Decluttering: Accessories and Makeup

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This is Week Three of the KonMari Method of Decluttering (Tidying Up!).  Week One I posted about how Changing Your Thinking Can {and WILL} Change Your Life, Week Two I shared with you my clothing and bedroom before {those pictures still make me a bit queasy} and after, and today I'll be sharing my jewelry, shoes, handbag and makeup purging all as part of my journey to Sparking Joy.  I'm also joined by the wonderful ladies below on this journey - if you're looking to change your life and spark some joy (especially before all of the upcoming holidays) check out the blogs below for their take on this process.  

A Journey to Sparking Joy:

Anderson & Grant ::  Making it in the Mountains  ::  DIY Passion  ::  Dwelling in Happiness  ::  Zevy Joy  :: (Me) Cupcakes & Crinoline  ::  Lost in the Found  ::  The Happy Housie

I want to be honest and tell you right off the bat that when I was purging my clothes I liked how I felt.  I liked having a sense of control again and of hope that I was getting a grip on 'things' so I kept going  and decluttered my shoes, handbags, jewelry and makeup.  I don't have as many pictures as I should have because I was focused on purging.  The book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, recommends doing this category separately but, I didn't.  I had everything out of my closet which included shoes and purses so I just did it all in one fell swoop.  I didn't have as many pairs of shoes as some, I probably started with around 30 pairs, and I had about 10 handbags, so the process wasn't that hard and I thought that putting those items BACK into my closet would have made no sense whatsoever.  

The first pair of shoes I decided to part with were the shoes from my first wedding.  I had kept them because they were my wedding shoes....but, and this may sound harsh which is not my intent, I hung on to them for years and there was really no need to.  There were no happy memories associated with them and they certainly DID NOT spark any joy in me now, as a matter of fact seeing them always left me feeling anything but joy.  When I held them (which is an important part of this process...HOLDING your items individually and seeing what you feel) I found they made me feel hollow  so those were easy to get rid of.  I also parted with a lot of good quality shoes that I had from my office days. Many of them were almost new and quite expensive so I took those to the thrift store and hopefully they will be a blessing to someone who may need shoes for the workplace.  

Once shoes were done, I moved to purses.  A few years ago I purged a lot of my older handbags but found that I hung on to some that were gifts from my kids or husband.  In looking over these handbags, while the memory of my family loving me and buying me these things made me feel special, the purses themselves weren't something I would ever use again and so they also were purged.  

Now, for jewelry.  I didn't have what I would consider a lot of jewelry but when I pulled it all out of jewelry boxes and drawers I found that I had accumulated quite a stash of single earrings (where did it's mate go???), costume jewelry that was totally out of style, and watches that needed new batteries.  I don't know about you but I don't wear a watch anymore because I always have my smartphone handy so these could be given to the thrift store.  

I kept ONLY a few pieces of costume jewelry, earrings that I really loved and

my good jewelry.  

I made use of a vintage jewelry box for my earrings that was lost in the dresser clutter previously but now could be appreciated on its own.

Makeup, body creams and hair styling products were next! When I gathered all of these in one place I was SHOCKED how many I had that I hadn't used for a while and will not be using again.  I had them in a wire basket, a drawer in my dresser and in the bathroom.  When I gathered them all up I kept only those products that I liked using.  

I had so many that I used a few times and they left my hair feeling sticky, heavy or just not doing what I wanted them to so the question for me became, "Why am I keeping these?".  With no answer that justified keeping them, they were thrown away.  

I did the same thing with perfumes.  I am particularly fond of Mary Kay perfumes and find I use those to the bottom of the bottle but other scents hand turned so why, oh why, was I keeping those? Some I found that I kept because I liked the shape of the bottle or because they were expensive but if I'm not using them and they were no longer usable it was foolish to allow them to have real estate in my home and in my mind (clutter mentality).  I kept only the perfume that made me feel special and that I loved to wear.

Next, makeup.  Some makeup I had from over 5 years ago that I wouldn't use again....GERMS.... and there were boat loads of samples that were taking up space and these were all thrown away.  

I was able to clear so much space on my dresser that I was able to put my vintage Replogle illuminated globe on it.

The lesson I learned this week is that I had so many items that were taking up space that I justified keeping because I had spent money on them and it would seem wasteful to throw them out but really the wastefulness comes in keeping them and letting them hinder ME, hinder my growth, my creativity and my space.