Don't Forget Your Makeup When You're Spring Cleaning

 

Spring is in the air! (Or maybe not, depending on where you are.) But, even if it's raining or chilly or if you're in PA and they're calling for snow, it is time to start organizing and clearing out the old and bringing in the new. 

I spend a few months each year just stocking our freezers, making jams, freezing farm-fresh vegetables and fruit. Almost like I'm preparing for some massive blizzard that will keep us inside for a month or so. This is just something I'm used to since I was little and I'm sure there are plenty of others out there who have their own traditions. Some things are just easy to overlook and makeup is typically forgotten when it's time to refresh and renew. 

How To Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

If you have a large makeup bag (or even a makeup drawer) this could take a little bit of time. I promise that the most fun will be replenishing your colors and any face makeup that you need for spring!

Obviously, if there are colors that you typically use for the winter that you wouldn't wear for springtime, you'll want to make that transfer. Maybe even change the bag itself depending on your style. Definitely throw your bag away if it isn't going to be easy to clean. Fortunately, these don't have to be so expensive to replace! 

Foundation should be one of the first to go! You may use a different formula for winter than you would for the warmer and sunnier months. Even if you don't, it's a good idea to remember that makeup does indeed expire. I usually keep foundation for a year. Some might say 18 months and some may say even less than a year. If you aren't expecting to go back to it for the upcoming fall or winter seasons, just throw it away and splurge on something new! 

Mascara and eye makeup also don't last so long. Even though I'm guilty of keeping eyeshadow and even mascara well beyond the date I should, you may as well just toss it and add that to your list of things you must buy ASAP! 

We don't have any rules or regulations for expiration dates to be stamped onto our face makeup here in the US. You will find some brands will stamp that onto the container or package anyway. But, if you don't have a date, just keep in mind that mascaras and liquid eyeliners are only going to be safe and effective for about 3 months. Pencil eyeliners are different and can last for a year. The same rule applies to cream shadows, cream blushes, and any other cream or liquid-based makeup products. If you are constantly touching your blush, whether cream or powder, you should probably just throw it away and count on replacing it. The liquid and cream versions tend to harbor bacteria the most. The powder can too, if you're constantly using your fingers or if you don't often clean your makeup brushes. 

Lipstick and other lip products are typically good for a year after you've opened them. So you should be safe if you recently purchased a dozen lip color or gloss shades from your favorite brand because they're not coming back! As long as they aren't opened and used, you should be good to keep those in your backup drawer! 

Don't Forget To Clean Your Brushes!

This is an easy thing to forget. But it should be a habit by now and if it isn't, try your best to get yourself into the habit of cleaning and sanitizing your brushes on a regular basis. Just be sure to definitely clean them when you're spring cleaning! 

If you aren't already separating your brush collection from the rest of your makeup, do it now! Grab yourself another bag to store your brushes in so they aren't getting contaminated with anything from your makeup! I'm certainly not a germaphobe however, makeup and all of your tools and brushes should be cleaned and sanitized almost like medical equipment. These things touch your face and if you're not keeping after it well, you could cause some potentially very harmful bacteria on places you may have never thought of. 

It's easy to forget things such as, not storing your makeup brushes in the bathroom. Bathrooms tend to get very humid and hot and icky and this could be damaging to your brushes and essentially, your skin. Brushes should be kept in cool, dry areas. 

Shampoo works very well for brush cleaning. Especially baby shampoo! This should be done at least once a week. Besides keeping bacteria and germs away from your brushes and your skin as much as possible, this will also help to clean any leftover makeup so you can always be assured to have the cleanest and the most absolutely flawless makeup application! 

Now For The Fun Part! Replacing Everything!

This should usually be the best part of your spring cleaning anything! Of course, you'll want to check for sales and deals and always sign up for email newsletters for your favorite brands. If you're a new customer, you are usually rewarded with a discount of some kind. Not to mention, they will email you about any special promos, and a lot of the time, these can include free gifts with purchase! 

If your favorite brands or favorite online shops offer any rewards programs, make sure to sign up! Rewards points are earned for purchases, sharing a special link with friends, and even birthdays. Just make sure to read the fine print. These points do tend to expire but you may be able to score an additional 20% sale or a $20 gift certificate depending on how much you're spending. 

