Getting Rid of Stuff and Organising....again

Recently I've been getting that nagging feeling that I get when I feel like I just have too much stuff.  Stuff that I'm not using.  Stuff that's gotten disorganised and that is maybe making me feel a little bit stressed.  Admittedly I do use most of the things I own or at least have set plans for it in the future, but there are still a few things here and there that I could get rid of. 

There are quite a few books, but they're staying as I will be reading them in the future.  I just need to dedicate time to do so.  I'm also leaving our board games as we need to play them more before we can decide if we want to get rid of them or not.  And we tend to go in cycles when it comes to what we enjoy playing.  Although Exploding Kittens is always going to be a favourite game.

The camping gear is also all staying but clothes is an area that I can downsize in.  Either because it is an item I haven't worn in ages and am unlikely to in the future (like my thermal trousers), or items that are just not comfortable (like my sandals that I love the look of but just feel uncomfortable walking in), or that I genuinely don't fit in now that I've put on weight.  Unfortunately, the last items are clothes that I've made so rather than get rid of them I'm going to put those to one side so that I can alter them.  I'm also moving my winter things, like my thermals, out of the way so it's easier for me to use the rest of my wardrobe.

My stationary box was a quick one as we do use most of the stuff in there, but there were a few things that I was keeping just in case but never actually use so I've gotten rid of those.  My craft boxes also have a lot in them, but as I went through each one I realised that they were all items connected to projects I have planned.  Once I've completed those I'll go through the boxes again and get rid of anything that is surplus and no longer needed.

It's only a small declutter this time, not like some of my previous ones.  However, for some reason, even this little clearing out has made me feel so much better.  As I read more books and work through more projects everything will naturally get smaller as well, especially as I've put no buys on these two areas as I work through what I have.  Maybe I'll get to the point where I don't feel the need to declutter anymore.  Admittedly that does seem pretty unlikely.

Rolling Project Pan Update #2

It's been a couple of months now since my last update and I have been wearing makeup again, on and off.  I've gotten rid of a few more items and my makeup bag is beginning to look more like how I want it to in the long run.

The Bain and Saron Vegan Cake Mascara had actually dried up too much for me to use anymore so that's just had to go straight into the bin.  It's a shame that I didn't get to try it out again, but I can't really imagine it would have worked out differently from when I last used it.  Still, it's a shame to throw away so much product.

There are now only two lipsticks left.  The GXVE lipstick in Original Recipe, which I am going to use up and then replace with a lip pencil, and the Beauty Bakerie lip whip in Mon Cheri which I'm in two minds about still.  I wore this to my wedding and I really love the colour so I want to use this up completely.  However, it does come off the centre of my lips strangely during the day and it's quite difficult to get off.  I'm going to keep wearing it for a little bit longer and make a decision then.

I did also get rid of some tools as well as I had duplicates of one item (an eyebrow brush that's in a style that I just don't use), some mascara wands I brought for the mascara cake and haven't used, and an eyeliner brush that I don't need for the style of makeup I do.  I have kept a couple of brushes that I'm not using right now, but that I know I will use in the future as my makeup changes.

I'm also going to get rid of this Lipcote that I bought many years ago as it's supposed to help stop your lipstick from coming off and it does, I just don't use it as it turns out it doesn't actually bother me that much.  This is very old now and I probably shouldn't be putting it anywhere near my lips.

And that's it.  It's probably going to be a while before I do another update on this as I basically have to wait until I've used up some more products.  However, it feels good to be getting rid of things that I'm not actually using anymore instead of just holding onto them out of guilt.  Bye, bye things.

Project Pan 2023 Update #1

Slightly amusingly, since I'd made this decision to do a little project pan again I haven't actually been wearing a whole lot of makeup.  Definitely not as much as I should have to get an idea of what I want to do about it.  This is going to be a very quick post.

Firstly, the Tarte blush in Vibrant I thought I would be getting rid of as it's quite bright I'm actually probably going to keep it as I had forgotten how well it goes with my skin tone.  I'll keep playing with it, but it looks like all the blushes are staying and I'll be using them for decades. 😂

I haven't tested the Bain and Saron Vegan Cake Mascara as an eyeliner yet so I will need to do that over the next couple of months.  I also want to try it again as mascara just to see, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it still won't.  So there is a possibility I'll still get rid of it as I do have a pencil eyeliner that is just easier to use, but we'll see.  I might prefer the look.

