You know those tasks that you KNOW you REALLY need to do, but seem SO DAUNTING? But then when you finally get to them, it takes no time at all?

That was me today. I’m not exactly what you call a ‘make up junkie’. I know what I like, I don’t wear make up every day, and when I do, it’s not much at all. Every now and then, though, I like to wear a little extra – for special occasions, going ‘out-out’, etc. That means that I have a random collection of eye shadows, a couple of extra lipsticks, and some experimental eye liners.

The problem is, I don’t even remember purchasing most of them…much less where they came from. I’m embarrassed to admit that some of them are well over ten years old. I know. I know. EWWW!! But, the thought of having to buy more when I want it, and then throw that out after just a handful of uses…is a tough pill for me to swallow. But, ya know. that’s what I’m going to have to do! Or, learn to build on what I DO have and use regularly – darken it a bit, add maybe a little extra liner, or a thicker mascara.

It was finally time.

The great thing about blogging: When you tell your readers you’re going to post something on a certain day, it gives you a certain sense of accountability and MAKES YOU DO THINGS! That absolutely worked today. I actually have a nice draft post for #tackletuesday that I was planning to post day, and then remembered that I promised you a make up clean out in last week’s post! So, that one will have to wait until next week, and now, without further ado, here are the basic short steps that YOU can take to purge your make up drawer…or drawers…or cases…or whatever!

STEP ONE: COLLECT EVERYTHING

Grab a tray or box and dump ALL your make up on it…everything. Brushes, sponges, pallets, samples…ALL OF IT.

If you have LOTS of make up, you can do separate trays for different things, like brushes, sponges, & applicators, eye make up, lips, etc…That’s not really an issue for me.

STEP TWO: MAKE TWO PILES

THE TRASH PILE comes first. Here are a few clues it’s time to let it go:

• It’s more than a year old. Most cosmetics come with a label telling you when to get rid of it. A year is a good rule of thumb if there is no label or it’s been rubbed off. Read more about labels HERE.
• Can’t remember when or where you bought it? Toss it.
• Can’t remember the last time you used it? toss it.
• Don’t love the color? Toss it.
• Smells weird? Toss it.
• Brushes, sponges, or applicators that are worn out – you’re going to wash these – will they hold up to that? I decided to throw out several eye shadow applicators because I just don’t use them, they were basically tester size, and I didn’t want to deal with washing them.
• Have a stash of almost empties you keep for back up, just in case? Toss them.

Now, don’t you feel better about what’s left? You might find more to toss as you’re working through the next pile.

THE KEEP PILE is much more fun! Basically, anything unopened (still sealed, and not unreasonably old) you can keep. Anything you use regularly, as long as it’s not old, you can keep.

• New, unopened, not out of date products or applicators.
• Products you use regularly.
• Product you use occasionally that are not out of date.
• Brushes, sponges, applicators that can be washed and still have life in them.

STEP THREE – SORT THE KEEP PILE

You may be able to skip this step entirely, if you only have left what you use regularly. I have a few things that I don’t use on a regular basis, and an unopened blush. (I can only find one cheek color I actually like, so I order two at a time). Those are going in a drawer. You may have more piles than I do. The biggest thing, at the end of it all, you want only your REGULAR USE products out and readily available. The rest, we want to store.

Here’s what my three piles contained:

1. Wash it. This was brushes, a pencil sharpener, and my jar.
2. Use it. These are the items that I use on a regular basis.
3. Store it. These are the items that I don’t use regularly, but are either new or were recently purchased. They aren’t ready for the trash yet.

STEP FOUR: CLEANING

Here is where you wash your brushes and other applicators. I also took this opportunity to wash my jar and pencil sharpener. I don’t have fancy brushes, but I do like them. I used warm water and dawn dish soap to clean mine. Here’s an article from Allure Magazine on HOW TO CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES (AND HOW OFTEN YOU SHOULD DO IT) if you have nice brushes you want to be careful with. The article suggests that brushes should actually be washed a couple of times a month, so if you wear makeup daily, you might want to grab a backup set.

STEP FIVE: Put it all away!

Time to put it all away and enjoy your uncluttered collection! This entire process took me less than 15 minutes, so it’s one that you can do when you don’t want to tackle an entire space or have a very limited amount of time. Doing SOMETHING is better than doing NOTHING…unless you need to do nothing today…I’m totally supportive of that, as well.

If you noticed anything you might need to replace, or need more of, go ahead and those to your shopping list. Just remember, in the future, to toss things out as they get old – or maybe once a quarter skim through your stash and see if anything needs to go.

Next week, we’re heading back to the kitchen! This little interruption was brought to you by last week’s #WearItWednesday post, as promised!

What do you need to tackle today?

You just might give me some ideas for projects I need to tackle!

My goal is to bring you a new “TACKLE TUESDAY” post each week as we move through out this year. Some will be personal and household related, others will be business related.