhance your life and if they are not being utilized, they are not enhancing but creating stress and clutter. So let’s take care of it right now.

Take out all the items and put them on a flat surface. I either put a towel on the floor and spread them out there, or I take them to the bed with a towel underneath. Categorize these items by their use eye shadow, liner, lipstick, blushes, mascara, tools, brushes and miscellaneous. Facial creams, moisturizer, cleansers, tanning products, dental products, hair products and so on. Take all the brushes and wash them in warm water with a mild soap. If your brushes are natural hair brushes, be extra careful with these. I use a very mild soap, like Ivory and then rinse in white vinegar to restore the pH. Put all the brushes on a dry towel. If it is a sunny day and you have a place outdoors, put them in the sun to freshen and dry. You can also dry them with your hair dryer on the lowest/coolest setting.

Now assess the eye shadows, lipsticks and blushes. Separate the items that are almost gone and those that are almost new. The items that are almost gone will be the items we use first. We will use them until they are gone. That will help to reduce the clutter. Put them in a container by themselves for now. As for the items that are almost new, these can be put away until you have used up the other items. Back to the ones in between: If the items are too old, it is best to dispose of them for sanitary reasons.  If they are crumbly and creating a mess, you can either put the remainder in a small container to save them or you can dispose of them and lessen the mess. I have found it helpful to keep some of these items for use with touching up items such as my leather accessories. It is very difficult to find just the right shade of color for a purse or pair of shoes. If you need a touch up, make up can be the perfect fix. If it is just the right color, I mix it with a little clear shoe cream and apply it to the scratch or scuff mark. Let it sit for a bit to dry and then buff lightly. You can also spray the area with Model in a bottle or other make up fixative so that it doesn’t rub off. If you intend to use these later, put them in a ziptop bag for now and set aside. Foundation that is too light or two dark can be mixed with another shade to make it perfect for you. Here’s another suggestion: It is close to Halloween, you may want to consider having a pre-trick or treat face painting party. If you have loads of excess make-up, what better way than to invite several friends over and make-up the faces of small children before they go trick or treating. This is much safer than wearing a mask and uses up all excess make up. Plus, it is fun to connect with the smaller edition folks in your life. If it isn’t close to Halloween, then how about playing dress up with a combined tea party for all the little ladies in your life? This would be a good opportunity to use some of that china and tea items that you have tucked away in the cabinets. Get all glammed up and have tea and cookies with a niece, daughter, granddaughter or neighbor and her children. Have you thought about creating a make up kit for work, school or for your car if you are on the go much of your time. Grab a small purse from your accessories and put some of the extra make up in this to take to work, school or in the car. This way you don’t have to carry so many of these items in your purse. You can put a small cosmetic bag in your car for those times that you don’t have the time to run home after work before an evening event. Also, it saves gas if you don’t have to run home just to freshen up. You’ll always look and feel your best when you have a fresh face!

Back to the organization process: check your mascara. If it is over 6 months old, it is time to purchase new products. Mascara develops bacteria and after six months it is not safe to use this on your eyes. Write this on your list for focused shopping. If you aren’t attached to a particular brand, then grab your coupons to see if you can save some money on the purchase.

If you are storing your items in a drawer, then lay down a paper towel or other protective layer. This will help to keep things cleaner and more sanitary. Something economical and recyclable is better.

Now organize all your items so that they are easy to access and not over crowded. You can use drawer organizers or things that you have on hand to separate the categories. This makes them easy to find.

Make up brushes and sponges need to be washed. You can wash them in warm water with some mild soap to clean them. Then lay them on a soft, dry towel When the brushes are dry place them on a dry wash cloth or paper towel so that the air can circulate around them. My brush handles seem to need fixing so this is a good time to glue them in. You can use a hot glue gun or spray adhesive to secure the handles to your brush tips. To store them, you can also stand them, handle side down in a vase, glass, jar or whatever you have that will hold them.

Hair Products
Hair brushes can be washed just like the make up brushes. Organize your hair products the same way you did the make up. Sort those products that are almost empty and those that are almost full. The same protocol applies to these items as well. If it is almost empty, it will be the product to use until it is gone. Now put the items that are almost full or new where you store your extra items. If you are almost out of something that you use frequently, jot this down on your list for focused shopping with coupons if possible.

If you have deep treatment hair conditioner, use this on the days that you condition your hair according to our schedule. You can do this while you are working on another organizational task.

You should have already created a manicure/pedicure kit so those items have already been organized and are now useful.

Hair Accessories:

These items should be kept together and cleaned regularly. Brushes and combs can be washed in warm water with a mild soap added. Then rinse and let them air dry.

