I absolutely LOVE going through my beauty stash and play around with it, re-organising, re-discovering and, yeah, I’m a weirdo – just looking at it. I personally find it very soothing, which is a feeling I guess we’re all looking for these days. So why not do a quick beauty stash spring clean?
Now I’m not overly productive during lockdown – I’m not one of those people learning a new language or taking up ballroom dancing or painting the living room. Heck, I didn’t even clean my windows (it’s been on my to do list since 2019). I also don’t think you have to.
This time sucks, you’re allowed to grieve and wallow and miss all the things you can’t do right now. Eat all the ice cream! Watch all of Netflix! There’s no right or wrong to do this. Get through it with your sanity intact, and I’ll call that a win.
If you, though, feel like you want to distract you and do something beauty related at the same time, why not join me while I sort out my stash?
1. Step: Organise!
Easy: all those products lying around and all the products you just crammed into some space to get them out of the way: start to tidy them up, re-organise and sort through everything to check if something has gone off. To do that, I usually take out everything from one product category, sort through it (we have various posts on how to organise your stash) and after that clean the space where it goes.
I might start with eye products, check if any of them have gone off or dried out (noooooooooo – but there’s a solution!) and clean the drawer where they usually live. IF I feel super fancy, I might sharpen all pencils and give products that’re always lying around a quick wipe down (I never disinfect my makeup products as I’m the only one using them). It’s rather obvious, though, that if something feels, smells or looks wrong it’s time to discard it, isn’t it?!
Next, I go to lip products, cheek products and so on and so forth.
2. Step: Clean!
Dishwashing liquid for the win. Just saying. Its soapy powers are great to clean off grease from makeup products that may have accumulated somewhere (fyi: even on your clothes!), and it’s still gentle enough for most surfaces.
Muji or similar acrylic storage systems
Whatever you do, do NOT use alcohol on any acrylic storage boxes (I own this and this from Muji). You can clean them just fine with dishwashing liquid. Make sure to dry them with a soft towel. Don’t use microfiber cloths on them as they produce tiny scratches that’ll dull the shine and transparency after a while.
Ikea drawers
Ikea uses plywood, mostly, and you’ll want to make sure that you won’t get that dripping wet as the plywood may soak up moisture and swell up. Use a damp cloth and towel dry.
(Cardboard) Boxes
Hey, no shame if you store your beauty stash in boxes (either bought or um, Sephora gift boxes – like I do). Give them a good dusting or, if you’ve got a small handheld vacuum, just hoover the dust etc. away!
Plastic drawer inserts
Pop them into the dishwasher, or take them to the bathroom to your tub or shower and clean all of them in some sort of soapy (I use, you guessed it, dishwashing liquid) water.
Jars/glasses
In my case, that’s where my brushes and pencils live. Depending on what they are, they can go into the dishwasher. I mainly use repurposed candle jars that I just clean carefully with some soapy water, because some of them have stick-on decorations. Again, acrylic jars should be gently cleaned by hand (dishwashers can get too hot, and also they scratch really easily.)
Mirrors
I love microfiber cloths for cleaning mirrors. Clean with a damp one, dry with a towel, done. Otherwise, window cleaner works well for them as well.
Perfume bottles
Mine live on a tray in my bedroom, and I just dust them regularly. Done.
3. Step: Clean your tools!
Obvious, sure, but make sure you clean all your tools, from the ones you use daily (sponges and brushes that I always use with an all-purpose soap like Dr. Bronner’s) and the ones you rarely use or rarely clean. Disinfect (yes, with alcohol!) your tweezers and scissors, and clean your eyelash curler!
4. Step: Display!
Depending on your space and whether you have a vanity area or not, why not displaying some really cool products so you can always admire them? Also: if you’re struggling using all of your stash, I can recommend a box/tray with products you want to use more and switching them regularly.
Congrats, your stash is now cleaned and sorted! Enjoy!
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