Minimalist Monday: Updated KonMari Drawers & Tidying Up Q&A

It's been about a year since I first purged my clothing according to the KonMari method and I thought we were due for an update. You can click here to see what my dresser looked like back in May, when I decided to document it for all of posterity, and some things have changed a little since then. I just finished another round of more intensive decluttering a few days ago (as a consequence of reading Marie Kondo's newly released second book, 'Spark Joy' - would you like a separate book review?), so again I'm all fired up on the subject and full of different insights. I had this idea of doing this post as a Q&A - not that anyone has actually asked me these questions, though just for clarity's sake, this format may be easier to follow. But first things first.

The basic organization of my drawers hasn't changed all that much in a year's time - except that I now own even less clothing, so I've shifted stuff to make the drawers look fuller, but not stuffed. I'm not showing you my underwear drawer, but I have arranged all my bras the same way they stock drawers at Victoria's Secret, and I've put in a small divider for panties. I've made some room in my sock drawer so that I was able to fit in another box with my thights and stockings; I used to keep them in a separate bag deep in our closet, which made me never wear skirts or dresses in the cold season. The organization of this drawer makes a lot more sense now, and everything is easy to grab in the morning.

I also culled even more tops from my t-shirt drawer and thus decided to transfer my pjs into it as well - I keep sleeveless and short sleeve tops on the left, long sleeves in the middle, pjs and camisoles on the right. I have also recently color-coordinated them, keeping lighter colors in the front and darks in the back, and while I felt quite silly doing so, it does make the drawer look a lot prettier.

My sweater and scarf drawer has changed the least - I gave away a few more scarves and decided to store my belts in that free space (top right of the photo), but it's nearly the same.

The second drawer from the bottom, which used to house my sportswear and pajamas, now contains... some empty storage boxes and a basket. Sure, there's plenty of things other than clothing I could store in it now - back-up skincare, nail polishes, or purses - but for now, I'm happy with having that one empty drawer. I don't recall ever having an empty drawer, and it feels luxurious and full of possibilities.

Lastly, the bottom drawer contains jeans, pants, lounge leggings, and sportswear. This is my fullest drawer, and while I would like to have some more space in there, for now it's alright. I'm sure I'll find some more stuff to get rid of down the line... :) Now, for the Q&A part:

1. Have you rebounded?
If you've read 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up', you may remember that Marie boasted an absolute zero rebound rate after helping her clients tidy up their homes (although in her second book, she does admit that there is now one client - a participant in her TV show - who went back to their messy ways). I was personally extremely skeptical about that perfect score; how many times have you discarded unloved items and reorganized your drawers only to find them reverting to their cluttered selves only a couple weeks later?

However, this time I must have done something differently - I can honestly say that since my large tidying up session a year ago, I have kept probably about 90% of my possessions organized and clutter-free. I still struggle with some trouble spots; leaving dishes in the kitchen sink instead of putting them directly into the dishwasher, amassing piles of mail in the doorway, draping clothes over chairs; but all in all, my home remains quite neat and tidy.

2. Have you replaced the discarded items with new things?
Generally speaking, no, I haven't. I've decided to upgrade a few things - mostly cooking utensils, some basic layering tops - but I haven't been shopping much at all. It's been one of the things I've been very conscious of, because I really didn't want to fill all those carefully organized drawers with stuff again, and I wanted to prove to myself that all the extra things I used to own were just that - extraneous. And it worked.

3. Why did you need to do another round of decluttering? Shouldn't you have done it just once and for all, in 'one fell swoop', like in the KonMari method?
Well, yes, if I was following Marie's advice more closely, I definitely should have been able to do just one big decluttering marathon and be done with it ever since. HOWEVER. When I first purged our stuff before moving to our current apartment, I got rid of a lot of stuff, but I did not get rid of everything that didn't 'spark joy'. Things that I was hesitant about, things that I've had 'just in case', things I wasn't crazy about that I had bought or been given not too long ago - I kept all of it at that point. Why?

Bags of stuff we donated to Goodwill on Saturday: mostly clothing, books, some kitchen stuff.

Because I felt too guilty and/or scared to donate them at the time. Deep down I knew they were probably things I wouldn't be using, but I just couldn't part with them at that point. Which is why I've been decluttering in smaller increments since, and just completed a somewhat bigger declutter a few days ago - I keep getting better and better at discerning what I love and find useful and what just sits there with absolutely no purpose. I've gotten rid of a mixologist set we got as a wedding present (we love making cocktails at home but for whatever reason, this set contained tools we've never found a need for - a special knife for slicing citrus fruit, anyone?), our spare snowboarding pants (like we need spares now that we go snowboarding once a year...), a whole lot of books we were never going to reread.

Another aspect is that as time goes on, our perspective may change, and consequently our enjoyment or our decisions about the usefulness of things, may change as well. I think I will probably now always be vigilant about weeding out clutter, and I'll continue to do a larger purging session about once a year. It just sounds reasonable to me.

4. Has your husband joined you in tidying up?
Uhm, I wish. I love my husband dearly, but a) he's not naturally a tidy person, b) he has a tendency for hoarding. What saves us from drowning in clutter is that I balance him out with my OCD of having everything neatly put away and organized, and the fact that he hates shopping in actual stores - although Amazon browsing is a danger zone. He doesn't see a problem in clothing sprawled on the floor, overstuffed closets, books no longer being able to fit in our bookcase - and when I ask 'Can we get rid of this?', he usually counters by 'But why?! It's perfectly fine!'.

So yes, dealing with my husband's things is a bit of a challenge, and instead of this being his problem alone if he can't find a specific pair of socks or can't put away his laundry in a drawer, the problem is purely mine - I do all the laundry and I put it away, I strive to keep our books tidy on the shelves, I despair over a full closet where I can't see anything. The gist of the issue is that I care, and he doesn't. I wish it were different, but it's not, and it's most likely not going to change. So.

All that being said, I haven't had to resort to secretly discarding his stuff, and we've so far avoided a huge argument over keeping or throwing away a particular T-shirt. Most of the time, I let it go. If I truly think some stuff needs to go, I'll ask nicely if I can donate it, and if he doesn't want me to, I'll ask nicely again. And again, lol. I think that he has started to realize that the space in our apartment is limited, and if he wants 10 new programming books, or a new bike, or a hiking jacket, something else needs to go.

5. Has tidying up your home brought more joy to your life?
Yes!!! Two main aspects have contributed to my feeling happier at home - firstly, my level of anxiety has gone down, and secondly, I've been more motivated and able to focus on other areas of my life that are important to me.

Seeing a cluttered living room and kitchen first thing in the morning definitely makes me feel grumpier and less energetic, and consequently I do NOT look foward to the day, regardless of what I have planned. But getting up and seeing all the things I love put away where they belong, or clean and uncluttered counters in the kitchen, makes me feel more peaceful, and optimistic, and grateful for the new day. Really, the difference is night and day - you should try it!

