Makeup Stash Managment 2013

Happy New Year!  May your 2013 be better than your 2012.  

Starting today, I plan to go on a low-buy to control the size of my stash as well as my beauty spending.  Here are the rules I plan to follow:

1. This low-buy starts with a no-buy!  No makeup purchases, PERIOD, until I fully evaluate my stash.
2. No lipstick, lipgloss, or powder eyeshadow purchases.
3. No blush purchases of any kind with the exception of a pre-planned Sleek haul at some point.
4. No more bar soap purchases after stocking the supply of Dove Winter Care for the year.
5. No hair product purchases until the stash is rid of duplicates.
6. No buying any nail polish until all the current stash has been swatched on nail wheels.*
7. All other makeup and personal care products can be replaced when they run out or get used up.
8. All makeup purchases shall be made with cash, in person, and must be limited to four (4) items per month.
9. Products acquired using store loyalty points, gift cards, swaps, or any way that does involve my wallet do not count toward monthly limits. 
10. This low-buy shall not be broken unless in extenuating circumstances, i.e. traveling out-of-state, ridiculous clearance or discontinuing of staple products/holy grails, etc.
11. This low-buy does no currently apply to skincare, nail care, or base makeup. 
12. I reserve the right to evaluate and change the terms to further control my stash size and makeup spending.

* I plan to evaluate my nail polish needs after I've swatched everything.

So for me to accomplish these goals, I've culled the following suggestions for myself from the Internets as well as my own personal brainstorm.

  1. No trolling beauty blog/vlog haul posts, beauty chat sites, Sephora, Ulta, or the beauty aisles of drugstores!
  2. Rotate the stash regularly, choosing different makeup items to wear each week.
  3. Clear out all old, expired, unused, and unwanted makeup and personal care products by giving it away, swapping, selling, or throwing it away.
  4. Re-purpose unused odds and ends of products to use them up.
  5. Organize and document the stash to make it easier to view, store, and use.


With this plan, I'm sure I'll be successful.  That is, unless I don't follow it. 

Is anyone else out there planning to reduce the makeup stash....or at least maintain?