Have an Overwhelming Beauty Collection? Here’s How to Declutter, According to a KonMarie Consultant

Is your skincare and makeup collection getting a little overwhelming?

It happens to the best of us, and when we're not careful, we can wind up with cabinets full of old, unused and expired products that cause unnecessary clutter and make it harder to enjoy the products we are using. But if you're looking to make a change, you're in luck. We got the chance to chat with Anastasia Bezrukova, the founder of Minori Beauty and a certified KonMari consultant who trained with Marie Kondo herself, to get some tips on all things decluttering and how to get your beauty collection to a place where everything sparks joy.

Getting Started

Anastasia Bezrukova: Whatever you're decluttering with the KonMari method, it's always the same principle of pulling everything that you have within that category into one place. Often we'll have beauty or skincare products in our bathroom, in different gym bags or all over the house, so get everything together, put it on your bed, and start going through it all one by one.

(via Unsplash)

 

What Sparks Joy?

AB: What can make this process hard is that we have such an attachment to our beauty products, even if we know something is expired and we've had it for a very long time.

But there are certain questions I ask my clients at the start of every session that can be really helpful. First, I tell them to create a vision board. What's your ideal life? What does your ideal apartment or ideal room look like? Imagine somewhere you're going to feel peace, where you're going to feel really pleasant and comfortable living in that space. Then, when you're holding something—maybe a lip balm you have five versions of, that's probably expired—ask yourself if it fits your vision board. That serene space you're trying to create probably doesn't have any clutter, so it will help you answer that question.

When you're struggling with whether something sparks joy or not, the other fun question to ask yourself is how you'd react if you lost the item, or if a friend borrowed it and forgot to give it back. Would you go back to Sephora or CVS to repurchase it, or go through the effort to ask for it back? If not, you probably wouldn't notice if it disappeared from your life. You wouldn't miss it if you gave it up.

Another trick is to visually pick out just 10 favorite items that are your go-to's. Whenever you're holding something you're unsure about, ask yourself how it feels versus your favorite. That's a good way to gauge how excited you are about it.

 

Keeping Things Organized

AB: When you're just starting to get organized, I recommend, as much as possible, that you don't buy a bunch of new storage solutions. They add to your expenses and eventually end up in landfills when there's so much stuff at home that you can use to store products nicely. If you have empty candles, you can take the candle vessel, clean it out, and put all your eyeliners in that one container, and all your glosses in another, and keep your items sorted by category. Make it a rule that if you get an additional eyeliner, for example, that doesn't fit the container, then something else has to go—because the moment something doesn't fit, it's going to create clutter somewhere else.

Also be sure to store everything vertically, so you can see everything. When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, for example, don't stack them. The moment you start putting one thing under the other, you stop seeing the bottom layer. It's the same KonMari principle as folding clothes for your drawers, so you can always see everything, and make distinctions between what does and doesn't spark joy.

(via Unsplash)

 

Making Every Item Count

AB: It can also be helpful to set calendar reminders to yourself to do a mini KonMarie upkeep every one or two months. If you have products that are still good but you're done trying them out, create a basket and keep it somewhere convenient, so whenever you have a friend over, they can pick something out. And at the end of the month, if your friends or family haven't claimed something, you can bring it to a donation center. A lot of shelters for women will accept products that have been gently used. It's a great routine to get into, and it helps you prevent this stuff from accumulating. At the end of the day, it's simply not going to spark joy if you're drowning in products.

(via Shutterstock)

 

Loved this advice? Click HERE to learn all about Anastasia's minimalist makeup company, Minori.