Spring Clean Your Makeup Stash Better Than Marie Kondo — Here’s How

As a self-proclaimed makeup and skin-care hoarder, I’ve learned a thing or two throughout the years about organizing my stash. And with my insane inventory of products (which only keeps ever growing since I’ve become a beauty editor), every so often, I need to purge and clean out things that fall to the back of my drawers and shelves. Ahead, I’ve rounded up some tips and tricks to make your skin-care spring cleaning go a lot quicker. Trust me, you’ll  feel like Marie Kondo in no time.

1. If You Don’t Use It, Toss It

The hardest part of cleaning out a skin-care stash is knowing what to throw out. My rule of thumb? If you don’t use it — toss it. Sure, we all have the products we don’t reach for everyday, (cue that Byredo body lotion or Skinceuticals H.A Intensifier) but if there’s some bottle you find yourself literally never touching, kiss it goodbye. Every two to four months, try purging the products you didn’t use, and you’ll find that your collection will become a lot less cluttered.

2. If It’s Not Empty, Gift It

On that note, I don’t recommend throwing out a product that you don’t use that’s nearly full to the brim (and not expired!). Instead, gift it to a fellow beauty lover — your mom, your grandma, etc. Better yet, there are organizations like the Beauty Bus Foundation or Project Beauty Share that will collect gently used products for hospital patients, homeless shelters and for women in need. You can also reach out to your local shelter to see if they are looking to collect these products.

3. Color, Temp and Light Coordination Is Key

I got this little concept from my co-editor Marisa, who has a beautiful display of color coordinated beauty products in her collection. Following suit, I like to color coordinate my serums, moisturizers, masks and other treatments to make them easy to find on my shelves. My top shelf consists of all purple, pink and white products, and while the bottom has oranges, yellows, greens and blues. I make sure to keep my serums that are in dark bottles away from the sun and keep the temperature in my room on the colder side when I’m not at home.

4. Most-Used Products Go in Front

Perhaps the key of any stash organization is to make sure you’re keeping your most-used products at the front of your shelves. This makes it a lot easier to reach for what you need on a daily basis (especially when you have T-minus-ten minutes to get ready!). I also like to keep a few skin-care products that I always use out on my vanity for a little decoration and major convenience.

Now, go forth and Marie Kondo that collection — your skin will thank you later.

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