Boxes and Bags

I have always loved boxes- 

pretty boxes, useful boxes, little boxes, big boxes-

just try to pry them out of my hands.

And bags, oh the pretty ones from nice stores are my undoing.

But things are changing.  

Boxes are being emptied.  Bags are being filled with clothes to give away.

Boxes and bags are leaving this house.

Can you hear Gustavo cheering?

It feels good to let go.

It feels a little hard to let go.  

I send pretty old perfume boxes and shoe boxes to recycling.  

Organizing boxes can organize someone else's stuff.

I bet you didn't know I was a box and bag hoarder.

Here's a confession, as if the previous wasn't bad enough.

I keep makeup box packaging until I use them up.

I know.  

Weirdo.

What's your confession?  Do you keep strange things around your house?

xo-Jennifer

P.S.  Just for fun…Carolina's new car!

Minimize Makeup Clutter

Decluttering inspiration can come in many forms.  I've had an issue with my "potion bottles" and makeup for a long time.  I've come a long, long way since having an entire linen closet full of bottles to what I have now.  There is just something about the promise of what makeup and beauty products can do for you that draws you in.

Thankfully I do not fall into that trap anymore. I don't give in to the allure of the shiny packaging or that it can somehow make my life better.  I occasionally buy a lipstick or cosmetic that I don't need but just want, but since I wrote about Project 10 Pan here and here, I have continued to use up things without purchasing much, which in the end leads to less and less.  I want makeup to be fun and not the double burden of too much money spent and taking up too much space.

Even with my progress, I still try to whittle down to just what I love.  Believe it or not, I still have my little list from Project 10 Pan too.  I'm on part 9 which means 90 products used up.  My goal is still to have a small makeup bag with all my cosmetics in it.

With Carolina getting taller and taller, she can reach up into my drawer and pull out my makeup.  It's just more motivation to clean them out, or it could get very interesting in my house with some red lipstick in her hands.

I found this video on youtube a couple of weekends ago.  Gustavo was watching football with Carolina one Sunday afternoon and I watched a ridiculous amount of these videos with my free time.  They are really addicting and most importantly inspiring.  

If you are a little bit crazy like me and love to watch someone declutter anything, I invite you to watch these videos.  She has a little series called Less Stuff, Less Stress.   Here's some little nuggets I gleaned from her videos.

Be decisive

Have someone in mind to give things 

I got my use out of it

This is way too much for one person to have

It's a good thing to see space

Be honest about what you are using now

The money was wasted when you bought it, not when you get rid of it

You can bless someone else with your excess

I'll let someone else love it

Anyone else have trouble with decluttering makeup?  Who is still doing Project 10 Pan?  

What inspires you to let go of unloved products?

xo-Jennifer

Project 10 Pan Update

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I am happy to report that my Project 10 Pan has been a huge success.  It's been so fun to make my little list and cross off items as I use them up.  I am on Part 5 which means that I have used up 40 something items so far.

Sometimes I feel a little neurotic having so much fun with this, even G is on board and cheers me on along the way.  Laugh if you will but I'm here to tell you that it's eye-opening in a more than a few ways for a product junkie like myself.  I'll just make another handy list to tell you about it.

1.  I learned that it actually takes a long time to use up products.  This should be a good thing except when you really want it to finally be gone.  In fact it's ironic that I bought something and that I should want it to be gone.  Not too smart?

2.  I am so careful about what I just casually put in my shopping basket anymore because it's going to be in my bathroom for a long time.  See No. 1.

3.  My goal is to have products that multi-task so I can have less bottles.  Bottles take up too much space and I want to have a beautiful vanity like I see in the pictures above.

4.  Another goal is to share products with hubby if possible also to have less bottles.  Now if I can just get him to put his bottles away we would always have a clean vanity and sink area.  Smile honey, you're on my blog!

