I’ll be honest: I’m not the best at cleaning out my makeup drawer. It’s too easy to let old products pile up in the bathroom and forget about them, only to find them in a sad pile on the counter months later. But if you’re like me—or just looking for an excuse to get rid of some old stuff—here are four tips for easily cleaning out your makeup drawer, cabinet and shelves.
Create a “keep” pile.
- Create a “keep” pile. Sort out your products and keep the ones you regularly use, that you like the most, and that work best for you. For example, if all of your eyeliners are dry at the end of their life cycle, throw them away or donate them to someone else. The same goes for any other product that isn’t working for you anymore.
- Filter through your collection again until only one product is left in each category (lashes/brow tints/violet lipsticks) and then toss everything else—even if it looks fine! You never know what might be hiding inside those bottles.
- Put everything back together as neatly as possible in a storage container or bag, so it looks nice when someone sees it later on down the road.
Dump out each makeup product and check to see if it has expired when cleaning out your makeup drawer.
Before you get to the fun part of cleaning out your makeup drawer, take a look at the expiration dates on each one. You should have already done this when you brought home your new makeup stash—if not, it’s time to do so now. Ensure you’re using your products before they expire and throw away any past their prime.
Expiration dates vary depending on what kind of product it is: mascara will probably last longer than lipstick or foundation, for example. But chuck it if there’s anything in there that’s past its prime (and maybe even smells funny)! Keeping expired makeup around can cause breakouts or skin irritation because some ingredients in cosmetics may go bad over time and become harmful if used after their expiration date has passed.
Sort through your cosmetics by category.
Sorting your cosmetics by category will make cleaning out your makeup drawer more accessible and efficient. It’s also the best way to find things when you need them.
For example, if you have three eyeshadow palettes and twelve eyeshadows in tins, it makes sense to organize them together. If you have an eyeshadow palette with four shades of pink and one shade of green, that should go with your other palettes on their own—you don’t want these colors mixing up with other shades in another palette.
It’s important to stay organized as well when sorting through lipsticks or eyeliners; they’re often sold in large quantities at drugstores and department stores like Sephora or Ulta Beauty, so there’s always a ton of variety available! You might think it would be hard finding what you’re looking for amid all those options (and maybe even difficult to find any items at all), but here are some great tips:
Focus on cleaning up the area around the sink.
In addition to your collection of products, you’ll need a place to store them. You can use baskets, trays, makeup bags, and organizers to help contain everything (just make sure they’re washable). For larger pieces that don’t fit in containers—like brushes or sponges—consider placing them in an old pillowcase before storing them.
Also, remember: no matter how much you try to keep things orderly, it’s easy for things to get messy around the sink. To help prevent this from happening again (and again), keep the area tidy by organizing all your products according to type instead of just throwing everything onto one surface.
You know you want to get rid of old makeup; here are some tips for doing it!
You know you want to get rid of old makeup; here are some tips for cleaning out your makeup drawer.
- Clean out your products. Make sure you only have the items that work for you and your skin, then toss the rest. It’s a good idea to keep receipts or other proof of purchase if you’re planning on returning anything.
- Organize your new products. Place them in clear plastic containers with lids so they can be stacked or hung up on a wall organizer (like this one). If you prefer clear cases, get some dividers and label them with stickers so everything stays organized as long as possible—and then when they do start to go bad, they won’t take over every corner of your bathroom shelf!
- Keep track of what goes where. Don’t throw away any packaging from makeup until after using it once or twice—or at least until afterward if there’s any question about whether it’ll work for another time period (like mascara). Then recycle all those boxes into folders by type and brand name; store them somewhere where they won’t get wet but can still breathe (eg: not under the sink).
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of cleaning out your makeup drawer, try to take it one step at a time. You don’t need to do everything at once—just start with one category or type of product and then move on to the next. After you finish that first section, look back over what you did and see if there are any other areas where you could use some help (like cleaning up around your sink). Then repeat! If this sounds like too much work, for now, no worries: just keep a few tips in mind when shopping or using new products so they won’t go wrong before their time.
