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How often do you declutter your makeup stash?

If I’m very good, every six months or so. I also go through as I put newly acquired things away and try to get rid of things before they make it to long-term storage!

— Christine

41 Comments

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Marie-Estelle Avatar

I don’t declutter on a regular basis but I noticed I tend to do it when I reorganise my drawers. Which I do when it start getting messy and frustrating to go through daily.

That being said it is extremely difficult to get rid of an item. So far I only succeeded with products which would make someone else happy or products I wouldn’t give to my worse enemy!

Astrild Avatar

I’ve never done a proper declutter of my makeup collection. I usually change the organization every six months (at the beginning of autumn and spring) because I change the products I use for that season. Then, I check some things like lipsticks or cream products to trash the ones that are gone bad. Other than that, one in a while I check one kind of products randomly (eye pencils, jumbos, etc) but it’s hard for me to declutter products that are in good conditions.

Aj Avatar

About 3 – 4 times a year, around the time a new season begins I make time that week to declutter my stash. Even getting rid of at least a product or 2 makes me feel good.
I do better with decluttering my nail polish stash honestly.

Debbie Avatar

It’s an ongoing process. I tend to do superfluous declutters on a monthly basis with a good declutter every three months. On or about January 2nd I do a physical inventory of my stock and place items into the next rotation for panning for the year.

Susan Avatar

About every 3 months, when the season changes. I don’t feel this is how it “should” be done, but it’s part of my ritual of welcoming the new season. I also put out seasonal scented candles, etc. around the same time.

With my nail polish stash, which got totally out of hand, I do a big purge once a year late in the spring and donate a big box of it to the children’s camp where I volunteer. The kids and counselors get a big kick out of playing with the various colors and finishes (and I’m happy to report that in the last year or two, a lot more boys and adult male counselors are wearing polish; it’s so cute to see little girls painting a big guy’s fingernails glitter pink for fun).

CoastalCali Avatar

Ok, I really don’t declutter it much. I used to buy more impulse makeup, esp. lipsticks. (Always on the quest for the perfect lipstick!!) I found that when I got rid of a fail, months or years later it would come back on my radar and I’d think “oh, I should have tried that more” or “maybe it just needed liner” or “now I wish I had a brighter pink like that one”. So, I keep all the stuff I would otherwise declutter, in big zip locks in a bottom drawer. When the urge strikes, I go through them and pull out stuff to play with. Mostly lipsticks, glosses, but some eyeshadow, …. oh, and all wrong-color foundations, I never want to re-buy a bad color just because I forgot it didn’t work, or think it might work now.

Matilda Avatar

That’s genius! Decluttering without tossing out something you later on wish you had saved. I have to keep this in mind next time my lipstick collection grows unmanageable.

Pearl Avatar

New Years and June-ish. It’s gotten easier now that I’ve done it a few times and (now) have everything organized. The first time some years ago was difficult. Years and years and years of unused or forgotten things, and in de-cluttering I’d seen how much I accumulated but hadn’t used. So the guilt was there, and then I’d get everything out and have a hard time tossing anything because I couldn’t remember what else I had and having to sort through everything and just . . . quit because it was too much clutter and I couldn’t handle the mess. It’d take me the whole weekend because I’d have to do it in stages. I’d remember when I bought things and what was going on in my life and then I’d get all nostalgic and sentimental and keep everything and back in the tubs and baskets it would go and I’d be back at square one again. Short story long, I’ve curated, organized and I keep a ???/donate/possible discard bin in my top dresser drawer. When I shop my stash for a look to wear, I’ll invariably come across something I haven’t worn or I’m iffy about and I just pop it in the bin for the next purge. Instead of having to haul out everything and make a mess, I just pull the bin out. It takes me 10 minutes to sort through a little tub instead of a whole weekend with everything strewn about and falling down a rabbit hole. Sometimes things make it back into the stash but mostly they are donated/given away/tossed.

Alice Avatar

Once or twice a year usually. I go through everything like clothes, skin care & makeup, paperwork, books, art supplies, etc.

Right now we’re in hardcore “get rid of as much as possible” mode, because in the spring we’ll be moving from our fairly large house into a much smaller townhouse, so we need to clear out and pare down all the clutter we’ve acquired in the past 8 years. (man I am going to miss my entire wall of built-in bookshelves)

Anne Avatar

I usually do it about two weeks before the Sephora spring and fall sales. I want to see what I already have and what I really need to order. In the process, I usually find a couple of things to toss. I wish I were better when it came to my samples, though. I have a hefty collection, and they always include a few that I had intended to try as soon as I got them. Or worse, I find a total surprise — something I was so interested in that I was going to get a sample of in the store! Yikes!