Those tidy kitchen counters, and an organized fridge well stocked with supplies for the week, also makes me more motivated to prepare tasty meals and try new recipes. We only eat out about once every two or three weeks, and I'm responsible for all the home cooking - I'm also quite passionate about eating well (I like good food, people), and about eating right (clean, unprocessed food, lots of full grains, lean proteins and veggies). This resposibility of planning and executing our meals every day can get boring and repetitive really fast, but having a clean, well designed space that's peaceful and inviting makes it feel so much less of a chore. I may show you our kitchen some time, if you're interested - but cooking has been much more pleasant and enjoyable once I've sorted our space out. I've even started baking some quick and easy desserts again. Who would have thought?

Alright, I think I've waxed lyrical about tidying for long enough now. I AM still planning to show you our small walk-in closets, and like I said, maybe some of our kitchen cupboards and drawers if you're curious. Have any of you been inspired to declutter or change your storage after reading Marie Kondo's book? I find looking at other people's closets and storage spaces absolutely fascinating - you can see a tour of Claire's lovely closet and drawers here - they look beautiful, don't you think?

Capsule Collection 2015 Progress Round-up and Goals for 2016

It's New Year's Eve tomorrow, so prime time I think for a (probably overly lengthy) round-up of this year's attempts towards a smaller, well edited beauty stash in general, and a make-up capsule collection in particular. I'm very happy to say that in 2015, I've made some really big strides in downsizing my collection, and it's brought me a great satisfaction to learn more about my make-up preferences, curb impulse purchasing, and really use what I already own and love.

So what exactly have I been doing to reduce my stash? I've already discussed my various strategies in other posts on this subject, but let's rehash. I believe the key to my progress this year has been what I like to call a three-pronged approach. Firstly, I have been decluttering my vanity and passing on products that are no longer favorites to family and friends. Secondly, I've been slowly but surely using things up via Project Make A Dent and Project 10 Pan. And thirdly, I have stuck to my low-buy of only purchasing two make-up items a month. Alright, let's elaborate on these three points.

2015 could easily be dubbed 'The Year of the Declutter' in the online beauty community, mostly thanks to the popularity of Marie Kondo's 'Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up' (my thoughts on the book can be found here). However, this year has not been my first year of decluttering my collection. I believe I actually started going through my make-up with a fine tooth comb back in 2013, pulling products aside and gathering them into small pouches to give to coworkers and some family members. I also got rid of quite a few items towards the end of 2014 (read my post here). In July of this year, I did another bigger purge (documented here) on top of constantly weeding out smaller things here and there.

Box of products to donate, currently housing 4 face mask sachets, 3 blushes, 1 powder and 5 lipsticks.

I've now permanently assigned a box for products to give away that I keep close to my vanity, so when I pull out something I have not used in a while and after a few days of wear decide I don't care for it anymore, it doesn't go back into my drawers. This is how I would like to keep decluttering from now on - not in a some big way, deliberating on every single product I own, but on a case-by-case basis, only when I realize there's something in my stash I could definitely live without.

This year, I've also finished or very nearly finished the highest number of products since I started collecting (hoarding?) make-up 6 years ago. I have just published my Project Make A Dent 2015 and Project 10 Pan 2015 finale (here); I'm getting rid of 19 products through both of those challenges. I realize that for some seasoned make-up panners, that's not a very significant amount, but for me, it's an achievement I'm quite proud of. On top of those 19, I have also used up a fair number of other make-up products that I've been including in my quaterly make-up posts: there's been a whole lot of mascaras and lip balms as well as some face primers.

Box of finished make-up products from my panning projects.

In both of these Projects, as well as my Project MAD in 2014, I focused mostly on some older items in my collection, and while I'm happy to have them out of the way, I think for next year, I should include a lot more newer items; the thought of them sitting in my vanity drawers unused, gathering dust, makes me a little anxious. If there's one thing that panning make-up has taught me, it's that you need to make sure you're including firm favorites in your Projects; otherwise, you're forcing yourself to use mediocre stuff while your best products are going to waste, stashed away for hypothetical future use.

Lastly, in 2015 I have been really sticking to my make-up low buy of purchasing only two new products a month, which I started three years ago (I elaborated more on my low buy progress throughout that time in this post, if you're curious). One of the strategies that helped me the most was writing down every single make-up purchase in a journal. This may sound silly, but looking at how much I already bought this year, all listed in one place, month by month, often deterred me from placing another order. According to my notes, I actually purchased 21 products this year, so I came in just a little under my allowance; one thing I wasn't sure how to count were make-up brushes and gifts - some of them I included in my final count, some of them I didn't. I also didn't count gifts with purchase, but there weren't very many of them this year.

To sum all of these efforts up, I have definitely succeeded in reducing the size of my beauty stash in 2015, while both enjoying what I already have and occasionally treating myself to a new acquisition. I feel good about my progress; I think I'm pretty close to achieving my perfect balance of sustainable consumerism, lol - or being a make-up fanatic without so much waste, if you will.

For 2016, I want to continue my path, but focus less on decluttering and more on using up what I own as well as buying less. I will be doing more Project Pans next year (introduction post coming soon!) to move products out of my ownership, and I've already announced my 2016 Skincare (face and body) No Buy over a month ago (read more about it here), which so far has been a success.

As far as my 2016 Make-up Low Buy, I had contemplated making it even more challenging by going down to just one make-up purchase allowed per month, but in the end, I decided I don't want to do that - I think it may already be quite difficult for me with my skincare and bodycare no buy thrown in the mix. The 2016 2-item allowance includes all cosmetic purchases, as well make-up brushes and nail polish. It doesn't account for gifts from friends and family, gifts with purchase and PR samples. Rolling unused buys forward is allowed but not encouraged (by which I mean that if I only purchase one thing one month, I am allowed three products the next, but I'll do my best not to do that). I think these rules are quite fair and should definitely be doable for me. I will also continue writing all my purchases down - I have also applied this strategy to clothing and accessories purchases this year, and it's been very helpful.

And that's it! I hope it was at least somewhat interesting for those of you who are also trying to reduce; I would love if you shared your progress and plans for 2016 in the comments, or shared little tricks and tacticts that made it easier for you to work on your goals. Have fun tomorrow at your New Year's Eve parties - we need to celebrate our downsizing achievements, after all!

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! In case you didn't know, today is the feast day of St. Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop with a reputation for secret gift-giving such as slipping coins into the boots of the poor. Growing up in Poland, I used to put my winter booties out for Saint Mikolaj on the night of December 5th, hoping to find toys in them the next morning (and yes, I would still get my bigger presents on Christmas Eve - it's a win win, am I right?). So I guess this little coincidence now allows me to shamelessly talk about the holidays with you and share what's been on my mind lately.

Christmas is my favorite holiday, like it is for probably 98% of Christians. I have a special fondness for things associated with it, and I'm not really apologetic about it - there's so much hate and sadness in our world that I can't help but feel grateful for those little joys Christmas usually brings me. Twinkling lights. The smell of cold and winter in the air. Baking shortbread star cookies. The feel of fir and spruce branches in my hands. Even the gaudy decorations and glittery baubles. It's fun!

