Cosmetic Drawer Organization

I know that I’m going to get comments on this one that say: I thought this was an Amy post (or more likely–OMG, how could anyone accept drawers like that?!) Well, no, it’s Tessa and yes, you’re right, kind of unacceptable so I actually took it upon myself to organize something without Amy hounding me…now, she did help me with a trip to the Container Store, but the initiative was all my own.

This is what I’d open every morning when I opened my bathroom top drawer to put my makeup on:

Or the bottom drawer to dry my hair:

The situation just got more unruly the deeper in the drawers I got…seriously gin and goggles? What, just in case I want to get drunk and go swimming in my tub?

And yes, that is a bag of rocks, shells and what appears to be a missing sock from our last trip to Nova Scotia.

But, I’ve got this under control. Not scared a bit, I started to apply all the rules Amy has taught me: empty, purge, organize what I’m keeping. Oh, and make sure you have a bag handy for garbage…I didn’t realize how much makeup I had that was old, cracked shadows, blushes, separated nail polish–it really didn’t require being brutal because it was so obvious what I had to throw out! (Like I said, I’m coming clean!)

Then, off to the Container Store (yes, Amy came because she seriously can’t help herself!) and we talked through the options of what would work best for storage. Of course the bathroom/cosmetics aisle was a natural place to start, but we then ventured over to the kitchen organization section and realized that very similar organization options were slightly cheaper and actually sturdier.

This is a terrible picture, but basically, we took the measurements of the drawer and then laid out three different options. Yes, that’s a silverware holder–hey, it’s perfect size for eyeshadows, brushes and lipsticks!

In the end, we chose a few individual storage pieces from the “Linus” kitchen line and I ended up here!

Everything is organized by makeup type and has a place: nail polish, lipstick, tools, blush and brushes and shadows. I have a medicine cabinet that I’m able to keep things like lotions and deodorant so all of those things were transferred to the cabinet. The beauty of these kitchen organization pieces is that when they’re placed on top of one another, they don’t move around so as my drawers open and close, it all stays in place, but I can have layers of storage.

Amy had the great suggestion to keep my everyday makeup in a separate container that can be pulled out easily and doesn’t get mixed up with the loads of eye shadows and blushes that I seem to have a need for (although anyone who sees me would wonder why I have all this!) Now, no digging through the drawer every morning to find what I need–just pull out the little basket and voila, the few products that I trust to make me look semi-presentable!

In the end, I decided to just purge and organize the bottom drawer and keep it focused on hair products (yes that meant losing the bag o’ shells and socks!) but didn’t invest any money in bins or anything because it didn’t feel necessary.

Even if yours aren’t half as bad as mine were, I promise, you’ll feel like a new person if you clean out your bathroom drawers! Good luck…