Is it a weakness or a collection? Everyone has one, either way you have a lot of it. My weakness is cosmetics, my husband’s; gadgets (of all sizes), my mother-in-law; cookbooks. No matter what it is, from knickknacks, to expensive figurines, cosmetics or jewelry, we all have something we feel we have to have. Now I’m not going to preach to you about not buying these things. I just hope that they all fit in your budget somewhere. However, in most homes our collections are visible and not always in a nice organized fashion. So whether you want to make your weakness visibly appealing or just functional, keep reading and I will show you some solutions.
Many collections, like figurines and collectables are in your home to display. However many of these collections are stuffed into a curio cabinets, so full you would be hard pressed to see what that person is collecting.
1. The way to sort this out is to first take them out of the cabinet. Make sure you put aside a full Saturday or weekend for this project, as it takes more time than drawer organizing. Once you have them out of the cabinet, CLEAN EVERYTHING;
- Cabinet
- Glass
- Collectables & everything else stored in it.
2. Start to fill the cabinet. Keep items nicely spaced and don’t try or worry about putting everything back in.
3. Once you have the cabinet filled, look at what’s left. Start by grouping items you would like to see displayed together. The next step involves a bit of planning, (especially if you have children or animals) take your time on this; it isn’t a project you want to hurry through.
4. Buy some wall mountable shelves. They are very versatile in style. You can paint them the same color as you walls to disappear or leave them a nice wood shade. Either way, showing off you collection is the key goal to the project, you don’t want to hide it anymore. Plan out where you are going to mount your shelves, use some easy to remove painter’s tape as a guide. Keep in mind of how high and low you are putting shelves; remember what your children and animals can reach, and use anchors when attaching the shelves to the wall. As soon as the shelves are installed you can put items you grouped together, on them and enjoy being surrounded by your collections.
Other collections, or as I like to refer to them as weaknesses, are items that you wouldn’t put on display or even think of as a collection like cosmetics. Make up, my weakness and, it’s something people don’t normally think of as items that needs to be organized, but, can get very messy if it isn’t organized. These items can become damaged and destroyed if they aren’t cared for properly, and that’s just a waste of money. Here is how I organize my cosmetics, and if you’re just getting started organizing your makeup here are a few steps.
1. Take an inventory of what you have on hand and how long you have had it. Yes, makeup goes bad and expires. Here are some general rules:
- Mascara: 4-6 months
- Foundation: oil based- 18 months / water based- 12 months
- Blush: cream- 18 months /powder– 2-3 years
- Nail Polish: 12 months
- Lipstick/gloss: a few years
- Eye Shadow & Face Powders: Cream- 18 months / Powder- 2 years
- Pencils: 2-3 years
2. Now that you’ve weeded out your collection and know what you have left, you can start to organize it. Depending on how much you have depends on the type of organization. If you only have a few pieces that you wear on a daily basis, you may be able to get away with some simple drawer separators. If you are like me, you have a quiet a lot and require something a bit more.
3. Small desk drawer organizers, plastic tackle boxes, cutlery separators and specialty makeup cups are all acceptable to store cosmetics. I prefer the desktop drawer type organizers. You can buy these at Wal-Mart, Target, or IKEA, which is also dependent upon your style, preference, and budget. I purchased mine at Wal-Mart.
4. I divided my cosmetics by type and order. What I mean by this is; I separated them by: Type
- Primers
- Foundation
- Eye Shadows
- Liquid/Gel Eye liners
- Pencils
- Mascara
- Blushes
- Tools
- Nail Polishes
- Lipsticks & Gloss
- Brushes/Applicators
Then by the order I use them in. Not only does this help streamline my makeup routine, it also keeps my family happy. Our home has one small bathroom with little storage that is shared by all. So keeping thing neat and tidy is the only way we can all function within this small space. Along with this, many other collections with multiple pieces can also be managed the same way as cosmetics, like art supplies, and computer equipment.
These are easy ways to organize your ”must haves” most of them inexpensive and easy to fit into a budget along with being family friendly. Along with organizing your belongings, decorating with what you already have is a nice way to surround yourself and have others enjoy it as well. So look around your home and find those messy collections and utilized the space more logically. What is your weakness? Comment below and we can discover how to organize it.
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