Unfortunately, the Memi Luxe Lipstick in Old Flame is going to have to go.  I love the texture and colour (in fact I would buy this again) but the heat melting it in the past has made it very difficult to use and it is a little bit old now as well.  The other lipsticks I'm just going to work my way through.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter wasn't something I was going to test or attempt to get rid of, but it does now look like I've managed to somehow use a lot of it.  However, this is only because I forgot that this highlighter does not travel well and I took it with us to Brittany.  It then completely crumbled and fell out.  A sad moment as I was hoping to get a lot more use out of it, but oh well.  I don't think I'll replace this.

While we were in Saint Brieuc I did do something I wasn't supposed to do, which was buy more makeup.  Well, a lip liner to be precise.  I've been looking for a colour that was similar to my lip colour just to make them more defined when I don't want to wear red lipstick, but I wanted a lip pencil as it'll last longer and is easier to keep hygienic.  It wasn't a cheap product, but practically matches my natural lip colour perfectly.

As for the tools I'm using, once I've made a decision on the Cake Mascara then I can decide what brushes I'm going to get rid of so that I have only what I need.  

 

So the amount of makeup I have has basically remained the same as when I started, which I guess is a good thing as it means I did a good job of getting rid of things before.  I do have plans to replace any liquid or cream products with drier products once I've used them, but I will need to do some research on this.  I will definitely replace the lipsticks with just one lip pencil once they've gone and I am doing some research on the concealers, though the main issue there is mica.  This hasn't been the most effective project pan ever, but it also hasn't been that long since I started.  I'll know more about what I want to do once we get to the end of December, but it is looking like I'll just be using products up until I have one left rather than just getting rid of them straight away.  I guess we'll see.

Do I Project Pan Again?

I stopped doing project pans a couple of years ago as I had finally down sized my makeup bag to a size where I was using all the products I had quite happily and didn't really feel like I had any surplus that I needed to worry about.  However, I have noticed that recently that I haven't actually warn any makeup in the last few months.  Not that that's a problem at all, but it does make me wonder about whether or not I really need all the products that I now have left.  Having a quick nosy through my bag did make me realise that I probably now have too many products for the amount of makeup I actually wear.

So, I've decided to bring back the project pan for the rest of this year to see if there are any products that I either don't want anymore or that just need to be thrown out.  It is very unlikely that I will actually finish any products in the next four months, but it would be good to get through the liquid items at least before they go bad.  I then need to decide, if I carry on using makeup, what products I want to replace them with as they might not get used very often.

I don't actually have that many liquid products, but the ones that I do want to get through are my concealers, Barry M's All Night Long Full Coverage Concealer.  I had brought Oatmeal first and then realised that it is way too light for me, even in winter, and so I also got Almond.  I tend to mix the two for my under eyes and use Almond on it's own for other areas on my face.  In the future I want to have a powder form of concealer, just for the longevity of it, but I think it might be difficult to find one without mica in it.  Obviously I'll just be working my way through the mascara, but I never keep more than one of those anyway.

Then there are the lipsticks, of which I have three.  They are all different variations of red, which is pretty much the only lipstick colour I wear at the moment, and whilst there are perfectly good reasons as to why I have three it seems a little bit silly to continue having three.  One did unfortunately get ruined in the heat (my Memi Luxe Lipstick in Old Flame) and, though I have tried to carry on using it as I love the colour so much, it's probably time to just let it go as it's just too messy to use.  I think once these are all gone I'll look into just owning a red lip pencil instead as that'll be easier to keep in the long run.

As for the dry products, I'll definitely be keeping the one eyeshadow I own (Urban Decay Solstice) as I just love this colour and how it looks on.  I'll also keep the eyeliner as I only have one of those.  However, I do think that four Tarte blushes, even though I also use them as eyeshadows, is probably a little excessive, especially as I'm pretty certain I don't reach for all of them.  I'm definitely not going to be able to use any of them up in the next few months, but I can decide whether or not I like the colours and get rid of the ones I don't.  I can't see myself needing to replace these anytime soon.

