Who among us doesn’t want a neat, well-organised vanity table to set the tone for a stress-free morning? But it can be hard to know where to start cleaning or organising your vanity if you, like many beauty junkies out there, have a hoarding problem with drawers upon drawers chocked full of products you don’t remember buying.
If you are thinking of taking this time during quarantine to organise your vanity, we’ve got you! We have put together a step-by-step guide on organising your vanity, complete with all the tips you might need for a sparkly clean, clutter-free vanity.
1. Get rid of the junk
View this post on Instagram
Start by taking out all your beauty items, and we mean everything, from your drawers and shelves and place them in front of you. Once you’ve gotten over the shock of realising just how much you own, start going through each item and decide whether to keep or get rid of it.
Be honest with yourself here. You don’t have to ask if your items spark joy, but something has expired or if you haven’t used it in a while and can’t see yourself using it any time soon, it simply has to go.
For unwanted items that are still in good condition such as hair styling tools or perfumes, find them new homes by donating to charities or giving them to your friends.
Remember to repeat this process every once in a while to make sure your beauty stack doesn’t pile up again.
2. Clean your vanity table
With all the products removed, it’s time for the next step: deep cleaning.
Use a surface cleaner such as this Dettol Surface Cleanser Spray and damp cloth to wipe down your vanity, the mirror as well as storage containers. Don’t forget to clean your products themselves, too. Make sure to get into every nook and cranny of every bottle or compact case to get rid of dirt and bacteria build-up.
3. Sort products into groups
Now that you have gotten rid of unwanted stuff and turn the remaining products sparkly clean, it’s time to get organised and sort them into groups.
The obvious categories would be skincare, hair care, body care, manicure and makeup products. But you can also separate these into smaller groups. For example, makeup can be split into base products (foundation, concealer, powder, etc), lip products, eye products, etc.
A very useful organisation tool that is loved by beauty junkies is clear acrylic containers. They help keep everything organised and the clear material means you can immediately see what you’re looking for. You can find these containers on Shopee.
4. Keep only frequently used products on your counter-top
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Pxuqyg5wJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
To prevent cluttering up counter space, only keep frequently used products out and put the rest away in drawers or any other storage space you have. Make sure to organise those neatly into containers so that the next time you need something from your drawer, you won’t have to dig through a pile of products to find it.
Another useful tip would be to arrange the products on your counter-top in the order that you use it. For example, you can arrange your skincare products according to the steps in your routine.
If you are using a standalone counter mirror, place it on the side of your non-dominant hand so you can easily grab your products with the other hand.
5. Wash your brushes
Once your vanity table is all clean, take this time to give your brushes a deep cleanse as well. Dirty brushes and sponges are full of bacteria, dirt, dead skin cells and sebum from your face, which can cause breakouts and irritation.
There are many tools to help you cleanse your brushes effectively such as this Liquid BlenderCleanser from Beauty Blender and this silicone glove to help get all the gunk off your brushes.
Make sure to keep a schedule so you remember to wash your brushes regularly.
6. Get two brush holders
If you have a lot of brushes, chances are you won’t be using all of them at the same time, so you will always have a mix of clean and dirty brushes.
While the colour of the bristles can tell you whether a brush is clean or not, it’s not a good idea to keep clean and dirty brushes together as dirt and bacteria can still transfer around.
Instead, invest in two separate holders to save yourself from having to dig through the dirty brushes to look for a clean one.
We especially love this makeup brush holder from Shopee because it has a lid to prevent your brushes from collecting dust from the air. You can also get the version with two slots for bigger face brushes and smaller eye brushes.
7. Organise your jewellery
Instead of keeping your necklaces all tangled in a box, make use of wall space and hang them up with these hooks. Not only will this prevent your necklaces from tangling up, having them all in front of you will also make it easy to decide which one to wear in the morning.
You can also keep your rings, earrings and bracelets in cute trays or bowls (such as this super pretty tree-shaped jewellery holder from Shopee) that act as both containers and decorative items for your vanity.
8. Keep hot tools separate
It can be dangerous to leave hot tools such as curling wands, blow dryers or straighteners lying around on the countertop, especially if your vanity is in a damp environment like the bathroom.
This wall-mounted holder from Shopee will help solve that problem by keeping these tools off the floor or countertop and neatly into separate compartments.
Featured image credits: @ary_mua
