I'm sure everyone else who is decluttering has already been doing this, but I wish I would have taken before and after pictures of my progress!
Sometimes I feel like decluttering is like losing weight; sometimes you can't see your progress and it can become discouraging.
I've been decluttering and minimizing for a year now, and some days I feel like my house looks the same. But I know that I have come a long way! I wish I would've taken a photo of our crazy then office with all of the papers that were hoarded in that room. It's now my baby's room and is quite clear. I would love to compare the two though!
I was feeling like I could minimize my makeup some more, because it still feels like too much. So I tried to remind myself that I've come a long way.
I still had my containers that used to hold my makeup, so I put the two I emptied out next to my makeup bag. I could see that I did clear out a lot of makeup! It's reassuring to see, but I plan on decluttering just a little bit more.
I didn't used to have a large makeup collection. I used to only own the bare minimum, maybe two eyeshadows, foundation, eyeliner, and mascara. That changed after I went through a breakup six years ago. I began watching Kandee Johnson videos that were sent to me by a friend to help cope. I only watched her inspirational videos at first, but after getting my makeup done for a vow renewal about a month and a half later, I wanted all the makeup I could get my hands on!
I had been dating my now husband for about a month before the vow renewal, and I was still pretty lost when it came to the world of makeup. My mom never taught me how to do makeup. Being a chola was popular in middle and high school, so I tried to imitate the look by lining my lips with my mom's brown eyeliner (yeah, I know haha). I figured out the basics and didn't really start wearing makeup until after I had my first daughter, so after I graduated high school.
The day of the vow renewal I got my makeup done with the other bridesmaids and a MAC store. I felt so beautiful! I even bought the exact same makeup they used on me because I wanted to feel beautiful like that every day.
I also began to learn how to use makeup by watching Kandee Johnson videos. She then became an Ipsy sponsor, which made me want to join. Plus I thought that since I didn't have a vast makeup collection, it would be a great investment to get makeup products for $10 a month. With about four to five makeup items arriving every month for two years, you can imagine that amount of makeup I acquired. The subscription also came with a makeup bag, so not only did I have a ton of makeup, I now had 24 mini makeup bags that I wasn't using.
This would have all been a good investment if I used every single item I was given. Makeup usually expires after a year, and with so much makeup, there was no way I'd be able to use it all within that time frame! I ended up canceling my subscription about two years ago to save some money, but I still had all of this makeup that was wasted.
When I started to go through my makeup, I had to get real with myself and admit that I would not be using a lot of the makeup I had. I had recently bought ColourPop lipsticks and had to throw them out because I avoided wearing them after the lipstick would always end up on my teeth. Ipsy eyeliners that I would use "some day" needed to go because "some day" obviously wasn't happening. I had eye shadow that I've owned since my undergrad. That's like a million years ago! I gave away all but five of the Ipsy bags, each one is being used to hold the remaining jewelry I kept after decluttering. There's one black Ipsy bag I'll use when going out (like once a year haha).
I also started wearing my "special occasion" makeup for everyday wear. What was the point of waiting to use it when I can feel extra fly now?
I still have a few more items I have to part with. I've also decided that I'll only be buying eyeliner and mascara when needed, but I'm going to use up everything else I kept before I replace it. That may be awhile 😬 I'm so glad that I'm able to look at these empty containers to remind myself how far I've come. I'm just kicking myself that I hadn't taken pictures of the whole house before this journey! Well, I guess I can always start now 🙂
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