The last items I wanted to make a decision on are the solid mascara and my highlighter.  I really wanted to love the Bain and Savon Vegan Cake Mascara, but I just haven't been able to keep it on my lashes.  I just seem to end up with panda eyes, probably because my eye lids are so oily.  I do want to see if I can use it as a form of liquid eye liner, but I think I'll just have the same panda eyes problem so this might be a product that just has to go.  I've had my the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer for quite a while now as well and this is a product that's had quite a beating.  I do also use this as an eyeshadow, but I'm not sure if using a highlighter is still something that I want to do.  As with the other products this is unlikely to be something I can use up by the end of the year, but I will be able to decide if it's something I want to keep.

And that's it, this isn't really going to be a use up project pan, more of a what do I really not want /likely to keep using anymore project.  I should hopefully end up with a very basic kit by the end of it which I don't have to worry about going off anytime soon.  That way it can be there for when I want to use it with the knowledge that I probably won't be reaching for it very often.  Once I've decided on how much that is I should probably look at my makeup brushes.  I am glad that makeup has never been something I've felt I've had to wear to feel good about myself, but I do enjoy using it when I want to.  I just don't want to own this much of it anymore. 

Unplanned Tidying and Decluttering

You know that thing were you have a whole lot of things you should really be getting on with, but then you suddenly have an indescribable urge to declutter and organise some areas that, up until that moment, you've been doing a very good job of completely ignoring.  Well I had that recently and normally I would just push through it to get on with what I was supposed to be getting on with, but this time I decided to just go with it.

I wasn't entirely sure how much I would actually find to declutter as I had already done a couple of big purges and I tend to go through my things as I clean.  However, I was nicely surprised by the number of things I was able to add to the decluttering pile.

The first big category was a number of electronics that no longer work or don't work well particularly well anymore no matter what I do.  I have been keeping a hold of them thinking I might get round to fixing them, but I won't and I know that so I've decided to just let them go.  Though I now need to go through them, move any of the documents I want to keep and wipe their hard drives.  I might try and get some money from them, but I can't imagine it'll be much.

I also pulled out these shoes that I brought for my wedding but which ended up not going with my outfit at all.  I love Irregular Choice shoes, but I don't really see myself ever wearing these now and there is a part of the shoe that rubs the side of my foot even though I've only worn them indoors.  So I should probably enjoy how pretty they are one last time and then sell them.  A little bit of extra money would be good.

Then there was this book that I keep holding onto because I like the idea of being able to use it, but which I know I won't.  At least not until I actually have a garden of my own and who knows when that will be.  I also finally went through my socks and pulled out all the ones that had holes in them.  I'm not entirely sure why I've been keeping onto them, probably because I just couldn't be bothered to get rid of them.

Lastly were all these little things that I found here and there.  Some gloves which, amazingly, were too small for me.  A little clutch bag I've used but which I actually have a nicer one I want to use more often.  A travel jewellery case which I do still like but don't actually need or in fact use most of the time we travel.  It's time someone else got some uses out of these.

Weirdly once all of this was done I was able to get back to all those others to-dos I had and get through them pretty quickly.  It took away the distractions and I was able to concentrate again on what I needed to get done.  Maybe I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that those things were there and needed to be dealt with.... and now they are.  Next time I won't ignore it.

On a side note, I was watching a documentary on cats and it talked about how, a long time ago, there were women who were known as wise women who knew that keeping your home clean, tidy, and free of vermin ensured that you remained healthy.  So they brushed their home with broom sticks and owned cats to kill the rats and mice.  However, the men in the church decided that there was something bad about these women so they persecuted them as witches and killed vast numbers of cats.  And then we got.......the black death.  Keep your homes clean and tidy people.

Decluttering and Tidying 2022

I try to do a declutter and tidy on a regular basis so that nothing ever gets too out of hand.  This has been especially important recently as most of the places I've lived in haven't exactly had a lot of space to them.  I had planned on doing this after all the wedding preparations were finished, but I have been finding the clutter very distracting.  So I've decided to do a mini declutter over a week and then I'll do a larger one later, along with a deep clean.