Don't forget to use any cash-back rewards programs you might belong to so you can get as many deals as possible! I usually shop for clothing, makeup, sneakers, etc every 6 months. So, it definitely helps when I can count on a sale, rewards program, and a cash back reward! (This will just make it all that much easier to shop some more in the very near future!)

My Totally Organized, Hectic, Chaotic Life

We recently changed this dollar store shoe organizer into a recipe card holder, restaurant menu holder, and back to school organizer! I love that it fits right behind the door between the laundry room and kitchen, way out of my sight! I was so tired of little things piled up everywhere, I just had to do something! I like to be organized. It helps to keep my brain from spilling out when there is a place for everything, A nice place. So, we collected all of the loose pencils, pens, erasers, tissue packs, lip balms, Box Tops, made some hand sanitizers, filled with the kid's favorite mints, sugar free gum, anti bacterial wipes, and eye glass cleaner. Each has their own little pocket and the kids like to call this their, "back to school station". It's a busy place some mornings! Our youngest isn't in school just yet but he has a backpack that he likes to also fill with tiny things.


I think I must spend about 10 hours a week, just trying to figure out exactly how to organize some new pile of clutter, a stack of artwork the kids made that day, a new box of extra beauty products that I received that month from my favorite subscription boxes, and even bags of heirloom potatoes! I wake up, have my coffee and sit here trying to figure out, "How can I make this new pile of stuff, look nicer by putting it into something?" At least that's what my husband says I do. He thinks I prance around and try to buy more things to paint more mason jars or to glue some glitter and gems onto some subscription boxes, just so I can fill them up with stuff. Do I? I don't know sometimes! But, either way, I do love to organize and I can't get enough of the cute mason jar fad that has been all the rage! Maybe?

Well, to be fair, I have 4 children. One is grown and on her own but between the 3 who still live here? They have enough school work, papers, arts, crafts, supplies, books, clothes, and for some reason, a lot of this ends up in my kitchen! I have bags that I date and tie up each month of that month's coloring pages, paper towels with love notes that they make for me, handmade cards, A+ papers. funny sentences they wrote at school. I keep almost everything they make, ok, everything they make. School pages? I've learned to only keep the important things. But, these are all nicely kept in bags and then placed in bins up in my office.

Who doesn't love these adorable little totes? I like these for separating candles, wax tarts, cleansing grains, lip balms, anything that I make in my secret hideaway, my other kitchen! 

If you subscribe to any beauty subscription boxes or any subscription boxes for that matter, I am sure you try to find something to do with those pretty boxes that all of our goodies come in! I know I do! My 8 year old tries to take all of the plain colored boxes so she can make doll beds and closets for them. She does a great job too! She decorates and matches them to each doll. The problem is, now she has so many of these box beds and box closets! (I do have a problem with telling any kid they can't make, build, draw, color, paint, cut and glue, something. I do say no sometimes if we are getting ready to leave on an errand run or something. But, for the most part, it is always craft day at our house!) 

I make scented oils and I found that these red boxes from my Allure Beauty Box, are probably the strongest ones yet! They are also perfect to fit a few rows of oils in and I can label the scents with these fancy chalkboard paint markers I found! Some of the other boxes are used for leftover candle wicks, labels, ribbons, and any other odds and ends I accumulate. Waste not, want not, right? We try to upcycle as often as we can. Yes, even the trimmed wicks from candles I make. Do you know what else these beauty boxes are good for? 

LEFTOVER CRAFT SUPPLIES! 

Along with the beauty boxes that fill our mailbox each month, we subscribe to a few craft subscription boxes. If you have little ones, you just have to check these dandy little subscription services out! The kids just love them and lucky for me, we seem to always have scraps and buttons leftover. Of course we can't throw these little gems away! We have a few boxes where we store the leftovers for a rainy (or a snowy) day! 

Besides the perfect size of these boxes, they stack nice, they have lids, they are usually either plain so we can design them however our little hearts desire, or they come in a gorgeous shade of red and are beautiful just the way they are! (Yes, the picture above is really a picture of some of these smaller boxes, inside a bigger box!) Because, after acquiring so many of these boxes, it is time to organize those boxes. 

What we need are labels! Maybe more boxes to fit them in would be nice? I don't know. I am kinda going towards labeling the boxes so the kids know exactly what they are looking for and we can arrange them by type. 

How do you organize a busy home with children? Especially all of their art supplies and tiny Lego guys?