#but also i can't rly say that bc im a big hypocrite that bought during black friday sales lmao

[tbhstudying]

hi seo! how is your project pan going? i can’t remember if you’ve talked more about this, or if it was a fleeting segment in one of your livestreams / PWMs.. more specifically, what are some tips you have to successfully declutter products you already own?

- sincerely, a hoarder anon

it’s actually going quite well! i’ve panned 19 makeup products + decluttered 22 other products for a round total of 41 products gone from my collection. admittedly, a large chunk of that was half-used lip balms and concealers, but it’s nice to have them out of my collection. now, my only problem category left is eyeshadow and blush, and i’m close to finishing a blush and an eyeshadow palette. i caved during black friday sales and bought more makeup but oh well. 

this isn’t related to makeup specifically, but i’ve also been giving away and donating a lot of my unused stationery and gently-worn clothes + i’ve also been successfully panning skincare products. for things that were completely unsalvageable, i’ve taken them apart and dropped them off at greendrop + terracycle locations at my school. 

something that’s helped a lot is creating an inventory on a spreadsheet. i put down the name of the product, the original price of the product (even if i got it on sale), and then i calculate the total cost of that “collection.” not only does this help me keep track of what i have and what i’ve used up, it really helped me realize my spending habits and what i was truly spending my money on.

here are some reasons that i decluttered things:

expired (ex: expired lipstick, pens that dried out, etc)

no longer fits me + can’t be altered to fit me

never wore / used

didn’t work for me + alternative methods of using it didn’t work for me either (some skincare that breaks me out can be used on my body without breaking me out, but some just don’t work at all)

had many similar things of greater quality (ex: i had two blushes that were the same color but i kept the one i liked better. i also had 5 pens that were the same color, but i only liked the formula of one pen.)

ways to use up what you currently have:

have a box with the things you want to use for the week or the month + focus on using only those. selectively using those things for that week or month helps you realize if you genuinely enjoy using it or if you don’t really need it in your life. 

focus on one thing to use up at a time. i used up a lipstick a lot faster when it was the only lipstick i was reapplying throughout the day.

use one thing in multiple ways. i use a lipstick and as cream blush. i use a marker as a highlighter, marker for drawings, and as a pen for headings and diagrams. 

keep your empties as a reminder for what you’ve currently used up + dispose of it in one big go later. i find that seeing the pile of empties grow is really motivating and it’s also a reminder of how much stuff you allowed to accumulate.

don’t buy any more things!!! you can’t reduce your collection if you constantly have more things coming in than you have going out!

i hoard things and collect things too. i swear i have a magpie brain where i look at things and go “shiny, i want.” i’m not a minimalist by any means + i’m not doing this to become minimalist. i’m doing this so that i have a better relationship with the items that i own + to gain better control/awareness over my purchasing habits. i now genuinely love the things i currently own, and i don’t feel like i have to stay on top of the trends and constant new releases. wishing you all the best with your own collection!