But this year, I'm not really feeling it *shrugs*. I believe it's a whole combination of feelings I've been experiencing lately, and I wish that maybe by naming, stripping them bare and sending them out in the world like itinerant snowflakes, I can get rid of some of my Holiday blues. Shall we try?

Regardless of those superficial moments of festive joy I've mentioned above, Christmas is the happiest time of the year for me because of my family. As some of you may know, me and my husband emigrated to North America over 6 years ago, and all of our family and most of our friends live in Poland. We go home for the holidays every year, and due to my husband's limited time off work and the cost of airfare it's the only time of the year we travel to Poland (although most years, we also see our immediate family when they visit us here in the US during summer months).

At any rate - I don't know about you guys, but my family is pretty high on my life's priority list. This combined with how rarely we get to see them makes Christmas extra special for me. And I'm not saying this year I'm not excited and looking forward to being with our loved ones - but I guess this year more than in the past I feel that our time together is just so limited. Unfortunately, parting doesn't get easier with practice, and every year when time comes to say goodbye for another six months or more, I'm simply heartbroken. I can't seem to be able to shake that feeling this past couple of weeks, and I don't want to think about our Christmas trip's end before it's even begun, but that's precisely what I'm doing.

Another big factor that's been adding to my Christmas ennui is, well... excess. You've surely noticed I've been talking quite a bit about minimalism on the blog this year, not because it's trendy but because many of its ideas are really resonating with me. For someone wishing to simplify their life, the Holiday season seems to be all about things that you must have and that you must do. Shopping for gifts, and shopping holiday sales. Buying the tree and tree trinkets, decorating the house. Christmas party obligations and associated stresses - hair, outfit, hostess gifts. Cooking and baking up a storm. That's a lot of things we may feel forced to do, without reflecting on their value in our lives.

I would say that compared to a standard American family (if such a mythical beast even exists), me and my husband have always been pretty minimalist when it comes to celebrating the season - partly because we can easily simplify as we're spending the holiday overseas. We don't put up a Christmas tree; it'd be a shame to have it go to waste when we're not home for two weeks. I don't decorate our home much, because we live in a small apartment and don't have the space for all the extra stuff. We usually go to one semi-formal holiday party, and we don't keep a large circle of friends we would feel obligated to entertain. I don't even send out holiday cards. I'm the beauty blogger who stole Christmas, am I not?

Yet even the small number of Christmas preparations give me very ambivalent feels. On one hand, I feel incredibly grateful to have the means to purchase nice gifts for everyone in my family. But on the other... I kinda wish we would skip the whole gift exchange. There's 12 people on my list, no kids. It has somehow transpired over the years that I always buy more than one gift for each person - more like two or three. That's at least 30 (?!) different things I'm having to carefully plan and research, purchase in advance, transport in my check-in luggage to Poland, wrap and place under the tree. It takes a lot of time, effort and energy - and money, of course. But what worries me the most is that in the end, I'm really not sure how useful or enjoyable these presents will be for my recipients. As for me, when it comes to surprise gifts, I've come to feel more apprehensive than excited when it's time to open the boxes under the tree, because I HATE receiving unwanted things and feeling ungrateful and wasteful as a result. And for the things that I've requested from my wishlist... I could just as well purchase them myself, couldn't I? It's really starting to feel like the whole gift thing isn't really worth it - for me.

Before you judge me as a bit extreme, I should tell you that I do believe it's okay to live a little during the holiday season. I think we should be feeling thrilled about Christmas indulgences, precisely because they're not strictly necessary. It's so much fun to experience things that are over and beyond - that's what makes them extra special, and we're all very priviledged to have that. Maybe it doesn't sound very minimalist to say that anticipating excess can make us happier, but, well, it's true - and I think that as long as we don't make ourselves feel completely overwhelmed and stressed out, it's all good.

So how am I attempting to fight the blues and get into that Christmas spirit? Well, now that I'm 95% done with buying gifts, I did decide to go ahead and purchase a few new clothing items for myself during Cyber Monday sales (I've never shopped Black Friday in store, but I did work retail on Black Friday one year, and it wasn't pretty). Some pieces will replace somewhat worn out staples (a few warm long-sleeved tops, a set of pjs), some are just for fun (a casual jersey dress) - and I'm looking forward to wearing them during the Holidays.

I'd also been contemplating the best way to inject a little bit of Christmas decor into our place, and I was inspired partly by my mom, partly by my fall-themed pumpkin centerpiece shown here, to put together this little arrangement for our living room window sill - it's my version of decorating the mantelpiece when you don't own a fireplace. I decorate our window with fairy lights every December, but this year I shopped around and purchased a bunch of these fir? or spruce? branches for a whopping sum of $2 at a nearby florist. Greenpoint, I tell you - and speaking Polish to Polish shopkeepers doesn't hurt either :) The branches smell absolutely incredible, and since they're just, well, branches, they can be easily composted at the end of the season without having to store another thing in the closet. I laid them out on our sill, added some baubles I had in my stash from that one year we did put up a tree, and voila! A touch of minimalist Holiday cheer.

Other things on my list include baking festive cookies, listening to Ella Fitzgerald's holiday album (well, okay, I'm also partial to some Buble), typing out emails to friends all over the world I usually have trouble keeping in touch with, gorging on tangerines and maybe even watching a seasonal movie or two (please leave your favorites in the comments below!). I also borrowed an easy Christmassy read from my local library - they always set up seasonal displays for kids, but I guess this time they were nice enough to put together a little corner for adults too. Christmas-time mystery seems to be a thing, and I like it. So... are you guys feeling the Christmas spirit already, or are you trying to fight the blues like me? What are you looking forward to the most during the season? I'd love to hear from you!

Minimalist Monday: 3 Years Into My Low Buy and Plans for 2016

I've wanted to discuss something that's recently been on my mind a lot, namely my experiences with doing a make-up low-buy for three years now and my plans for 2016. Before we dive in, there's one thing I'd like to clarify: I'm not trying to advocate any minimalist agenda or forcefully attempt to convince you to change your habits in any way. If you're happy with your stash and your purchases, GREAT - I envy you, and you do you. The reason I'm stating the obvious (to me at least) is that I've recently come across this sentiment that some minimalism-leaning bloggers can come across as a bit militant in their opinions. I have no such intention - this is just a personal blog and I'm coming here to share MY feelings and struggles, and if it inspires someone to change something they've been uncomfortable with anyway, then that makes me really happy; but if not, that's okay too.

Alright, enough of boring disclaimers, let's get to it. Above is the main reason for this post - the contents of my back-up skincare drawer. That's right, it's all back-ups, meaning it's not even all of my skincare; the stuff I'm currently using is in my bathroom cabinet, which I'll show you an update on some other time. In my defense, very few products inside this bin are what I've purchased myself; probably 90% is gifts, gifts with purchase and press samples. But you see the problem, yes? YES?! It's freaking 15 pounds worth of skincare I'm not using, it's just sitting around, waiting for its prime. I don't need or want all that... so what to do?

