Spring Cleaning: Memoirs from the Bathroom

Spring has sprung! (At least In Northern California) It's the time of year when people are inspired to clean out the old and make a fresh start. Personally, I've been working on my bathroom. It's easy to accumulate makeup, lotions, soaps, and hair supplies. To kick it off, I removed everything from the drawers and cleaned out the bottoms. I tossed a lot of eyeshadows I never use, lotions I don't like the smell of, and expired makeup. 

An Italian philosopher, economist and sociologist, Vilfredo Pareto, in the early 1900's observed that people use 20% of their goods, 80% of time. That translates to owning a lot of clothes, accessories and skin products that are just taking up space. We say that we'll use them one day, and feel guilty about getting rid of "perfectly good" products. We also tend to forget that makeup and skin products have a life span. For example, old sun block loses it potency.

Here's a quick reference guide to how long you should keep your makeup:

• Mascara & Eyeliner, 3-4 Months
• Eyeshadow 18 Months, 2 Years
• Powders 18 months, 2 Years
• Liquid Foundation, 1 Year (Use a sponge, not your fingers)
• Lipstick & Lipgloss, 6 Months

It feels refreshing to open my bathroom drawers everyday to find them clean and organized. Plus I can quickly find what I'm looking for. I have only what I need and use.