Five Top Tips For Spring Cleaning Success!

by BR Tabatha

"I know you can be underwhelmed,

and you can be overwhelmed,

but can you ever just be whelmed?" 

Whenever I think about that quote from 10 Things I Hate About You, I can't help but relate it to how I feel about spring cleaning. It's a very, 'I really don't want to do this, I really don't know where to begin with all this, but gosh darn it I just have to do it because I know I'll feel better and calmer and more even once I've done it' feeling. It especially comes up when I look at the state of my beauty products. Skincare, haircare, cosmetics... I have a lot, too much, and I have a terrible habit of hanging onto it when I really need to move it on.

Lately, the feeling of being overwhelmed at my stash and underwhelmed at my ability to get rid of anything has grown, and so I'm using this spring as a reason to get my clean on and do a good declutter of all my beauty products. So what are the tips and tricks I'll be utilising in order to enjoy a successful spring clean session? 

Know Your Expiry Dates

If a product has an expiry date listed on it and you know it's been sitting in your collection for way longer than the date stated, thank it for its service then wave it goodbye. If there's no obvious date that you can see, check out BR Natalie's handy article about expiration dates here and use that to work out whether it's time to let products go. 

Really not sure about how long you've had a product for and are on the fence about whether you ought to keep it or not? The next step to deciding its fate would be...

Eye It Up

The look of a product (along with the sniff test) is one of the easiest ways to decide that a product needs to be given the old heave-ho. Has the colour changed? Has the formula separated*? Is there mould growing on it? All signs that it's time to do an Elsa and let a product go.

* The rise in serum cosmetics means it's normal to see separation of ingredients in perfectly good products, so it pays to keep that in mind when considering the throwing out of said products.

The Sniff Test

It's not just ham that's three days past its 'best before' that you can sniff in order to decide whether to use it or throw it out; the future of fragrance, skincare and cosmetics can also benefit from a good inhale. Does it smell vinegary, a bit off, or simply nothing like it originally smelled? If so, kiss it goodbye.

If It's Broke... Can You Fix It?

Has a makeup brush's ferrule broken away from the handle? Or perhaps a flip top cap of your conditioner has broken off from the bottle? Or maybe a lipstick's been wound up into the cap and is now a mushy mess, or you've dropped a highlighter or blush and now it's cracked and crumbly? First, decide if you can fix it, or live with it while using it up. If you can't, if you know deep down that it'll be pushed to the back of a drawer or hidden behind other bottles in your shower, move it on to the great rubbish bin in the sky.

Common Sense

At the end of the spring cleaning day, using your common sense is so important. Be honest with yourself. Listen to that voice deep down that will tell you you're never going to wear a fuschia pink lipstick or that you keep buying a new shampoo because the one that's been sitting in your shower for a year just isn't your favourite and you'll never use it up despite promising yourself you will. Basically, listen for the Voice of Truth, and when it pops up, listen to it, then do as it says.

Follow these five tips and I bet you (and I) will be left feeling not overwhelmed while cleaning, or underwhelmed when you (and I) realise you haven't thrown out enough to make a goodly dent, but perfectly, delightfully 'whelmed' at what a good job you (and I) did. That being said, there's one more thing to do... and that's to roll up our sleeves and get to work!

So, will you be spring cleaning your beauty stash this year? What areas will you be targetting? Or is your collection under control and in no need of a declutter? Get chatting below!