In my first couple years of beauty obsessing and documenting it on the blog, I had set a loose monthly budget for myself in the amount of $50. It was supposed to include all 'fun' expenditures such as clothing and accessories as well as make-up, skincare, nail polish, you name it. It seemed reasonable at the time, and the amount was something I was comfortable with spending for non-essentials. Looking back on it now, I can honestly say that a beauty budget did NOT work for me. I wasn't very dilligent in tracking my expenses, meaning that I very often went over the $50, but the main problem is that it resulted in a proliferation of cheap thrills in my wardrobe and beauty stash. I'm not saying cheap to be offensive - I'm all for affordable things if they're good quality. Unfortunately, most of what I bought wasn't, and on top of that, I was soon overwhelmed with the amount of clothes and products in my possession.

Enter phase two, which was my beauty low-buy, introduced at the beginning of 2013 as a 'No Back-Ups Challenge' (read the original post here). I decided to give myself an allowance of two make-up products per month, without setting any budget goals, and work hard on using up all my extra products across several categories, mostly skincare. I'm not going to lie - it was VERY difficult at first. For someone used to popping into a drugstore 'just to see what's new', and usually leaving with a couple make-up toys in tow, having to thoroughly think through all my purchases, plan ahead and only get two out of the large pool of everything I fancied was hard. So I did stumble here and there, and definitely at the end of 2013 I had accumulated more than just 24 new make-up products, but I did make a large dent in my back-up stash, and it was a start (here are my thoughts at the end of the year). So I just stuck to the same low buy again in 2014, and added in another stash-reducing challenge via Project Make A Dent and various declutters. This time it went even better than the previous year; I was able to stick to my resolution more, and developped some strategies to help fight lemmings and urges to shop while learning to appreciate what I already had (final post for 2014 can be found here).

Now this year, I do think that my low-buy has really taken hold and taught me a valuable lesson. In 2015, I've been able not only to limit my purchases, but actually change my behavior and thought patterns when it comes to beauty shopping. I think I'll discuss my experience and strategies in more detail in a separate post next month, but I wanted to share my back story with you mostly to show you that in my case, it has truly been a slow evolution towards the ultimate goal of an edited capsule collection that makes me happy and grateful instead of causing anxiety and stress. It's definitely a loosely defined goal, and as such, the particulars of it keeping changing, namely towards even smaller and simpler stash.

But let's get back on track - if I've been such a pro at reducing and editing my stash, why that skincare back-up explosion, I hear you ask? Well, first off, it was actually worse than that in the past *gulp*. On top of that drawer, I had another drawer, and then a lot of products under the bathroom sink. In fact, I even had a hanging organizer on the bathroom door at one point because I had so much extra stuff. The organizer is now gone, and my bathroom cabinet currently houses just haircare and travel items, so this drawer plus what I've dubbed my 'soap box', pictured above, is all that I have left - and it would be much less than that if not for generous friends and PRs. But still, for me, the contents of those two containers are way more than I would like to keep on hand at any given time. Which is why for 2016, I decided to do go full throttle and introduce a complete SKINCARE (for the face AND body) NO BUY. It's like the ultimate challenge for a beauty junkie, am I right?

I think that this time, the challenge won't be so much in fighting lemmings because I feel that I've gotten pretty good at keeping myself in check. However, I may struggle a bit with not purchasing products that are more convenient to use than what I already have on hand for that purpose. For example, I'm not really loving bar soaps as much anymore - I got used to fancy shower gels now, and it's nicer to indulge in a scented body lotion than slather your limbs in a natural plant oil. I realize that in this scenario, many of you would just get rid of the surplus bar soaps & oils and happily purchase your favorites in their stead, but to me it feels wasteful and unnecessary. My other reason for attempting to use and use up these particular products is that they're more eco-friendly and sustainable, as well as less irritating for my sensitive skin. The second issue I'm foreseeing here is that like a true hoarder, I'm slightly worried about not having enough face cleansers or toners to last me an entire year. But you know what, I'm determined to make it work - I could just as well DIY a cleansing oil like Gummy, or try the Oil Cleansing Method again. I'll make do; as long as my skin is happy. If for any reason any of my back-up products turn out to harm my skin, I will pass them along and ultimately purchase a replacement if no more back-ups remain in my queue. Simple as that.

I will definitely document my progress with photos in a year's time, or sooner, if that turns out to be the case (ha! I wish). I would also like to point out that my no buy does not mean I won't be accepting press samples or gifts. While the influx of products for review consideration may seem to hinder my progress, this is a beauty blog after all, and I enjoy trying and reviewing products for you. I also very frequently pass things along to family and friends, and it makes me happy that I can give back and share great products in this way. But enough about me - do you guys have any stash-reducing plans for 2016? Have you ever attempted a beauty no buy? If so, what was your experience like?

Minimalist Monday: My Favorite Minimalist and Decluttering YouTubers

If you're toying with the idea of starting a more minimalist lifestyle and you're anything like me - meaning, full of questions, skeptical and a little cranky/ anxious about change - let me introduce you to seven amazing living and breathing humans who have walked that path before you and worked out all the kinks so that you don't have to. What makes these YouTube channels so special is that they're not just some mythical hero figures preaching about simple living; they're real people with very real lives who have made minimalism work for them, and they show you exactly how they do it. Seriously, how come you're not subscribed already?

Light by Coco
Coco is one of those 'aspirational' minimalists for me; she seems to have the whole thing down pat without any effort - you know, unlike some of us who keep dithering about keeping or donating that one high-waisted skirt for months on end. Subscribe to her channel for tips on traveling light with just a carry on, easy hair and make-up ideas, seasonal capsule collections and lookbooks, as well as practical tips for implementing minimalism into your own life, like dealing with reluctant family members or taking care of your reduced wardrobe to keep it in prime condition. Oh, and have I mentioned that Coco has an incredibly soothing voice, fantastic personal style and a lion's mane of beautiful curls? You know, just FYI.

Melissa Alexandria
Melissa's channel is quite unique in that she has incorporated minimalist (or essentialist, if you've read Greg McKeown's book) ideas into her entire life, including her work life (quit a 9-5 in order to pursue her passions and travel the world), her eating habits, her home, and yes, of course, her closet and make-up stash. She's an incredible source of information and inspiration for anyone interested in going minimalist. Among her videos, you'll find tips on frugal living and budgeting so that you can save your money for chasing after your dreams, tips for shopping for your capsule wardrobe, room tours, and my new favorite series on Inner Minimalism to help you change your thought patterns and work through some roadblocks.

Petite Pear Style
If there's one person who keeps it real, it's Leslie, no doubt. Leslie made the vow to simplify and declutter her life about two years ago, which is also when I first started to be interested in it. I feel a strong affinity with her: we both live in big cities (Leslie - Toronto, me: NYC), we're both beauty fanatics with make-up collections that sometimes feel like they could swallow us whole, we both live in small condo apartments with little storage (because you know, watching a vlogger declutter an entire 'beauty room' is not terribly helpful to someone who could barely fit a vanity table into her bedroom), and we both approach decluttering on a smaller, step-by-step project basis as opposed to burrowing into piles of belongings strewn on the floor for weeks (ekhm ekhm, Marie Kondo).

