Clutter Control #2: Beauty Products

"Order is the shape upon which beauty depends."

Pearl Buck

Let's talk about order and beauty all at the same time with my second post in my Clutter Control series, where we will tackle our beauty products! (Yes, "we".)

I should warn you that the first couple of steps in my Clutter Control series are pretty much always going to be consistent: Dump everything out, and start pitching.

More specifically:

Before you even worry about expiry dates, make a pile of any products you don't like or use anymore. (If you can't remember the last time you used it, it has probably expired anyway.)

The Real Simple website shares a fairly comprehensive list of Expiration Dates for Beauty Products. I follow their guidelines for most part, except for perfumes. (I still have a bottle of Lancome Poeme, circa 1998.)

Obviously some beauty products can't be shared, but I put nonperishables like accessories or new(er) nail polishes in my classroom treasure box. Unopened goodies (in my case, a skincare line I decided I didn't need) can certainly be passed along to others. I often bring bags of such things (along with freebies I have received through the blog) to my book club meetings to share with my friends. It's hard for us to take a break from discussing the books long enough to think about something else, but somehow we manage. Because I get a high from getting rid of things, I do it fairly frequently so these purges aren't major for me. (I had also tossed a lot of eye stuff after the pinkeye incident of '10, so I didn't have a lot to worry about there.)

Now assess what you still have. Is there anything you can live without? Pare down to the bare necessities. Then decide where things need to be stored. There are great cases and systems available for makeup and beauty products, but since I have a pretty low-maintenance beauty routine, I find what works for me is keeping the special occasion items in a makeup bag and a couple of trays in my dresser drawer, and keeping my day-to-day products more accessible.

Some people swear by tackle-box type portable makeup cases, while others love a tray system kept in the vanity (with like items kept in the same tray), and I know several who use one of those plastic drawer system on wheels.

I recently simplified my routine so that I could keep my daily essentials displayed. I am normally an extremely efficient person, so don't ask me why I was carrying my makeup and contacts paraphernalia back and forth from my bedroom dresser to my ensuite washroom every day for 9 years. Well, actually I know why...I didn't want it out on any surface looking junky, and there was more room for storage in my dresser than bathroom vanity. When I went through it all I pared things down and repurposed a lovely tray (originally a wedding gift with a cream and sugar set) which actually looks quite nice.

So, now that you're organized again, a couple of tips to prevent getting overwhelmed:

If you want to use the last bit of shampoo or toothpaste, you actually have to use it at the time. You can't use three quarters of each bottle and then stash the last quarter away to "save it", and then open another bottle/tube. Finish one thing before opening another.

As for all of you makeup junkies out there, I firmly believe in the in-and-out rule. If you're buying a new lipstick, an old one has to go. Unless maybe you're a makeup artist and you can blame your hoarding collection on "work".

Some organizational gurus recommend putting a little sticker or label on the bottom of perishable products so you can remember when you purchased it and know when it's past its prime. Again, because my collection is minimal, I don't find this necessary, but for those with an entire arsenal, it might be something to consider.

Next up in This Mom Loves' Clutter Control series? The Linen Closet...with pretty impressive before-and-after shots.

Click here to catch up on Clutter Control #1: The Underwear Drawer.

Delicious Cookies and Cream Dessert

Since I'm really getting into this macro photography thing, I wanted to share with you a pic of a delicious dessert I made over the Christmas holidays:

I also made it for a staff "Treat Day" recently, and when several people asked for the recipe, I promised to post it on my blog.

Here are the steps to making it yourself:

1. Purchase the box below.

2. Follow directions.

:-)

My Blogiversary, and Should I Wear It? Results

Can you believe that my first post here at This Mom Loves was written two years ago today? Neither can I!

As a gift to you on my second Blogiversary, here are the results of my recent (and very popular) Should I Wear It? (Legwarmers Edition) poll (no, this photo isn't really me, though one of my friends will be much more impressed with these boots.):



Yes:  57%
No:   43%

There you have it! Thank you to everyone who voted and commented. It was a lot of fun to get your input. I'll have to see what other questionable items I can pull out of my closet to ask you about!

And just to show you how supportive all of my friends are of my blog, here is a man, dressed in his daughter's legwarmers, in solidarity with my cause:

I refused to post the full-body shot where you can see that he is also sporting an "I heart Kate" t-shirt. I am not kidding.

My New Dining Room Centrepiece

After all the Christmas decorations were cleared away, my house looked refreshingly minimalist. However, one cannot go without a centrepiece on one's dining room table.

I decided to repurpose my glass trifle dish, but I needed something to put in it. At my mom's recommendation I got a bag of, well, decorative balls and stuff (not what it said on the label) from Home Sense for $9.99, randomly dumped it in, and here are the results:

The one downfall, of course, is that I can't serve trifle until I put out the Easter decorations, but I am confident that none of you come here for the cooking-related posts. I'm sure that now, with a post like this, I will be overwhelmed with requests to focus more on decorating. You just never know what you'll find at This Mom Loves...

This Mom Loves' 2011 Stats

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing where my traffic came from in 2011, and which were the most popular posts.

I'll tell you right now though that I won't be divulging actual traffic numbers (though maybe I should have saved that piece of info 'til the end, to improve my "time on site" stats!)

