Happy Sunday and welcome to Day #5 of the 12 Days of Decluttering Challenge. If you are just joining us, we are so glad you are here. You can catch up with past days of the challenge right here.

Each day I’m sharing a bite-size challenge to help you declutter your home. Be sure to follow along with me on Instagram stories throughout the days of this challenge. You’ll be able to share your decluttered spaces and see others who are also part of the challenge.

Today’s task is to sort through our medications, makeup and nail polish and discard the expired, crusted, mangled, empty and unused.

Medications

First, gather all of your medications. Check the expiration dates and set aside any that’s expired. You can find a place for proper disposal of medications in your area here. I store our over-the-counter medications on a high shelf in our hallway closet in a clear shoe bin. Prescription medications live in our bathroom drawer with a child lock. Where do you store yours?

Makeup

Next, gather all of your makeup. Don’t forget to check your travel bag, purse and car. Do you know where to look for expirations on makeup? Its a little diffferent than most items with expiration dates. On the bottom of your lipstick or compact you may note a “12M” or “24M.” This stands for 1 year and 2 years from the date of opening. I don’t subscribe to this as a hard and fast rule, but it does help me when I am on the fence about keeping something or not.

You may want to consider separating you makeup in two ways. First, by use. Gather your everyday items in one spot and place them in a convenient location that makes it easy to access. Your fancy or non-everyday makeup can be stored in a nearby location. When organizing in a drawer, I suggest grouping like items together - brushes, eyes, face, lips, etc.

Nail Polish

Last but not least, take a quick look at all of your nail polishes. Make sure you can actually open them. There is no set FDA regulated expirattion date so use your best judgement.

• Is it clumpy?

• Can you even open it?

• How many of the same/similar shade do you have?

• Does it mix well when you shake it?

Tomorrow is the halfway mark in our decluttering journey! Thanks for coming along with me.

XO

Caroline