I decided it was time to organize my makeup.     I should  add a disclaimer here that I am a bit of a minimalist when it comes to makeup.  I get by with as few basic elements of it as I can.  My husband told me one time that my “low maintenance”  style was one of the things that initially attracted him to me.  I don’t think he used the exact phrase “low  maintenance” but it was what he meant.  I’m not sure whether he said it just so I wouldn’t go out and buy a bunch of new makeup or whether he meant it but I prefer to think that he meant it.  So, if you are a lover of makeup with a huge collection of the stuff, this post probably isn’t for you.  However, would you please come over and give me a make-over sometime?  Remember I’m surrounded by boys pretty much all the time around here! 

My small stash of makeup fits in our bathroom medicine cabinet.  My shelf and a half were a mess!

I actually took this picture after I threw away to rather dated tubes of mascara that were also in the cabinet.

I actually took this picture after I threw away two rather dated tubes of mascara that were also in the cabinet.

I’ve actually been thinking about how I could sort the above mess out for about a week now.  The cabinet is not super deep so I didn’t want to go out and spend a lot of money on baskets that weren’t going to fit in there anyway.  Today I decided to go about organizing the makeup shelves as I put on my makeup so I could see what I was actually using and not using in the cabinet.  I threw the items I used in the bathroom sink as I went.  My bathroom sink wasn’t looking too pretty this morning (time to clean the bathroom!) so I opted to pull the items out and put them on the kitchen table (I cleaned it afterward) to show you what I did (and did not use). 

Here's my daily make-up if I decide to wear it. I usually don't wear mascara as I wear glasses and just don't really see the point.

Here’s my daily makeup if I decide to wear it. I usually don’t wear mascara as I wear glasses and just don’t really see the point. I’m not sure face cleanser counts but since I keep it in that cabinet, I counted it with my makeup.

 I then went through and threw out the rest that was either beyond a reasonable date or um, an empty container?

This looks useful?

This looks useful?

I then set about “shopping” in our house for containers to organize my small stash so it wouldn’t fall out every time I opened the medicine cabinet door.  I found an old toothbrush holder in the linen closet that was holding nothing but a ziplock full of safety-pins so I pulled that for the facial cleansers, moisturizer, and foundation. 

This old toothbrush holder will keep these tubes upright so they will be less likely to fall out of the cabinet.

This old toothbrush holder will keep these tubes upright so they will be less likely to fall out of the cabinet.

 Then, I started looking for something to hold everything else.  I tried using one of the Target Dollar Spot baskets from when I organized under the bathroom sink but thought it was too deep and I knew I wouldn’t like not being able to see my makeup in it.  I wanted a tray kind of like the ones I used when I organized our actual medicine cabinet but knew the dimensions on those would not match well with the small space dimensions of the bathroom cabinet.  I found inspiration in the unlikeliest of places:  the kitchen!  Do you know what happens when you think you will make all your family small loaves of some sort of quick bread for Christmas on December 24th?  My apologies to any family reading this because you already know that it isn’t that I delivered any freshly baked loaves of bread anywhere.  You end up with a stack of disposable bread pans bought at Walgreens with the best of intentions taking up space in the kitchen baking supplies cabinet.

Are you wondering what disposable Christmas bread pans have to do with make up?

Are you wondering what disposable Christmas bread pans have to do with makeup?

The lids to those pans were clear and just shallow enough that I could see my make-up! 

The chapstick isn't in the trays because I don't really like it. It's just a make-do thing until I can get something I do like.

The Chapstick isn’t in the trays because I don’t really like it. It’s just a make-do thing until I can get something I do like.

Ready to see everything all together in the cabinet? 

My make up is all organized and in order of use from right to left which just seemed to make more sense to me for this cabinet.

My makeup is all organized and in order of use from right to left which just seemed to make more sense to me for this cabinet.

How do you keep your makeup organized?

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Posted by in Organizing Attempts