This week I have been doing what I like to call Not-Quite-Spring-Cleaning. My theory is that you should do spring cleaning before spring actually get here, because that way once the weather is nice you can actually be outside enjoying it instead of inside organizing things. Spring is for eating belgian fries and drinking something delicious at an outdoor table. This is a fact. Now that I think about it, who the heck decided to clean everything in the spring anyway? Terrible idea.

So I’m getting the jump on it, which includes going through all of my clothes and getting rid of stuff I don’t wear anymore (I’m gonna donate them, don’t worry) as well as organizing my nail polish and makeup. Nail polish was up first. I was planning on doing a DIY nail polish rack, but once I priced the materials out it was actually cheaper to just buy on online, so thats what I did.

The rack that I bought is clear acrylic, can be hung on a wall or just placed on a table ( I chose the latter) and holds up to 102 bottles of nail polish. It seems to fluctuate in price a little but only by around five bucks, so I think it’s a pretty good deal all around. I also like that it’s clear so visually it doesn’t clutter up my desk that much.

As far as organizing is concerned I went through the drawer that I was previously storing them in, and took them out one by one. I opened each bottle and took a look to asses whether it was worth keeping or not.

As you organize and look at the consistency of each bottle of polish. You want to have a bottle of nail polish thinner on hand. If you are wondering if using a thinner is the same as adding nail polish remove to the polish, the answer is a flat NO. Adding nail polish remover will thin the polish if you are using it right then and there, but it won’t help in the long run. It will also cause the polish to chip faster on your nails. So long story short a thinner is a worthy investment.

Here is my little bit of tough love for the day -Do yourself a favor and just throw out the ones that are really REALLY thick. I know it’s heart breaking, but if it got that that dried up then you probably pretty much never used it anyway.

For the ones that seem like you can save them, add a few drops of your lacquer thinner and roll the bottle around in your hands to mix it in. This way you will be organizing your polishes and prolonging their life span at the same time. Two birds with one stone, baby!

As you may have noticed, I chose to organize my bottles by color. I know this is a little OCD-ish of me, but I figure it’s easier to see what colors I’m looking for this way. Also I just like it, let me be me!

Nail polish in color order just makes me feel whole inside. Don’t judge.

The fun little bonus of all this is that once you have all of your colors organized where you can see them, you will probably rotate through them more often and get more use out of them. Which will stop you from letting them dry up AND probably step up your manicure game a few levels. Basically you will win at life. Am I exaggerating? Yup. Realistically - it will be pretty good.

Next on the list comes the daunting task of going through all of my makeup. I don’t think I have too much to throw away or give away because I did a lot of that when I moved, but there is definitely some organization that needs to be done. Wah! I don’t want to! But maybe if I’m lucky I’ll find some stuff I forgot I had. Gotta look for the positive 😉