Okay, I know some of you are thinking: an entire week? on a drawer? Truth be told, I don't have a makeup drawer--cosmetic vault is more like it, including but not limited to an old-fashioned, five-drawer vanity big enough to store several thousand lipsticks. What else? Three medicine cabinets. Two hatboxes. A few drawers here and there in my study. The counter in the master bath. The top of a chest of drawers and the top of the aforementioned vanity. A couple large ceramic pots. Some storage boxes. And still I run out of room and have to steal space in Alpay's closet. "You can have half the shelf back if you start buying eye shadow," I'll say, but Alpay remains unmoved by the promise.
While so many areas have improved since I started my Quest to Get Organized last summer, the state of not just my cosmetics but all manner of cleansers, lotions, haircare, pharmaceuticals, and personal grooming supplies has gotten much, much worse, especially in the last few months, when I've essentially given up any semblance of putting such things away in favor of heaping supplies willy-nilly on any available flat surface. It's been bad, folks. There's a reason the house-painter hasn't been invited back after painting exactly one-half of the bedroom. Because look what I would have to move in order for him to finish the job:
Obviously, things are out of control.
So that's what's up this week: I've decided to give my cosmetics a super-thorough shake down and encourage you to join me. In the process, we'll review storage guidelines, expiration recommendations, and safety tips, as well as strategies to nudge you along in keep-or-toss decisions, products to help organize and corral supplies, and techniques to restore and maintain order.