How-To: Declutter your Skincare Stash in the New Year

“New year, new me” is a motto that we’ve all said at least once in our lives, whether it be to finally start the gym, or to learn a new skill or hobby. However, how about a resolution to (finally) sort out your skincare stash? It’s easier than you think to accumulate bottles and tubs of skincare over time, and with the Christmas season gone, it’s highly likely that you’ve received (even more) skincare!

No idea where to even start? No worries, we’ve rounded up the 5 steps you need to take to have a successful skincare stash clear out!

1. Take everything out

If you have A LOT of skincare then this can be a daunting task, but it’ll be worth it…just think of that clean skincare cabinet at the end! We’ve all fallen victim for TikTok trending skincare that may or may not have blown us away, or perhaps you like to stock up on your skincare before it runs out and have forgotten all about the near-empty bottle down the back of the cabinet. Now is the time to completely clear out your cabinet, bags, drawers, or vanity table!

2. Divide into categories

To make the task less overwhelming, divide all your skincare into 3 categories: keep, recycle/repurpose, and donate. We don’t want any ‘maybe’ piles so it’s time to get brutal with your decision! The aim is to have a skincare stash that you use, not one that contains a cleanser that you might use ‘just in case’. All products that you love and use frequently will of course go into the ‘keep’ pile. Any products that you haven’t used in months, are empty, or are expired (we’ll go into more detail on this next) will go in the ‘recycle/repurpose’ pile. Finally, all products that you used once but just didn’t like, or they just didn’t suit your skin type should be put into the ‘donate’ pile if they are unexpired.

3. Check expiry dates

News flash, skincare expires! So that face cream down the back of your cabinet that you tried out once 2 years ago and kept ‘just in case’ needs to go. All skincare has a small symbol that looks like an open jar with a number and an ‘M’ next to it. This lets you know how many months it is in date for. Now that you’ve divided your skincare into categories, double check your ‘keep’ pile and make sure all products are in date. If expired, move them over to the recycle pile, since expired skincare is more likely to cause breakouts, irritation and won’t work effectively.

4. Organise

After deciding what skincare you’ll be keeping, it’s time to put it all back into your cabinet, bag, or onto your vanity table. We won’t tell you how to organise your skincare since it’s all down to preference, but some options include dividing products by AM/PM skincare, by category, or by what you use most.

5. Recycle/Repurpose

For any unusable jars and bottles, clear them out and recycle. For any jars and bottles that are suitable for repurposing, there are so many easy ways to make use of these! Serum bottles can be used to pop in some dried pampas grass, and jars are super useful to store bobby pins, hairbands, and jewellery.

Happy decluttering!