It surprised me, actually, how difficult it was to tidy my nail polish. Tidy is the word Marie Kondo uses to sort/ declutter/ organise.
Yes, all those bottles spark joy but even I can hear that’s stretching it, just a bit 😉
This was my process for decluttering them:
Pile 1 – ones that sparked joy but didn’t look good on my skin
They looked good in store (lights!) but in normal light, they look too dark/ garish, whatever. I still liked the colour but not on my nails.
- Bottles that were decent – donated (we have a number of girls at work who like nail polish so I just said, “help yourselves”). It helps me (this might not work for you) to declutter if I think, “who can use this today?”
2. Bottles that were not really donate-able – we used these for nail polish cards and I even kept some to make dipped ring bowls. They turned out beautifully.
Pile 2 – ones that sparked serious joy, looked good and I usually receive compliments
I also admitted to myself that some I only use on finger nails and some I only use on toenails. E.g. I would never wear the yellow on my fingers but I love the colour on my toes in summer.
I also realised that some are “winter” colours for me and some are “summer” colours.
Last but not least, I did a very Konmari thing.
I noticed when listening to her book that she often applies logic when working with her clients. For instance, if you have 1000 ziploc bags, even if you use only 1 new one a day (unlikely), it would take you three YEARS to work through that stash. So why keep them all?
I applied this logic to my nail polish.
I typically wear a different colour every 4 – 5 days. It’s about how long it takes for me to get bored with looking at a specific colour. That’s 73 different colours in a year. However, I would wear a colour at least twice each, so 30 bottles is really all I should own, at most.
(I had many, many more than 30 – I blame it on the Essence brand. Such gorgeous colours and at such a good price I kept saying, “it’s only R25, I might as well take 3”! Also, when people know you like things, they keep buying you those things and before you know it, you have a drawer full of nail polish!)
Once I got into the process, I was able to cull to below 30. I think I ended up with 27. Yip, just counted. The pile on the top left doesn’t count – those are my base coat, top coat, quick-drying drops, and so on.
(I’m realising as I type this how… um….passionate I sound. At least I’m not like this with make-up?)Â Â
So there you have it – the nail polish is finally sorted but I know I’m going to have to keep a close eye on it because I already caved a month later and bought a gorgeous neutral this weekend called, “Oh Mr Darcy” from Rimmel.
Now who could resist that?!
I know we all have a certain “issue”. For some it’s hair products, for others perfume, make-up, face creams, etc.
Wow you really had lots of nail polish! And I love how you wear them.
Yip, I did. I would say a good 60/40 split between me buying and gifts!
I am just like this with eyeshadows. I have WAY too many, but I love them!
I need to KonMari my eyeshadows. I think I’ll do that.
Ah, eye shadows. I love that this is your vice. I have one set of 5 colours, and I only use two of those – the darkest one for my eyelashes and a light one for my lids… sometimes, when I feel like it.
Interestingly enough, I declutter nail stuff quite regularly. Monthly actually. I often only use a colour once. If it doesn’t give me butterflies every single time I look at it, then it needs to go. I also am not fond of the essence brand! I buy Rimmel or Wet ‘nWild. And if there’s a sale at Clicks then I will get Revlon or OPI. This means that I don’t buy a lot at a time.
I am currently having issues with yarn. I get LOADS of gifts. So am swopping them out to make a dent in my yarn stash.
Butterflies! Ha!
I’ve discovered the secret to nail polish that stays – maybe I should write a post. Because I love Essence closely followed by Rimmel. The others I get on special only. Mind you, I have paid for two bottles at full price (R100 each).
How to store them???
Check this post, Rebecca, and see if it helps 🙂
http://www.marciafrancois.com/blog/2013/06/21/organising-nail-polish-solution-3/