Wedding Fabric Corner

This little corner contains all the fabric that I had collected to make our wedding garments.  Some of the fabric I didn't need any more and I have to admit that I probably did over buy just a little bit.  Thankfully all the fabric was brought second hand so I don't feel too bad about it.  I'll be sending some of the fabric to the charity shop (the bedding) and I've put away the extra dyed blue fabric I now longer need for wedding sewing for a future project I hope to do later on this year.  All that's left there now is the fabric I need to complete my outfit and the accessories.

Stationary Draw

This draw is meant to just contain all the stationary/ electronics I use at the moment.  However, it has really just become a catch all draw now and I can't really find anything in it.  First thing was to pull everything out to see what I actually had.  A couple of items could be moved back to where they actually belonged, mostly outdoor stuff I'd thrown into there, and others found their way to the charity shop bag - for some reason I had quite a lot of bookmarks.  Paperwork went into a pile to be sorted later and I really need to remember to deal with it as soon as it comes in rather than just shoving it into the draw.  I then put everything else back into the draw in a way that meant I could actually see everything.

Wardrobe

There isn't too much for me to do here as I tend to get rid of any item of clothing I'm not wearing anymore pretty much straight away.  I did double check to make sure there wasn't any items hiding somewhere, but my main focus was on the towels and bedding that we also store there.  We've changed our duvet size so now we have some duvets and duvet covers that we no longer need, so they'll be finding a new home.  There's also a towel that I've had since I was about 7 and is completely falling apart.  It's finally time to say goodbye to it and I'll probably cut it up into cleaning cloths.  Obviously I didn't touch any of my partner's things, however tempted I might have been.

Kitchen

This was a pretty quick one as it's only the cupboard which has our reusable containers and Tupperware that needed a look through.  I got rid off some food containers we aren't using anymore, a water bottle we don't use, and a whole lot of takeaway boxes which I'm going to use to sort out our outdoor gear (once wedding stuff is done) and then recycle what I don't use.

Paperwork

I normally do this at the end of the financial year, but as I need to put a whole lot of paperwork into the folder I decided I might as well do the decluttering at the same time.  It turns out there was quite a lot of paperwork I should have gotten rid of a while ago, so this turned out to be a good decision.  A whole lot of shredding will be needed.

This was quite a quick declutter this time as I don't really have a lot of time to go through everything properly, but I already feel a lot calmer and happier about our living space.  Once I have a little more time I'll definitely go through everything properly, but this has been enough for now.  A big spring clean will be happening though, as soon as I can make it.

Project Pan 2021: Update 4

This is going to be a very quick blog as I only have one product to talk about and I am no were near finishing it. 😂

That product is The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer.  This is a very beautiful highlighter and I also use it as an eyeshadow.  It suits my completion well and, despite how it looks in the pan, is actually very subtle on my skin.  It's also cruelty free.  Last time I wrote about this I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, but actually I really like it so it's staying in my makeup bag for now.

And that's it, my last project pan is now over.  I can't believe how many products I actually had when I started this a few years ago, but now I'm down to just a small bag of makeup, no nail polish at all, and one of each for all my toiletries and other beauty products.  I may still get rid of some products here and there when I no longer enjoy using them, but that's it in the active using up of my items.

Project Pan 2021 Update 3

And then there was one.

As I had hoped in the last update I have managed to completely use up the Cien eyeliner pen in Black, mostly by wearing smoky eye looks every weekend.  I've looked everywhere I can think of but haven't been able to find anything on Cien's cruelty free status so it's not really a product I would recommend to anyone.  I also found that, on my eye lids at least, it transferred quite easily, though it was very easy to put on.

So that just leaves The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer to go.  The chance of me using this product up by the end of the year is unbelievably small and right now I'm in two minds as to whether or not I want to keep it after the end of this project.  I'm not going to lie, I do really like the look of it as an eye shadow in conjunction with a blusher, but do I really need a highlighter in my make-up bag.  I'll keep using it until the end of the year and then maybe take a little break from it before I make my final decision.  It is a beautiful product though.

And that's it, a very short post as there really isn't much to say here.  It's just as well I'm going to do a 'what's now in my make up bag' with the next update otherwise it would just be a paragraph.  Bring on me highlighting absolutely everything for three months.