Shopping Your Stash!

I'm sure we've all been guilty before of over-spending and buying things we don't need. That's life, right? At least for women it is. It could be anything: clothes, books, media, makeup, shoes, handbags, even toiletries. For me personally, I used to buy books as if they were going out of style. I'd go to Chapters at least once a week and spend an arm and a leg on books and magazines. And then I discovered my local library; it made a lot more sense for me to borrow books and magazines (and even movies) for free instead of spending all my hard earned cash on them. So, I fixed that problem. No more buying books!

I needed something to fill the void afterwards, and that void was soon filled by copious amount of makeup and skincare products. During the past six months I've accumulated such a stash of makeup that I couldn't possibly use all of it up in my lifetime. I just kept buying and buying and I didn't know how or when to stop! I'm not even someone who wears a lot of makeup on a regular day-to-day basis either; I prefer a more natural look and will usually limit myself to foundation, concealer, blush, mascara, and a bright lip for everyday wear. I never wear eyeshadow - and yet I started buying pots of the stuff whenever I'd find them on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. Why?! Lipsticks are my ultimate weakness, but I have to admit that the ones that I do have, I try to wear each one at least once or twice a week in order to get through them all and use them up.

It wasn't until I watched a video series by Pink So Foxy (Christine) on YouTube that I really started opening my eyes and making do with what I currently had in my collection without adding more to it. Christine called this her "Declutter Your Life" series and it's comprised of seven videos. She basically goes through her whole (huge-ass) stash of makeup and skincare and gets rid of everything she either doesn't use or doesn't need anymore. She documents EVERYTHING and by the end of the series, you can really tell how much of a difference this whole de-cluttering process has made in her life. Afterwards, once she had whittled her collection down to the way she'd like it to be, she starts "shopping her stash," meaning she begins treating her collection as its own little (big?) store, pulling items she'd like to use that day from her shelves and drawers and switching the products up regularly so that everything eventually gets used. Here's part one of her video series (you can watch the other parts on her YouTube channel linked above):


Why don't we all do ourselves a favour and de-clutter our collections (whatever they may be) and start shopping our stashes? You don't even have to throw anything out - you can do what Christine did and donate your belongings to shelters, thrift shops, friends and family members. Although, if you're cleaning out a makeup or skincare collection, there will be certain items that you'll need to toss in the garbage can (mascaras, lip products and liquid foundations come to mind). Treat this de-cluttering process as your version of Spring Cleaning and have fun with it! I know that something like this can easily be considered daunting and intimidating, but think of how much better you'll feel afterwards!

Let's do this together! Let me know what you'll be cleaning out by posting a comment below.