Toss Your Tired Products
Even ruthless purgers tend to hold on to lotions and potions for too long. But all items become less effective over time. Throw out anything that smells or looks funny or that you know is well past its prime. Many products have a “period after opening” label, a number followed by the letter M (shown). It indicates how many months the item is effective after opening. In general eye makeup is good for six months, foundation a year, and lipsticks two (but pay attention to preservative-free products, which typically degrade more quickly than others).
Use a Sticker Strategy
User the sticker strategy
For an easy way to track how long you’ve had a product, write the month and year when you first open it on a small sticker or a piece of masking tape and affix it to the bottom of the jar or tube. In time, if the item starts looking dicey, you can refer to this date to see if you’re in the clear or not. Then you can get back to remembering more important dates, like your mother’s birthday.
Most mornings, you need to fly out of the bathroom, so having everything readily available is key. Instead of rummaging through a dopp kit for your daily makeup, arrange everything on a small tray atop a counter. This way, you’ll have all your trusty implements at hand, just like a doctor. (And when you’re not using those items, stow the tray in a drawer.) Separate all other cosmetics by category (lip colors, shadows, blushes, etc.) and store them in containers that fit in the drawer. This will help you to see all your options at a glance―and encourage you to use them. Whether you repurpose pretty tins or purchase new boxes, they should be shallow enough so you can rest the daily-makeup tray on them and still shut the drawer.
Show the Disposables
So you can see when supplies are dwindling and know when it’s time to stock up, put everyday essentials, including cotton balls and swabs, in clear containers. Consider using any repurposed vessels or glass apothecary jars. Keep makeup brushes upright and accessible in a tumbler (as opposed to dusting up your drawers or makeup bag).
Daily skin-care essentials are best stored in the medicine cabinet for easy access at the sink and mirror. Stow the items you use only on an as-needed basis―summer sunblock, tampons, guest soaps―in a closet or a closed cabinet. To save money and cut down on waste and trips to the store, buy shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in bulk and store them here. Decant the products into smaller bottles for the shower and even tinier ones for traveling. (You can find small containers at drugstores and websites like organize.com.)
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