Show Me Your Declutters!

[RGbrown]

I received an order today with four new lipsticks,

(Lancome L'Absolue Lacquer...I will never ever stop mentioning these every-dang-where 😄😍)

but had absolutely no room for them in my containers. While the thought "buy more containers" crossed my mind for a brief second, I quickly dismissed it as I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with too much stuff. I'd been pulling out one or two here and there, but today was the big reckoning!Sorry I didn't stage a better pic, but that's 55 lip items that are now gloriously gone from my stash!

This is only the stuff I pulled today; I have a small train case packed full of the other lippies (and some palettes) that I've been slowly pulling over the last couple of months. Do I still have more I could get rid of? Yeah, most likely...if I was on the fence, I erred on the side of keeping it rather than tossing. And I didn't swatch every single keeper to weed out similar shades, so there's probably still a good bit of overlap in my berry-heavy collection. But my oh my, I feel soooo much better now. I found not only things I had forgotten about, but things I really had no clue I even owned in the first place 🤣

So...do you have too much too? Ready to clear up some space and salvage a little sanity? Share your declutters with us; we wanna see it! 

[Samtian]

@makeitup305 Oh wow. That Charlotte Tilbury cover, I was so mad to miss out on that collection lol. 

[makeitup305]

@Samtian I ended up getting that from a Beautylish lucky bag. I think it was my first CT product. I hadn’t tried anything from her before then. It’s a pretty highlight but it just never did it for me. 

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 Great declutter! This is inspiring me to start... it's been a long time coming but I've been avoiding it like the plague.

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline many of these had been in my purgatory box several times so I couldn't put it off anymore. I still need to do lipsticks 😥

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 Some of my areas are overflowing with products that I literally never reach for but can't get rid of... it's a vicious cycle. 

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline I put stuff I don't use in a "purgatory box" on top of my vanity (instead of it living in a drawer) and try to incorporate products from the box into my makeup during the week. It helps me decide whether something is worth keeping (even if I don't use it all the time, I still like it) or whether I can live without it. Sometimes they live in the box for a long time, sometimes a single use helps me decide what to do with it.

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 That's actually a super great idea, maybe I'll incorporate my own purgatory box for the items that don't end up in the "must stay" or the decluttered pile. 🙂

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline hope that helps you out !

[danielledanielle]

@makeitup305   Seeing all of this finally helped me to get rid of my Naked 2 palette.  I'm nowhere near this level of declutter, but every little bit helps

I'm also oddly regretting getting rid of it.  But, only used it once in the last 🤷🏽‍♀️ years??

[makeitup305]

@danielledanielle I tend to feel guilty for spending money on something I didn’t use and that now is just going to waste. I try to pass on as much as possible but sometimes it’s just not possible. I’m trying to be more conscientious of purchases but I know I still overspend.

[danielledanielle]

@makeitup305 , I just made a second attempt at decluttering and was doing ok at first.  Some things I tossed were loved and used, but past their time.  Then I hit my collection of primers.. And the guilt hit.  I had a pity party for an hour. But, I don't feel bad now because honestly, I probably bought them at a deal, and at least got the serotonin boost.  Present self can always judge past mistakes.  The idea is to just improve next time, like you said, you're being more mindful now.

[makeitup305]

@danielledanielle primers and powders are something in my collection that I've learned the hard way not to buy for myself. I just never wear them. I think you're on track with the serotonin boost- a lot of times, the experience of having something new to try and experiment with is worth the product, even if it doesn't get used up. 

[caitbird]

It's been way too long since I did a beauty declutter, but when I was reorganizing my beauty collection recently I pulled out some stuff that was either very old, expired, or in a couple of cases I no longer use because I've replaced it with something better.

[Samtian]

@caitbird Ooh good job!!

[caitbird]

@Samtian  thank you! 💜

[itsfi]

Awesome @caitbird! Ahhh, reorganizing is always a nice time to go through and declutter your stash. I love that you’ve passed on items you’ve replaced with something you like more. I can tend to hoard still; need to work on that.

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thank you! I definitely have hoarding tendencies too, but I tried to reason with myself that I am just not going to reach for these products anymore, I am always going to choose the newer ones that I like better, so it was time to say goodbye!

[itsfi]

Excellent, excellent approach @caitbird! This year, I’ve really been finding myself sticking with, for the most part, products I really like and working my way through them, and not having too many products open at the same time. It’s been an approach I enjoy and have found to be fruitful. I wouldn’t say I’m a minimalist and I still hoard but it’s gotten much better, both the actual hoarding and reining in the instinct (?) to buy. Okay, well, that last piece is still a major work in progress but it has seen marked improvement. 😆 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  that's great, that sounds like a really healthy way to go about things! I am trying to work toward something closer to that as well. Right now I have so many open products at once and such a backlog of unopened products after that, it feels a bit overwhelming. There are only so many things I can actually use at once. I am going to try to do a skincare no buy for a while at least, until I can work through some of what I already have. It's definitely a work in progress! 😅

[itsfi]

@caitbird, the combination of chipping away at what you have and holding off on picking up other things, like a no buy, a low buy or even a lower buy (either across the board or for certain category of products) is realy helpful, at least for me. Putting a few of those things I want to work through as part a project pan has also worked really well for me. There are folks on the Pan It! - 2023 Challenge thread who have project pan items on a seasonal rotation. That's fun to see and a great idea for products that fit into your routine based on the season and also an excellent way to keep things fresh and with variety when it comes to panning. 

[makeitup305]

great job @caitbird !