When it comes to a big home clean out, we often think about the big areas first like our closets, kitchens, and pantries. But there’s one crucial area in your home that also needs spring cleaning, and it’s your beauty cabinets.
When’s the last time you gave the insides of your bathroom cabinets a good purge? If you can’t remember, then it’s time. Skin care and makeup products expire, hair collects in drawers, and if you’re anything like me, there are probably half a dozen snapped hair ties living somewhere amongst this area. Keep scrolling to see three steps to spring clean and organize your skin care and makeup collection.
How to Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine
Take Everything Out
Note Your Inventory
The first step to spring clean your beauty routine: make sure you have full visibility to what you own. Make sure you take everything out of your cabinets and drawers.
Toss Expired Items
Start with the easy stuff first and put anything that’s expired into a pile to toss. Then, start assess the rest.
Certain over the counter (OTC) products like acne treatments and sunscreens are required by the FDA to have expirations dates like food. Expired products won’t necessarily hurt you. But once an item is expired the active ingredient’s efficacy drops, and it may not work or protect you as it intended to.
For non-OTC items, look for an illustration of a little jar with a number/letter combo near it (like 3M, 6M, 12M, and so on). This is the “period after opening” range and indicates how many months a beauty product stays fresh once it’s, well, opened.
If you can’t remember the last time you used a product, or it looks/smells different than when you bought it, it’s time to toss it.
Check for Other Things That Need Replacing
While you spring clean your skin care and makeup, be sure you also check any brushes and tools that may need replacing. Take an inventory or what looks overly worn, what needs batteries or charging, and/or what you don’t use.
Keep or toss as needed, then make a list of what you need to repurchase or replace.
Deep Clean Your Area
Once you’ve gotten rid of any excess beauty items, it’s time for the actual cleaning process of your drawers, cabinets, and storage bins.
Clean Your Tools
Makeup brushes can gather a ton of bacteria over time, and are a huge culprit when it comes to breakouts. Take the time to properly deep clean your makeup brushes as a re-starting point for your future self. Resolve to clean them regularly. Not only will this keep breakouts from dirty brushes at bay, makeup brushes last longer when properly cared for.
I love this makeup brush cleanser; I squeeze a little of it onto my makeup brushes, then massage the bristles with warm water, and rinse.
Wipe and Disinfect Your Space
With everything out of their drawers and cabinets, it’s he perfect opportunity to wipe everything down, just as you might spring clean another section in your home. Disinfect surfaces with cleaning spray , and vacuum out excess hair from any drawers.
While you’re at it, be sure to sanitize your makeup bag if you have one. If it’s too dirty to clean, it’s time to buy a new one.
Reorganize
The last step to spring clean your beauty routine is to, of course, organize it.
Invest in Storage
If you don’t already have clear organizers, it’s time to purchase some. Make sure you measure your drawers and cabinet interiors so you purchase the right size storage, and take into account any obstacles like pipes.
I use these clear bins from The Container Store for under my sink because I can see exactly what’s inside each one. They come in a variety of sizes, but ultimately get what works for you. The cabinet space under my sink is for skin care and hair styling products.
For my makeup drawer, I like to use a divided tray like this to segment out different products for face, eyes, lips, etc. For taller items like pencils and mascara, I use this acrylic toothbrush holder so that the items stand up straight.
Detangle Cords
When I see a bunch of mangled cords in a drawer, I get majorly stressed. I use Gear Ties, reusable rubber twist ties, to keep hair tool cords in check.
Organize for Function, Not Aesthetic
While a color-coordinated shelfie makes for an Instagram-worthy photo, I personally don’t think it’s the most functional way to organize your products. Organize your beauty routine for practicality, not for photos. There, I said it.
Store what you reach for the most or daily in the most accessible space. This could mean the lower shelf of a medicine cabinet or in a waist-level drawer.
For items you use less frequently (weekly or monthly), tuck those away higher up, further back, or in a lower drawer.
For my skin care products, I have a clear bin with taller products like face wash or moisturizer and other bin for shorter products like serums and oils. The shorter items go in front so that they don’t get lost behind the taller stuff. I have to split up my makeup into two drawers, so I keep everything that I use for daily makeup in the top drawer, and all my lipsticks in the bottom drawer.
Like these organization tips to spring clean your beauty routine? Want more home organizing tips? Then check out this post on pantry organization or this post on how to organize a small kitchen.
