I love the Spring because that means two things. First, sunshine…me like. I am not a winter person, at all. The second thing, is Spring Cleaning. I get such joy out of donating un-needed items, and re-setting my house and daily routines to mirror who I am, and want to be. One thing I have realized is that just as my style evolves and changes, so do my core values, daily workflow and taste in brands I support.

I love Marie Kondo’s approach to de-cluttering your space, and life. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Konmari Method, its basic concept is to go through every category of your life and touch every. single. thing. – none of this ‘I love all of my coats’ business. Touch/try one each one, then piece by piece decide if it makes you feel JOY with a capital J, if it does keep it, otherwise…donate it/toss it/give it away.

I am starting my Konmari in a manageable way, my make-bag. I have drawn a very clear line in the sand, and since January of 2018, I only use cruelty-free beauty brands! So my makeup bag is full of new cruelty-free brands I have been trying in order to find the ones I love. Some of the makeup I have gets used everyday, and some of it hasn’t even been touched…like,ever…so it is time to de-clutter make make-up bag and bathroom shelf and create a space that spark joy every time it’s time to do my makeup!

SET UP FOR SUCCESS

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time throwing something away or donating it, because of sentimental reasons, or it cost a ton of money, or because of the brand. So to me, it’s super important to make sure you have your ‘DONATE’ and ‘TOSS’ boxes all ready to go, so that each item becomes out of sight, out of mind.

When it comes to your make-up bag sorting through it means:

Picking up each lipstick and asking yourself if it makes you happy. It might sound like a silly question, but you might realize upon closer inspection that one color reminds you of your ex-boyfriends new girlfriend, and every time you see it you it makes you think of them and you get depressed. Ew, bye.

Next, double check expiration dates (yes, make-up has an expiration date). The Huff Post has a great article to help you out with this. Read it here.

I might be OCD, but then I like to inspect the make-up for signs of dirt or damage from hanging out in the bottom of my handbag, then clean it off with a baby wipe. Good as new.

VISUALIZE A JOY-FILLED SPACE

Under no circumstances are you to ‘go through’ your TOSS and DONATE boxes. This is almost a surefire way to end up keeping 80% of the crap you don’t need.

I find it really helps to create a Pinterest board or real life mood board with a vision of how you want your space to look. Yes, I even do this for my bathroom and make-up – you can check it out here. I have also added a inspiration photo from my IG Stories for you to get an idea of the vibe I will have when my bathroom makeover is done! Right now I am just on the make-up bag.

TRANSLATE YOUR VISION FROM DREAM TO REALITY

The next thing is really important, find a home for each item you are keeping. As I mentioned in the last step, I like to visualize how my new joy-filled space will feel and reverse engineer it. For example, most of my inspo images have white walls. Personally, I love bright white walls, they reflect light, so rooms with smaller windows (like my bathroom), soon feel bigger with a few coats of paint.

Another key element from my inspo photo is the acrylic box that the make-up is stored in. I decided to ditch the makeup bag, and go for a make-up box! I LOVE how clean and organized it looks, so I immediately went online and looked for the best ones, and came across Original Beauty Box. I love this line because the boxes are super sturdy, so they will last along time and won’t scratch easily. I also love how the drawers are set-up. Makeup packaging can take up a lot of space, and so the deep bottom drawer in the Original beauty box holds all of my make-up pallets.

WHEN IT DOUBT, ADD PLANTS

My parting piece of advice is that less is more.

Only keep what you really use, and what really makes you happy. If you aren’t sure if you like it, toss it. If you find yourself with a lot of space, rather than filling it with trinkets, I now fill that space with plants. The pop of green is a great way to add color, plants are naturally beautiful and the give you clean air. Way better than stuff you don’t need that will just collect dust until you Konmari your space next year.

Have you used the Konmari method in your life yet?! Drop a comment below, I am curious about your tips and tricks as I start to de-clutter the rest of my life!

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