I also love that Leslie openly talks us through her decluttering process, which is especially helpful if you're convinced everything you own 'sparks joy', and shares her feelings about simplifying, which are not always pretty. Attempting a big declutter can feel very isolating as not many people talk about the negative emotions that tend to accompany it - guilt, regret, doubts, exhaustion. You'll find that Leslie addresses these feelings heads on in a very relatable way. She's also a great resource if you'd like to learn more about capsule wardrobes in general and Project 333 in particular; she offers a good starting point via her seasonal work/ conservative office capsules.

My Green Closet
What is it about minimalist YouTubers and superbly calming demeanors? It's like they've been zen their entire lives. Verena Erin shows a slightly different aspect to minimalist lifestyle as she focuses on eco and sustainable fashion, but she also discusses a lot of practical topics like fabric choice and care, researching clothing pieces for your capsules, as well as green and natural beauty products. I especially like her Project 333 videos; I appreciate that she follows her own style, which is quite a bit different from what we usually associate with minimalist clothing, and that she's not afraid to adapt Project 333 to suit her own needs.

The Daily Connnoisseur - Jennifer L. Scott
You may already know Jennifer if you've read her two popular Madame Chic books; and she has released her third book a couple weeks ago, 'Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic', which I have not read yet as I'm waiting for it to show up at my borough's library. Her books focus on a lot of topics that are close to minimalism, although I don't think Jennifer labels herself as being minimalist. Instead, she discusses her '10 Item Wardrobe' (another variant of a capsule wardrobe), the importance of taking care of one's appearance, cultivating creativity and appreciation for art, housekeeping, entertaining guests and many more.

Her YouTube channel (and blog!) focus on the same themes, and I appreciate Jennifer both for not being afraid to voice her opinions, and for showing us the practical application of the advice she presents in her books. It's one thing to publish a book extolling virtues of a minimalist closet, but it's another thing entirely to actually show your readers what your particular wardrobe consists of, including where everything was purchased from, how you like to style your outfits, what worked in a given season and what didn't. It's an easy starting point if you've been thinking about simplifying your life, but don't quite know how.

Christine Kobzeff (formerly Pink So Foxy)
If you remember Pink So Foxy, you must have been watching YouTube for a looong time. I actually only came across Christine's videos last year when I was researching various decluttering videos, and if you guys think the trend was started by Marie Kondo, just go check out Christine's videos. She's an example of someone who dramatically turned her lifestyle around to match new priorities and objectives. Formerly a 'beauty guru', Christine purged most of her belongings, including an extensive make-up collection and a bursting wardrobe, to pursue a simpler, bohemian-inspired life in Hawaii.

Watching Christine's videos now, you can't stop thinking that she's living the dream, selling handmade jewelry and blogging, traveling around the world, tending to her garden and raising monarch butterflies. If you're in need of some truly relaxing 'follow me around' videos, you should definitely check out her vlogs. Christine is also the queen of DIY, showing various tutorials for making your own drawer dividers, under the sink storage, furniture and much more. I just selfishly wish she posted videos more often!

Lavendaire
I haven't been watching Lavendaire for all that long, but I'm really impressed by her thoughtful videos, especially those on practical application of the KonMari method to declutter your home.
I believe Lavi is also an aspiring film maker, so all of her videos, including life advice, travel and tidying are beautifully shot and edited. And she really rocks that lavender hair, people!

I hope you'll find some new interesting channels to watch among my picks - and please let me know who your favorite minimalist YouTubers are, I'm always looking for new videos and clicking through links on my sidebar. Mind you, I haven't really included regular beauty vloggers who just happened to jump on the decluttering bandwagon, even though I also love watching those vids; instead, I wanted to showcase people who have committed to minimalism in a fuller and sustained way. I hope these seven channels help to boost your motivation to further simplify your life; I find them all very inspirational, especially when I waver and start giving in to temptation of bringing more stuff into my life :)

Simpler Living: Products I'd Like to Eliminate From My Routine

In my quest to reduce my beauty stash, I've been using and using up a lot of different products. So many, in fact, that lately I've started to feel a bit bored with my elaborate routine, and I'm over all those special products and treatments cluttering my bathroom and my vanity. If you've been reading Rocaille Writes for a while, you may remember that I wrote a similar post roughly a year and a half ago, but since then, I feel that I have even more products I'd like to add to my list of superfluous beauty stuff - skincare, haircare, make-up, all the works.

Starting with make-up, I've realized not so long ago that I really don't enjoy using liquid eyeliners. I know many of you are gasping in horror right now, but I just don't reach for them - case in point, that Wet n'Wild Mega Liner is all dried up now (why did I even have it in my drawer? Oh, right, I didn't know it had dried out, because I DON'T USE IT), and I kind of have to make myself use the LORAC Front of the Line Pro, reviewed here. I just prefer the convenience of a pencil (and yes, you can make a beautiful cat eye with a pencil liner!), or gel, if I really want that perfectly crisp look.

I'd to like to amend my previoust post here and say that while I'm still not using lip liners or eyelash curlers, I do sometimes reach for a face primer (although I haven't had to buy one in a long time as I keep getting deluxe samples with orders!), and I now use a highlighter (mostly powder) at least a couple times a week - but my skin has also gotten less oily and more even in texture, so they've become more fun to play with. I will however add one more product to my list of unnecessary steps: make-up setting sprays. Personally, the only benefit I get from using one is taking down an overly powdery finish on the face, and for that, I can easily replace it with a hydrating spray toner I already use in my skincare regimen.

In my skincare routine, I'd like to simplify by eliminating a daytime eye cream with SPF (plus, I just really don't like this Clarins SPF30 Sunscreen For Eyes one anymore - so thick and not nearly hydrating enough). I just don't think I need a separate eye cream for the day; I could just be using one eye cream both day and night, and make sure my facial sunscreen is not irritating and suitable to use around the eye area. And while we're on the topic of one cream for both mornings and evenings, I'd like to reduce my stash to just one face moisturizer too. I know that for some this may be unthinkable, and we've been told repeatedly (mostly by skincare companies) how our skin needs more nourishment and active ingredients at night, but I can take care of all the extra nourishment by adding in a face oil, and really, most moisturizers don't even have that many active ingredients compared to serums, which I have a few of to switch around according to my skin's current needs.

I also don't really use spot treatments anymore. To be perfectly honest, they've never worked all that well on my spots anyway, maybe with the exception of benzoyl peroxide treatments, but these too only work on a certain type of spot (usually small, clogged bumps on my forehead). I've also been getting less and less spots in general *fist pump*, so they're just not something I need to keep in my skincare regimen.

And lastly, I think the days of my using the Clarisonic are over. Maybe it's because I now have a much better face cleansing routine (using non-foaming milk/oil/balm cleansers and cleansing twice), I just don't really see the need for a Clarisonic anymore - if I feel like my skin may need a bit of a manual exfoliation, I choose one of my favorite scrubs instead. And, like mentioned above, I don't use foaming face washes anymore, which in my opinion work the best with those sonic brushes. I'll most likely send mine in a care package to my best friend, because I know she's been curious about the Clarisonic - I'm hoping maybe she'll get better use out of it.

