How I clean and organize my vanity

One of the things that I find best occupies my time recently is to clean and organize. I don’t always enjoy cleaning (for example, putting away laundry is the worst), but I do love to clear out and rearrange, if for nothing else than the new energy it brings to me. Right now, we all have our little things that give us that productive and positive energy we are craving, and for me, that meant starting my weekend with a big clean-out and organization of my vanity.

Now, I live in New York City, so I use the term, “vanity,” lightly (if you want to see something real gorgeous, I suggest you check out the bathroom renovation that Alex of @defineddish shared this weekend on Instagram…truly drool-worthy and total bathroom goals). When we moved into our current apartment, I was dead-set on having a vanity with the addition of extra bedrooms. But as my mom smartly suggested (she really does have a great eye for space and design), buying a table-top vanity wasn’t going to be a smart space-saving investment. So we started to look for other options, things that would hide clutter and keep our smaller second bedroom clean.

In one of my first posts on the blogs, I shared how I maximize small spaces in my apartment. Instead of a traditional vanity, we decided to install these floating storage shelves from CB2 that were ultimately an incredible investment. They have doors that float open, mimicking a table-top, and they are the perfect size to store most of my hair and beauty products that would otherwise sit on top of a vanity in a potential heap of clutter. I added a cute stool and a rounded metallic mirror, and the space really looks like a vanity, where I love to spend time getting ready in the mornings with a cup of tea. If you’re living in small space, I highly suggest finding an option like these floating shelves that can multi-purpose as storage without taking up floor-space. Even if we change the room into another purpose, these shelves will still be very usable for storage of any kind.

I started my cleaning routine inspired by a new follow on Instagram recommended by a friend, @gocleanco (wow, this shit is satisfying to watch at the end of an over-stimulating or emotional day). I decided it was time to clean my makeup brushes, a project that sits on my to-do list every week and rarely gets done as often as it should (that’s why you have a lot of makeup brushes, right?). Now I don’t have anything fancy to clean my brushes except for three simple products that you can find on Amazon: 1) Dr. Bronner’s multi-purpose castile soap, 2) a silicone scrub-mat, and 3) a micro-fiber towel.

I simply place a drop of the soap onto the pad, quickly run the brush under some warm water, and then scrub the brush onto the pad without adding more water. You will watch tons of makeup seep out onto the scrub pad. Take the brush, and brush it onto a microfiber washcloth – it will either show makeup still there (go for another round of scrubbing), or help get some of the excess water out of the brush before laying them flat to dry on that same washcloth. Just rinse the brush and pad, and add a small dab of soap again (like, pea-sized) and repeat the process for all of your brushes. They usually take a few hours to dry but they will be good as new. If you’re looking for affordable brushes that wash well/hold up over time, I cannot recommend Real Techniques brushes enough – I’ll link a few of my favorites below.

That task alone will bring you a major sense of accomplishment, but my vanity was well-overdue for a product clean-out (so many things that are just sitting there forgotten or empty) and cleansing, so I decided today was the day. My entire vanity storage is organized with small, clear stacking bins that I got when I first set up my vanity. Do not sleep on getting these types of bins to organize your life – they have completely changed my life and can now be found in all of my storage centers, from my fridge, to my panty, and my closets. They really make a huge difference in knowing what you already have to avoid waste, and just keeping frustrating clutter to a minimum. I’ll link some options from Container Store, where I get most of mine, below, but you will always have to find what works best for the space you are filling.

Once you have your containers, my biggest advice is to try and organize things by categories (e.g. all blush is together, all mascara or eye products close-by one another, etc.). This makes a huge difference aesthetically, but also helps you maintain order, especially if you have a lot of product like me. This weekend, I spent time emptying out all of my bins, trashing any products that I haven’t touched in months (beauty products do expire and can irritate you if you continue to use them past their time!), and getting rid of empty tubes that I have been too lazy to throw out and clearly forgot about. A good rule of thumb? If you haven’t used it in the last 3 months, you won’t use it, and if you haven’t used it in the last 6 months, it is most definitely expired – TOSS! I promise, you won’t miss them. Simplifying and keeping only what you love allows you to eliminate junk that gets in the way and gives you some space to try something new. The best part of these plastic/acrylic trays is that they are easy to clean. Take a clorox wipe and clean them out, and you’ll be able to remove the makeup grime that builds up over time. This made such a huge difference.

Finding systems of smart storage is so critical to keeping your beauty products organized, and helps maintain cleanliness, which you really do want for anything touching your face, like skincare or makeup. The best place to keep your makeup brushes and lipsticks? Office/desk organizers. I use a glass desk-top organizer for pens, scissors, etc. as a pretty storage solution for my brushes, lipsticks and lip liners. Keep things visible and flip anything that visually signals color upside down so you can easily reach for things to maintain your organization. This is another small step that makes a huge difference in finding what you want so you can stop buying the 40th tube of nude lipstick you definitely don’t need and likely won’t finish.

Next up? Hair care. I love to play with styling my hair, which means that I have a lot of haircare tools and supplies. This has always been one area that I struggled to organize, especially without a lot of bathroom storage for these products. This weekend, I spent the time to clean out all of the things I don’t need, and organize all of my clips, pony-tail holders, serums, etc. into acrylic trays like I do for my makeup. The result is a much better system that is going to let me grab for the things I need quickly. I also went through and tossed any products I haven’t used, to declutter the top of my vanity, where I keep the taller products. This was super satisfying.

One of the smarter things I bought for this room was some decorative floor baskets to serve as storage for my hot tools, which hides them from view. However, because it’s just a big vat, the cords were always tangled and hanging out, which kind of defeated the purpose of having a big storage basket (tons of options at Target or Walmart- I will link some below). Enter, the greatest game changer – velcro cord wraps. Now some of your hot tools might already come with these, but if they do not, I cannot recommend these enough. I went through and put these on all of my hair tools, which let me stack them for easy access, while keeping cords tucked away inside without ending up in knot. I stacked my Dyson Air Wrap (more to come on this) on top, as it’s my most used, and then tucked my brushes on the side. Now it’s all organized, which means less frustration and maintenance on the regular, while also keeping your hot tools safe.

Everyone’s space looks different, so you need to find what sizes and storage options would for your space. At the end of the day, build a space that is usable, visually appealing, and easy to maintain where you have a clear visual of what you have without having to dig. And when it feels like it’s getting out of control, take the time to clean out and cleanse your spaces and anything you’re going to put on your skin or hair. It is such a satisfying way to show self-care to clean and organize the spaces and items that you use daily. While it may seem superficial, caring for your items means building more sustainable routines and wasting less – two things we should all be working towards where we can.

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