Organize Your Makeup…On The Cheap!

How would you like to organize all of your glamour goodies and restore sanity to your lavatory?

After being in the skin care and makeup industry for over 10 years, it is fair to say I have collected my fair share of items in my bathroom. Vanity drawers have been jammed with bottles, packets, pencils, tubes, sifters and applicators of all shapes and sizes. My husband, the loving tolerant man that he is, knows that I am a glamour junkie and my products are my haven. He also knows not to touch them or organize them in a way he thinks might be good for me. Even if I had yet to try that MAC.lip gloss trial I got with my last purchase, I’ll know in a heartbeat if it is missing from my drawer. Guess that’s my sample sonar going off!

I honestly tried to keep things under control with all kinds of categorizing. After a while, little dividers became big dividers, which became entire drawers, which became boxes, which invaded the bathroom counter, which became hell to my family. My stuff was everywhere and multiplying by the minute. Some of these things I loved and couldn’t be without, others were just not for me. Some things I used daily, some had never been opened. I think the day I realized I needed help was the day that I saw someone had done the New Yorker crossword puzzle with an Avon black eyeliner. I needed some sort of an organization system and fast.

One day, while shopping online with Staples for some general home office stuff, I noticed a sale going on for desk organizers. Hmmm. This might be a good thing. I had all of my paperclips, rubber bands, pencils, pens, highlighters and other desk-type goodies sorted out in my office. Why couldn’t I implement the same system in my bathroom with my makeup? I placed my regular office supplies order and in addition, I got myself this slammin’ little rotating desk organizer for my bathroom counter that was on sale. It had over 10 little compartments with room for all different sized items, took up very little room, and spun around for easy access. When it came the next day, I swear I heard angels sing as I took it out of the box. It was a methodical makeup miracle.

I held it tight like a caveman would hold onto fire, and rushed into the bathroom to fill it with all my goodies. There was a place for almost everything. Almost. I still have a drawer organizer to keep bigger items under control. And the counter still holds the big things, such as cleanser bottles, moisturizer jars and eye cream pumps. But the drawer consumption was down to just one, and the counter space that is being occupied is a quarter of what it had been. Just knowing where everything was and having it neat, right at my fingertips did not just bring sanity back to my home and family, but also cut my daily routine time down significantly.

A year later, my spinning organizer is still standing strong. The exact item I have is featured in the picture posted above. It is still available at staples.com and comes in a couple of different sizes. I paid approximately $7 for it, on sale. Without a doubt, it was the best glamour investment I ever made. In case you are wondering how I sorted my stash, I filled the compartments with the following:
* Makeup Brushes
* Lip Glosses
* Eye Liners
* Lip Liners
* Eye Creams
* Concealers
* Cotton Balls
* Q-Tips
* Eye Primer
* Samples I Want To Try
* Foundations
* Tweezers & Eye Lash Curlers

A small investment for a bit of bathroom sanity? Absolutely. Go for it, and have fun organizing!

Tags: bathroom, cosmetics, makeup, organize, sanity