For my hair, I'd like to do away with two products taking room in my shower: a clarifying shampoo and a hair mask. I've briefly mentioned in my 'What's In My Shower' post that I'm working on using these up, but never elaborated on the reasons for cutting these things out of my routine. It's very simple - I don't think my hair needs it. I have very fine, straight hair, and I find that a good volumizing shampoo cleans my hair well enough not to need a separate clarifier once in a couple weeks. I also feel like this absolute need for a clarifying shampoo is somewhat of a recent development; it almost seems like a marketing ploy designed to simply sell us more products, no? And at any rate, I've read multiple times that adding baking soda to your normal shampoo makes for a fabulous deep cleansing treatment, so I may try that instead of keeping yet another bottle on the shelf.

As for the hair mask, again - fine, flat hair. I generally don't suffer from very dry hair, maybe with the exception of my ends; but for that, I prefer to use a leave-in conditioner, which has an added benefit of helping to detangle the knots in my strands after I get out of the shower. In the same vein, I don't feel like I need to use hair oils either - the whole routine of doing a hair mask, then applying a little oil, then a detangling spray, then maybe a styling product to add volume... That's way too many steps for someone who isn't really all that into doing her hair. What can I say, it's just boring, and takes too much time as it is, without all the extra steps. However, if I do occasionally find the need to condition my hair a bit more, I'd prefer to just keep one universal plant oil to use everywhere, on my hair, face, and body - be it argan oil, jojoba, camellia, or a mix of a couple different ones.

And since I do already have quite a few of those nice base oils in my stash, I don't really need a cuticle butter either. My cuticles and fingertips in general are usually a dry, flaky mess, thanks to my eczema, but to be honest, I don't reach for my cuticle butter all that often anyway, maybe because I don't like the greasy fingers after applying it - and again, it's just another step I have to remember about. I'm fine with using my one universal oil on my cuticles too, or you know what, a good old lip balm works really well for that purpose too.

 Lastly, I don't want to own any fragrance mists, body splashes or however you want to call them. I just don't really see the point - if I want to smell nice, I'd just much rather reach for a perfume (eau de toilette/ eau de parfum) that will last a couple hours as opposed to this weak mist that will disappear within an hour or two. Even at home, I just can't be bothered to reapply; for now, I lightly use these before I head out to the gym to make myself feel a bit fresher in the morning. But yeah, in general, they're kinda pointless to me.

That's all I could think of right now - I'm sure there will be more products I'd like to add to this list as I continue making my way through my stash and learning to recognize my preferences a bit better. By the way, just to clarify: nearly all of the specific products I used to illustrate this post are GOOD products. Seriously, they do their job very well - which is why I'm not just tossing these things in the trash, but continuing to use them up. I'm just not going to replace them with another product of that type when they're finished - hopefully that makes sense. Also, if you're interested in different perspectives on simplifying beauty routines and what not, Liz has recently shared her list of stuff she doesn't use anymore, and Latoya has written a post about all the products she won't be buying for a while here. Do you guys also have a list of products you don't want to be repurchasing any longer? I'd love to know!

Minimalist Monday: So You've Decluttered All of Your Stuff... Now What?

Thank you guys so much for your encouraging words on my Minimalist Monday series - I really appreciate that, and your feedback gives me more ideas for future posts! That's exactly how this one was born: in part inspired by your comments, in part the result of my own reflections towards the process of achieving a simpler lifestyle.

The thought that has recurred the most in many of my conversations about purging and minimalism in general, and which has stuck in the back of my mind for the past couple of months, is that 'decluttering is just a trend'. Yes, if you're observing the whole phenomenon from the outside or have just dipped your toes into it by throwing out some old T-shirts, it seems to be exactly that - the Marie Kondo obsession, the whole series of make-up collection declutters on YouTube, popularity of Project Pans, blog sales; everyone is loving it at the moment. Everyone is throwing this out, everyone's reducing, everyone is simplifying... Or are they, really?

Here's what I think really happens to most us during the decluttering process, even with the best of intentions. You've either just finished reading 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' (here's my review, if you're curious about my thoughts), or have watched a bunch of 'beauty gurus' purge and reorganize their closets and make-up drawers - and now you can't wait to start your own 'journey' (yes, that's how it's being called these days; sounds better than 'getting rid of a bunch of crap', doesn't it?). Usually, it goes two ways from there: either you get completely overwhelmed by the task and only manage to tackle a very small space, if that; or, you do actually go through all of your closets, junk drawers, document folders, and yes, make-up collections, and get rid of quite a significant amount of stuff. Which camp are you in, by the way?

I'm firmly in the second camp - I did go slowly and carefully through most of my stuff, and got rid of (threw away/ gave away/ donated) A LOT of things. I would estimate at least 50% of my own clothes, 30% of my make-up stash (over a period of a couple years - I started well before decluttering became a trend), 20% of other things like documents and miscellanous things; this last category had the least amount of progress since it includes things I share with my husband, and he's still not very interested in getting rid of anything. It felt AMAZING - I was on a decluttering high. I could see visible changes to my drawers and cabinets, everything looked cleaner and more organized (look at the pretty rows of my vertically folded clothes! Yes, they still look that way), and I was able to rediscover so many beautiful things I've owned for years but wasn't using because all that other crap was obscuring it from view. It was magical, just like in KonMari's book.

Well, okay - but what do I do now? I feel that this is something that isn't really mentioned in the book at all; Marie simply states that once you go through the total, all encompassing purge, you will never want to go back to your old ways, and your home (and life) will remain clutter-free. But unfortunately, I don't believe it's all that simple.

If you think about how all those things you just got rid of made their way into your home in the first place, they were not just 'junk' to begin with. You bought them because you needed or wanted them, or they were generously given to you as a token of someone's love and caring. No one came in with a shovel and showered your space with trash - that's clearly not the source of the problem.

The heart of the problem is that we're part of a consumerist culture, and we've been brought up associating all kinds of important feelings with physical goods, thinking about them as status symbols, problem solvers, or happiness bearers. Oh, the stuff! Stuff is important. I need more stuff! I believe that if you do not take time to address those feelings, and if you don't try to change your attitude towards stuff, you'll be just facing the same clutter problem again and again over the course of your lifetime (how depressing). There won't be any 'life-changing magic' to your hard work in purging your closet; things will just slowly revert back to where you started.

But changing your attitudes and thought patterns is not easy, and it won't happen overnight. That's the not-so-fun part of attempting a more minimalist lifestyle that's rarely mentioned, much less executed, by all those trend-setters showing us their perfectly decluttered and reorganized spaces. Essentially, if you truly want to change your consumerist ways and lead a simpler lifestyle, you need to acquire MUCH less stuff in the future, on top of continued efforts to downsize what you already have.