Diana Avatar

I personally have a minimal make-up collection, with the rule of `1-of-each` product/color, so I don’t actually need to declutter as others.
I also track expiration dates, so if I don’t finish a product by then, I throw it. This mostly happens with eye and lip pencils, lipstick, eye primers, eye shadows. I replace my mascara and liners every 3 months, since I use only one.

Lea Avatar

I would say I tend to reorganize more than de-clutter, though de-cluttering happens as part of the organization process. That happens every quarter or so, depending on whether or not it’s necessary to do it more often. Keeping everything organized helps ensure that I can reach things easier when getting ready in the morning and remind of shades I have but haven’t grabbed for in a while.

Dianne Avatar

Either once every two weeks or when I add something new. I know that’s super frequent but I’m also the girl who completely cleans out her handbag every single night! Lol

Anne Avatar

I used to do it often, either at a minimum seasonally (I get “spring cleaning” vibes whenever the weather changes) or having a “1 product in, 1 product out” policy. Now that my health is nonexistent, it’s more difficult as I don’t wear makeup as much, so, like cleaning out my closet, it’s hard to figure out what I will use, if I will ever be able to use it again, etc. So mostly lately it’s been a “wait and see” and cleaning out expired products only.

Alexandra Avatar

I pretty much never decluttered my stash, I used to quite a bit but I started developing weird attachments to products, so only when I REALLY need to. I did the other day just because I was a bit overwhelmed and outgrew my storage, but that’s pretty much it. I also try to declutter around the holidays (usually early December) just because I know there will be a lot more incoming, but I don’t think I will this year because I have already decluttered somewhere around 80 products this month, let alone all of the deported shadows I got rid of.

Deborah Avatar

I don’t have a set period of time but I try to do it as new things come in. If I notice I am not wearing a particular product or it hasn’t performed like I wanted, then I give it away
or throw it away.

Genevieve Avatar

Not nearly enough! It’s really only my lipsticks, eye shadow quads, quints and palettes. The rest of my beauty products: blush, mascara, brow kit, highlighter and setting powders I have one of and use them up before I buy another. I do declutter my lipsticks more often.

Denise Avatar

I try, I really,really do. But the end result is I can’t give it up. I will take those products that I haven’t used in a few months and put them away in another make-up case. When my granddaughters come over, they know where I keep the so called “fun” make-up and they play with it. Yes, they do get to take some of it home. But I will say that if its like mascara, eyeliners or the product has a funky odor, I toss it.

Bon Bon Avatar

I’m horrible. I have baskets and makeup cases with bookoodles of product in them. When I fancy something new I make room in my primary makeup bag and move old stuff to one of the others. Not a hoarder, just have seperation anxiety with my makeup…lol.

Flaky Avatar

I declutter a little bit every week. I’ve been doing a “brand of the week” project this year. I round up what I have from the brand I’m on for the week & make an effort to incorporate those things. At the end of the week, I declutter anything I really feel doesn’t cut it for me.

It’s been a fun way to rotate my collection & I plan to continue on next week.

Silvia Avatar

Usually for Summer and Winter I just rotate colors and products around. I organize more than declutter. I move towards the back of my Ikea cabinet shelve the lighter Summer colors and bring to the front the darker ones. I love to keep my stash organized and as clean and pretty as can be. I have a hard time letting go of makeup but if a blush is too dry or a lipstick begins smelly oily or texture is not great I donate. I find much easier to declutter my. Loser from dresses, shirts, skirts, blouses, etc. than my ❤️beauty stash! Lol! Shoes are another I have a hard time letting go. Live makeup and shoes! Lol!

Jenny G Avatar

I really love makeup. I thought I was a colector but no, I just love it. So I see my stash full of things that I didn’t really enjoy for some reason. Now I declutter every 6 months or every season changing and I try to use up everything I have! I’m in a declutter and no buy vibe (I only buy a thing if I’m out of it or if I don’t have something similar).

Dianne Avatar

About 3/4 of my collection is right at my makeup table at any given time (with the exception of off-season cheek, lip, and some base products that I switch out seasonally) so my collection is pretty streamlined and tailored. I don’t keep things I don’t like and I am not that impulsive when it comes to purchasing (thanks in large part to Christine!), so I don’t have to make an effort of decluttering very often. If I notice that I haven’t reached for a product in quite a while, I toss it into a bag of products to bring to family gatherings that I keep in one of my drawers.

Mo Merrell Avatar

I have space for just the right amount of makeup if I have to buy a new container I have too much so I pick out the items I rarely use or are almost gone or have had more than 2 yrs and those are the firsts to go. I give the colors that doesn’t work for me to my friends who don’t buy as much as I do if not to them they I toss out and make room for the new items.

I also try to buy for longevity versus fad/popular unless it’s a holiday set that I want.

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