5.  I've been using up products that I didn't like that much just because they were there for the sake of this project.  I don't really like doing that. I took a bag of things to share with my niece and aunts when I went home, but those didn't count towards my Project 10 Pan.  In the future I will either return the item or give it away.  Life is too short to use bad stuff.

6.  The biggie here is learning that I really want to function with less.  Too much stuff smothers me.  Most bloggers goal is to use things up so they can buy more, but I'm reformed.  Even before I did this, I had stopped buying makeup.  I want to enjoy shopping for the things I need instead of being seduced into "needing" this or that.  I did happen to buy a new lipstick yesterday to cheer myself up though.  It's really pretty.

7.  Focusing on a small amount of things to use them up has been the key to my success.  I can't switch around too much or it will just keep sitting there forever almost gone.  I make my list and really only use those things.

8.  I'm realizing that I have a lot of similar items.  When I bought those different eyeshadows I thought they were unique and maybe they are to a degree, but to be honest I could have not bought them at all and used what I had.  Nobody would know the difference.  I bought them for fun and that was that.  Knowing the reason is important to change the buying behavior.

9.  I'm very determined.  To prove it, I'll show you what I used up this week.  It was my Mom's and I absolutely couldn't throw it away, so I carried on like a good soldier in spite of this.  I'm pretty sure it made me break out too.

10.  Nobody would consider me a makeup hoarder or anything that extreme but I feel that I have too much makeup and it is wasteful.  If you actually followed expiration dates and recommended throw out times, which I obviously don't, you are wasting a lot of money because you can't possibly use up a lot in the short amount of time.

Anyone else doing Project 10 Pan or your own version of it?  Let me know how you fared.  I have a vision of only having one makeup bag with all that I need.  I want an easy, peasy makeup routine and only shopping when I need something, or need something to cheer me up.  Is this the most ridiculous thing to those of you who aren't product junkies?  I imagine that it would be but those of you who understand, really do understand.  Anyone going to start a new Project Pan?

Project 10 Pan

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I am reluctant to write about this, but I figured if I got this little bit of crazy maybe someone else does too.  Maybe you've heard of the phenomena called "Project 10 Pan", maybe not.  In the makeup blogger community there was a blogger named Laura who decided that she wanted to use up 10 items of makeup before she bought more.  This idea caught on and there are thousands of girls struggling through their beloved products so that they can eventually buy more.  Just for fun google Project 10 Pan, or P10P and see what you find.  There are even You Tube videos showing others the items that they are using up!  Who knew that anyone would be interested?

As someone who loves to clean out clutter, I find this topic fascinating.  When I really stopped to think about it as I explained it to G, I saw the irony and ridiculousness of this makeup hoarding collecting and at the same time the virtue of wanting to use it up.  I think in their hearts, they know that they can't possibly ever use that much makeup but they have been seduced into buying into every gimmick that comes around.  I know it's fun because I love makeup too, but where are the limits?  In my own makeup drawer, I'm ready to define limits on the quantity that I should have.  For me, it's just that--ridiculous to have too much and I do want the satisfaction of using up what I paid a lot of money to purchase.

Now, I'm not a makeup hoarder but you could say that I have enough to last me a long, long time because there is so much variety.  I have already been on a "no-buy" for awhile now, but now I wanted to focus my efforts to use up things in order to yes, have less variety.  Who knew as I accumulated all this selection of colors that my desire eventually would be to only have a few.  I do give away items as my friends and family know, because I'll usually include a lipgloss or something fun in with whatever I am sending.  So I have my initial 10 items selected and I will be going along to reduce the amount of makeup clutter/variety in my life.  The only difference is that I won't be purchasing more, but will persist in focusing on the half used up items in my collection.

Anyone want to make fun of me for making my little list, and setting such a shallow little goal?  Anyone want to join me?  Let's dig out all that beauty stuff and make our vanities clutter free.

P.S.  If you are not familiar with the makeup lingo, "pan" is the term given for the bottom of the makeup tray.  A moment of glory is when you "hit pan", and if you want to see a lot of pan, look up "pan porn"!!