This is precisely why I put in place my two make-up products a month allowance two years ago (I'm considering changing it to one product a month next year) and started documenting my empties and doing Projects Make A Dent/ Project Pan. This year, I've also started writing down a list of every make-up item and every piece of clothing/ accessories I buy, along with their prices. So far, I've resisted doing a complete inventory of my make-up/ nail polish/ skincare stash because I think I'll be too overwhelmed with the results, but it's a useful tool, and I may consider doing it at some point in the future.

And while all of these strategies are helpful in keeping me on track of my stuff-reducing goals, it is still not easy - I get tempted, like we all do. I continue to purchase unnecessary things that I'll probably regret later. I don't want you to think I'm some sort of minimalist lifestyle ideal - you should see my bathroom cabinet, or my skincare back-up drawer - and remember those 70 nail polish bottles still remaining in my collection, even after various purges? I'm still a beauty fantatic at heart, and I love trying new products and reviewing them on the blog, even though I know I don't actually NEED them. Simplifying your life is definitely a long process, difficult and mundane at times (you know, like actually trying to use up all those extraneous bottles of stuff instead of just pitching them in the trash...), and finding your personal balance between living with less and living a full life may take months. Or years. I fully recognize that.

What I'm trying to say is that making a lasting change is challenging, and it may not even be for everyone. If a mere thought of getting rid of your things is giving you the heebie-jeebies, or you've finished your declutter and you feel happy with where you are now, then good for you - you certainly don't need me to tell you what to do, you just do you. But if you still feel overwhelmed by what you own, or you feel stuck, not fully content but not knowing where to go next - just give yourself some time to think things through. I've found that my comfort levels keep changing all the time (specifically, I'm comfortable with simplifying more and more stuff in my life; just look how skeptical I was back in February...), and what you deem impossible right now may seem quite effortless in a couple months. Minimalism isn't some sort of trendy race or competition (and if you hail the benefits of your newly decluttered closet just to turn around and haul MORE stuff into your life, then you're clearly missing the point - hint hint, YouTube), and it doesn't help to compare yourself to other people - just do it at your own pace, with your own set of rules.

I do my best to try and enjoy it despite the difficulties - like coming up with new ways of simplifying my life (for example, recently when I needed a new suitcase for international travel, I intentionally bought a smaller one to practice more efficient and minimalist packing - or trying to decide which personal care products in my bathroom I could do without), discovering more books and blogs about minimalist lifestyles, or combining my remaining clothes into new outfits I've never thought of before. I would love to hear your thoughts about your own decluttering/ simplifying/ minimalist experiences, what you struggle with the most and what you find the most helpful - we're all in the same boat! On a different note... Happy 29th Birthday to me! - I'm writing this post early in preparation for our Italy trip, and I'm hoping that as you're reading it, I'm off somewhere basking in the sun between hills of Tuscany, sipping Chianti and enjoying a fabulous gelato :D Thank you for reading!

Minimalist Monday: Half-Yearly Make-up and Nail Polish Declutter

Using the same make-up products daily through my Make A Dent and Project 10 Pan challenges has really brought home how much I'm actually able to make good use out of what I own. In short: NOT. AT. ALL. And I'm not even talking about completely using stuff up, but simply feeling like I gave that pretty shiny thing I bought the love and attention that it deserves.

Which is why I quickly started to feel overwhelmed again with the size of my make-up and nail polish stash. While I have been purging my collection here and there for the last three years (see my last declutter post here), passing lots of goodies to friends and family and occasionally tossing something in the trash, this time I felt that I needed to be more ruthless, and really ask myself two questions: whether I was going to use the product more than once or twice just to assuage the feeling of guilt, and whether it was a unique shade I didn't already have at least two dupes for in my stash. What emerged from the culling process was a rather sizeable pile of stuff that I thought I'd share with you.

First off, and what you see in the first photo, is a palette full of various depotted eyeshadows and blushes I knew I wasn't using for a while now. The palette itself used to have a foam insert for round pans the size of a MAC shadow (here's what it used to look like), but by removing it, I was able to both cram more inside as well as put together pans of all different sizes and shapes. It now houses MAC (Deep Truth and Solar Force), Inglot (the square satin pale peach, round dark grey and metallic silver), DIY pressed pigments from NYX and Barry M, two Too Faced eyeshadows from the Natural Eye palette, one shadow from Physician's Formula Canyon Classics quad, and two La Femme blushes. By decluttering all these pans from my Z-Palettes, I was also able to go ahead and depot the Stila In The Moment palette (review & swatches here; look who's talking about having too many palettes back in 2012...), pictured above. I usually find that by depotting my less reached for palettes, I'm able to make better use of the individual shadows housed within.

Continuing with the eyes, I decided to pass on most of my bareMinerals 7 Ways to Bare Eyecolor set (review and swatches here); I simply DO NOT reach for loose eyeshadows, even in lovely neutral hues. I also went ahead and included some of my pencil liners in the giveaway pile: Urban Decay 24/7 pencils in Binge and Mildew (swatched here) and a brand new, unopened Milani Liquif'eye in Brown. I simply have other eyeliners that are very near dupes, and while I do manage to use up an entire pencil occasionally, these things do dry out - so no point keeping back-ups in my stash, they're going to be unusable sooner rather than later.

Lancôme Color Design Palette in Coral Crush (swatched and reviewed here), along with the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Golden Emerald (click!), Lise Watier Tartan Magique Ombre Soufflé and the recently reviewed YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer were also given the boot. All very decent products, but I just have too much - I still don't really wear green or teal on the eyes, and I chose the Sleek Oh So Special eyeshadow palette over Coral Crush for that warm peachy feel. Since I just recently got a smaller palette (Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow in Hanashoubu), I felt it was fair to pass on one quint to someone else to enjoy.

Culling my blushes was probably the most painstaking part of this declutter, and the most time-consuming. I swatched a whole bunch and wore a few on my cheeks for several days to see what my final thoughts would be. In the end, I'm getting rid of Revlon Photoready cream blush in Flushed (click, I own two shade dupes in cream blushes alone), Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine and Laura Geller Boysenberry powder blushes (click, both pull too orange on my skin for my current taste). The Benefit Watt's Up cream highlighting stick never really suited me, so I'm giving it away together with the Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in Lavish Lilac (click - sorry, forgot to include it with the eyes stuff - not my favorite formula, I won't be able to even make a dent in it before it completely dries out).

Lastly, lip products. Most of these have been swatched, reviewed in a lukewarm manner and worn maybe once or twice: Nature Republic Botanical Shine Tint (click!), bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Make Your Move (click!), Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge in N9 (click!), Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Ripe Raspberry (click!), Bourjois Color Boost crayon in Red Sunrise (click!, I own too many reds), and an older tube of MAC Viva Glam IV (too frosty for my current preferences). There's also a brand new, unused tube of something MLBB mauvey from a brand I've never heard about that I received in a complimentary GlossyBox, but I'm not all that interested in trying it and would prefer for it to go nice and fresh to someone more appreciative.