Dental Products:

Create a basket for your dental products. Follow the same protocol as we did the other categories. Teeth whitening products, dental floss, dental work specialty items can all be housed in a small box or container. When it is the day to whiten our teeth, you will have everything you need to devote that day to good dental health.  Check your tooth brush. These should be replaced frequently for better cleaning and better dental health.  Clean your toothbrushes weekly in a mixture of peroxide and water or use denture cleaning tablets. I found a small vase that I never used to keep Efferdent tablets in and once a week, when I am cleaning the bathroom, I clean the toothbrushes. Just throw a tablet in warm water and put the brushes in until the mixture turns clear. Then rinse. Dental flossing should be incorporated into your daily routine. This will help to prevent gum disease and reduce your time in the dentist’s chair not to mention saving on dental related expenses. If you need to purchase dental floss, or dental appliance helper such as bridge cleaners and the like, look for coupons for these items or stock up on a few extra when they are on sale.

Lotions and Bath items:

Sort your bath items using the same method. If you have many of these, you are not pampering yourself enough. Categorize and store these items just as we did the others.

Now that you are almost finished, this is a good time to soak in the tub. Draw yourself a warm bath and add some of the bath gel, salts or other bath items to the water. Refill your beverage, turn up the music and light a few candles. You can condition your hair, whiten your teeth and give your fingernails and toenails a good scrub with a cuticle brush. Relax!!! See how really easy this is?  You are using all those items that you have purchased to enhance your life and your sense of well being. When you have finished in the tub, dry off and moisturize your skin using some body lotion or oil that you have.

Fragrances:

Most ladies have several bottles of their favorite fragrances. I encourage you to wear lovely fragrances daily. If you aren’t going to use a particular fragrance, then use it to freshen other items such as fabrics, cars, luggage, purses, shoes, closets and drawers. The intention here is to utilize these items to enhance your life. If not for personal use, why not use it in another way. In this manner we are not wasting and instead we are capitalizing on our investment in these products.

If you have items that you absolutely will not be able to use, here are some other ideas as to what to do with them

• For new items that you choose to get rid of: think about your local homeless shelter or women’s shelter. These agencies usually can use these items.
• Put some items in a gym back for after workouts
• Make up a basket of new, unused items for a friend or family member. In a tough economy, everything one doesn’t have to buy is appreciated.
• Make an emergency kit for evacuation just-in-case.
• Ask your friends if they use the specific products
• Repurpose some items for other uses: body mist makes a great air freshener for coats, purses, cars, luggage, or spray on your pillows before going to bed.
• Small items can be used for traveling so that you don’t have to carry so much, particularly while commuting by air. Make up a small toiletry bag to grab and go.
• Similarly, you can also collect a few items to make a toiletry bag for your car. Hand lotion and perfume are extremely helpful to have in the car. Soften your hands while you are in traffic. Spray a bit of perfume on before a meeting and you will feel (and smell) better. Who knows! You may get that new job or promotion. Also, when you spray it while in the car, the mist helps to freshen your car simultaneously.
• Make an overnight bag for your children for those nights they have sleep-overs or go to visit Grandma and Grandpa.
• How about a bag of items for camping if you and your family enjoy camping?
• Perfumes can be used for purses, boots, cars, coats and clothing storage. Perfume is long lasting and works well for seasonal clothing or fabric storage.
• I often pick up new bottles of perfume at garage sales for 25 cents to a dollar. I keep small ones in the car for freshening and I keep a couple at work for when I need them. You can also put one or two in a gym bag or locker. Another suggestion is at the end of a winter season, spray your heavy coats and jackets before they are stored for the summer. Purses can be sprayed after use to keep them smelling nice for the next time.  Blankets and quilts can be sprayed lightly too.

Here are some other ideas to utilize somethings you most likely already have to beautify your use of toiletries.

• That pretty decanter that is in the back of your kitchen cabinet would make a lovely vessel for keeping mouthwash. Imagine getting up to such a spa-like experience as using a stunning decanter to rinse your mouth each morning.
• Purchase some pretty soap dispensers for your lotions. Place these throughout the house to keep your hands soft and young.

Now that you have everything organized and cleaned, develop a plan for keeping these items neat and organized. I clean my bathrooms on Mondays and clean and straighten all my toiletries during this cleaning session. I wash all make-up and hair brushes once a month during my “Big Cleaning Week.” Each week, I quickly take a mental inventory of what I have and what may need to be purchased to avoid the frustration of not having a necessary product on hand.

Now, each day, begin to systematically use these items to enhance your outer beauty. As you follow our beauty routines, you will begin to notice how wonderful you look and how purposeful these items are. You will also feel better about getting your money’s worth from these products and making your investment work for you. Lastly, you will save money by not over purchasing items that you don’t need and reduce the clutter that is holding you hostage in your own home.

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