The older I get, the more I stare just a little longer than I used to at those anti-aging moisturizer ads in magazines. It’s the old “hope in a jar” routine.
Some people take the hope in a jar issue just a little far, as you can see in the photo below.
This vanity belongs to one of my friends who graciously let me photograph it.
There are two issues. First, my friend’s house is similar to mine (1960’s style ranch house), and the built-in vanities original to the house have narrow drawers not conducive to holding a modern woman’s beauty regimen.
Second, this is an issue of overshopping. I’ve seen it before, and I’ve heard about every excuse in the book. They need more products because they have thin hair; they have curly hair; or they can’t find the “perfect” foundation or lipstick.
One of my friends was always on the search for the basic black flat since she had narrow feet, and she ended up owning 50 of them. Overshoppers get on a never-ending perfectionistic loop, always searching for the Holy Grail. The next purchase will be The One.
Not only does overshopping reduce the size of your wallet, it takes up valuable space – as you can see in the photo above.
When it comes to the vanity, this is what I recommend:
- Take inventory and see what you really have.
- Toss any items that you did not like
- Toss things that have expired or changed in texture, color and fragrance.
- Use what you have before buying anything else.
- If possible, keep one item out for your daily use, and stash extras in your storage space.
- Round up your daily use items and put them in a container for easy access.
Here’s an example of how to organize health and beauty products.