Now, nail polish! That was a bit of a messy process. I had my eye on some bottles that I knew I haven't touched in over a year, but before getting rid of anything, I wanted to give them one last chance by way of a quick fingernail swatch, as you can see above. I decided to keep OPI Pamplona Purple (thumb), Zoya Pixie Dust in London (middle, never worn as a full mani - I want to see if I reach for it this fall/winter season) and Revlon's Perplex (pinky). I've decided to toss Wet n'Wild Shield (index, not into metallics anymore, an old bottle) and pass on Revlon's Black with Envy, as well as OPI Lights of Emerald City (both layered on my ring finger, LoEC always bubbles on me!).

I also said goodbye to OPI Kiss Me On My Tulips mini from the Holland Collection (I own a very near dupe from BarryM) and OPI Chicago Champagne Toast (never worn as a full mani in the two years I've owned it). While I was swatching and comparing my polishes, I counted my stash and it turned out that even after various purges and only one polish purchase so far this year, I still own about 70 bottles. Frankly, that's insane, and it's making me a bit sick to my stomach - I mean really, do I need this many?! I don't do nail art, I don't consider myself a collector, I'm not even that much into polish anymore... Just why. I'm seriously contemplating a nail polish no-buy for the foreseeable future.

These are three products from my stash I decided to throw out rather than give away; they were all too old and mostly used up.

The good thing about looking through my nail polish stash was that I also had a chance to do a bit of cleaning - I like to keep the necks of my bottles free of any dried polish residue so that the caps screw on more firmly and prevent the polish inside from drying out. I recommend a good polish remover and something lint-free for this task (meaning, not cotton wool); I used Orly's nail wipes intended for gel manicures.

There you go; I hope my purge pile was at least somewhat interesting for you. All of these products (minus the three tosses mentioned above) have now been divided into a couple pouches with a specific recipient in mind. A quick count reveals that I decluttered 22 single eyeshadows (powder & cream), 1 eyeshadow palette, 3 pencil eyeliners, 6 cheek products (powder & cream), 7 lip products (full size & mini), 1 deluxe sample of face primer and 4 nail polishes (full size & mini). Together with the throw-aways, that's 44 products less in my stash. I would say that's probably equivalent to a 'one in, one out' policy adopted by some, given that I'm allowing myself two make-up products and/or nail polishes a month (that's 24 a year, but doesn't include gifts, gifts with purchase and other freebies - and that stuff adds up quickly).

I suppose my one take away from this process would be not to wait before purging a product you know you don't really love - that way, you benefit from having an edited collection at all times, but also the products you decide to pass on are at their freshest for someone else to enjoy. I usually keep a donation bag in my closet for all the clothes I'm deciding to get rid of, and I'm planning to now have a separate box for my unloved make-up. Have you guys been purging anything lately, or are you over the decluttering trend? I'm secretly waiting for the pendulum to swing the other way and to see people start hoarding again, lol. How are you feeling about the state of your make-up stash?

Minimalist Monday | Part 1 of My Closet Tour: KonMari Drawers

Dum DUM dum... Here it is: unedited, raw, messy Part 1 of my Closet Tour, featuring my chest of drawers organized according to the KonMari folding method (if you've never heard about it, here's my review of Marie Kondo's book, 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up'). I know you've all been waiting for it! Hmm, or maybe not. Either way, this is the state of my chest of drawers after having decluttered about 40% of my clothes. There's still a lot left, so I can't exactly call it a capsule wardrobe, but it's something - and I also wanted to write this post for myself to look back on as I continue my journey towards a more minimalist closet.

To give you some sort of visual/ spatial reference, the chest of drawers in question is from the Ikea Malm range - I have the chest on the left, and my husband has a second matching one on the right. They're set against the wall in our bedroom, facing the bed. Because they're quite tall, I can keep some decorative and sentimental items on top, as well as a wooden tray with my current perfumes and jewelry for easy access.

Well, the tour is mostly unedited: I didn't tidy up or alter the organization in any way just for the sake of this post, but I did decide to omit my underwear drawer, for two reasons: first, it's my undies we're talking about, second, it's not really organized or folded using the KonMari method. I keep my bras and underthings separate, but that's about it. Don't worry though, you're not missing much from the tour - here's my sock drawer instead! I used to fold my socks in compact balls to keep the pairs together, but Marie advises against that: so I simply folded the pairs in halves or thirds and set them up vertically. I also used an old shoe box to keep my athletic and no-show socks separate. In the back, I keep extra thick and snowboarding socks I only use occasionally, and in the very front, my most used crew socks, organized by color family.

The second drawer down houses my short and long sleeve tops, as well as tank tops. This drawer has seen quite a big transformation compared to what it looked like before I started to declutter. I used to store all my tops folded on top of each other, and I actually had to keep my summer tops separate, because they wouldn't all fit in one drawer; as a consequence, I rarely wore any of my warm weather clothes. After pairing down the tops, everything fits nicely into one drawer, with some room to spare in the back. From left to right, I have short sleeve tops, long sleeve tops, and small sushi rolls of tank tops and camis. I haven't really put any effort into color-coordinating these with the exception of tanks, but I tend to put freshly laundered tops toward the front of the drawer, in an attempt to rotate them with the stuff from the back. It only works half of the time ;)

The third drawer down contains my sweaters and some of my scarves (mostly off-season and rarely reached for scarves). The two sweaters in the middle of the drawer are stacked on top of one another because they are in fact too thick to stand up vertically. I don't reach into this drawer a whole lot right now as the weather continues to warm up, but I find it pretty functional when I do. This drawer used to stuffed to the brim with just knitwear, but after decluttering, I was able to move my scarves into it from a hanging closet organizer, which we actually don't need anymore.

The second last drawer houses my workout clothes & swimwear on the left and sleepwear on the right. If you're interested in capsule closets or challenges like Project 333 at all, you may know that those two types of clothing are considered 'extras', as they're only worn for very specific purposes - so it made sense in my mind to store them together. Again, the vertical organization works so much better than the awkard piles I had in there before.

Lastly, the bottom drawer contains my bottoms (cue Minion laugh). I have long bottoms on the left, leggings & lounge bottoms in the middle, and shorts and warm weather bottoms on the right (along with some belts I currently use). This drawer also used to be full to bursting with jeans and pants, and now I have some space left that I may use for something else, like maybe the rest of my belts, or my tights and stockings that I keep in a separate box in our closet.

And that's it! Overall, the vertical organization works so much better for me than the old piles: I can see everything I have at a glance, which makes dressing in the morning a lot easier and quicker. One thing I was worried about before making the switch was that the drawers would somehow get messy very easily, but I can honestly say that hasn't been the case at all - when I remove quite a few items and a row starts to fall down, I just push everything to one end to keep it together. By decluttering my clothes and then organizing them properly, I've also been able to see what I clearly have enough of that I used to purchase quite frequently (like socks and leggings), and to visualize my ideal wardrobe color palette - can you already guess what it is from looking at the photos? ;)

Let me know if you have any questions about my drawers at all, I'd love to hear them. Part 2, featuring our walk-in closet where I keep clothes that need to be hung, should be coming quite soon - there's still some reorganizing I'd like to do in there when I have a spare moment. I hope you enjoyed this peek at how I store my clothing, and maybe it has inspired you to tweak your organization to suit your needs in the best way possible. Thank you for reading!