I'll gladly announce that my age is 34, and I would be open to revealing my weight (although I am under the impression that a thin woman sharing her weight is not seen as helpful). I will not, however, tell exactly how much traffic I get, because I don't want to be compared to anyone else! My blog continues to grow in readers (my visits increased 250% from 2010 to 2011), subscribers, Google follower, and Twitter followers, and for someone with a full-time-plus job away from blogging, I have to be satisfied with that.

Traffic Sources:

#1 Google (organic)
#2 Direct
#3 Win-Free-Stuff.ca
#4 Facebook (I'm not even on it, but when celebs link to my momterviews there my traffic shoots up)
#5 Google (referral)

Search Terms:

#1 Marci Ien pregnant
#2 Marci Ien
#3 Marci Ien husband
#4 Laurie Gelman
#5 This Mom Loves

Top Giveaways (I won't link to them since they're all closed)

#1 Christmas Extravaganza
#2 Pampered Chef Bar Pan
#3 KitchenAid Food Processor
#4 $50 CSN
#5 BIC Prize Pack

Top Momterviews (links provided in case you want to catch up)

#1 Marci Ien
#2 Sarah Richardson
#3 Laurie Gelman
#4 Jamie Salé
#5 Gail Vaz Oxlade
#6 Cheryl Hickey
#7 Tracy Moore

Top Posts (not Giveaways or Momterviews, links provided)

#1 They Searched What?
#2 Marci Ien Welcomes Baby Number Two
#3 Perfect Parties Theme Five: The Rock Star Party
#4 Wednesday Words From Michael J. Fox (I think when people search images of his family they quite often end up here)
#5 Perfect Parties Theme One: The Polka-Dot Party
#6 New York City Day 2: Live With Regis and Kelly

If other bloggers have done similar traffic posts, feel free to leave the links below. I'd love to check them out!

And on a final note to the several people who have asked me how my posts can be e-mailed out at 9 a.m. when I'm supposed to be teaching: they are preprogrammed!! I usually have my posts set to go on at 8 a.m., and I have my Feedburner settings such that my e-mail subscribers receive them shortly after 9 a.m., when I am diligently working with my students!

My Holiday Season, By The Numbers

Here's a quick breakdown of how I spent my holidays:

Books read: 3+1 (not a huge number, but we're not talking about light and fluffy reading material)

• We Need To Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver): A- Kevin went on a killing spree at his high school. The book is letters written by Kevin's mother to his father, reflecting back on their time together right from the beginning. Very heavy, as the author seems to shun the adage that you shouldn't use a long word when a short one will do. Movie coming out this year. No way will it compare to the book.
• Girl In Shades (Allison Baggio): B+ My latest book club selection, also serious (written from the perspective of Maya, whose mother is dying of cancer) but also a bit of a flashback for those of us who grew up in the 80's. This one would actually make a good movie.
• Writing Essentials (Regie Routman): A This one's a teacher book, and I consider the author to be my educational soulmate. (She also wrote the equally brilliant "Reading Essentials".) In a nutshell: for kids to become good writers, they need to spend lots of time doing authentic (e.g. non-worksheet, non-prescribed-program, non-narrow-prompt) writing. One would think that would be obvious, but it isn't to everyone.
• Since the holidays I read one more that I have to add: Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay) A-, which is a powerful bestseller about a fictional child in an unfortunately nonfiction situation: Sarah is a young Jewish girl in France during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv Roundup of 1942. When the police come to get her and her mother, Sarah locks her younger brother in a cupboard to keep him safe, vowing to come back for him later. Her story is intertwined with that of a modern-day Parisian journalist. (Just Googled it and realized it was also a 2010 movie...how did I miss that?)

Movies seen at the cinemas: 4

• Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked: B- If you have to see a kids' movie, this one isn't too painful.
• Mission Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol: B- Entertaining, but not as good as we had hoped
• New Year's Eve: B- This is cute, but certainly not necessary on the big-screen. Rent it next New Year's.
• The Muppets: B+ I had 4 kids coming home in my car and they all said they preferred this to The Chipmunks. I love Amy Adams and Jason Segal, and for all of you who have always wanted to see Chris Cooper rap, your time has come.

Movies seen at home: 7

• Columbiana: B- But my husband would rate it much higher. I'd dial down the action a tad and beef up the backstory to improve my score
• The Sound of Music: B+ A Christmastime tradition, and my girls love it. I learned what it feels like to swoon as I watched Captain Von Trapp's reaction when he realized Maria had returned...and I pretended that he was really looking at me. If only Christopher Plummer weren't 81. However, he is Canadian, which makes him seem that much more attainable.
• Stealth: C+ 2005 war/sci-fi-ish movie with Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel. Didn't fall asleep.
• I Don't Know How She Does It: C  I have a habit of watching bad chick-flicks despite all warnings. It was still fine for some holiday fluff, but didn't come close to doing the book justice (you can't just combine different characters into one in order to simplify the plot), and as reported, SJP was very Carrie-Bradshaw-but-with-kids-and-a-demanding-job. There are also too many cheesy freeze-the-action-while-the-protagonist-talks-to-the-camera scenes.
• The Bourne Series: A- We PVR'd them all, and watched them in the evenings (or, admittedly, on lazy afternoons). I'm excited that a fourth is coming out, but less than enthused that Matt Damon isn't it in.

Meals Eaten at Restaurants:  4

I swear, this is true. Now, I had several delicious meals at my parents' house and at at friends' homes, a potluck with my husband's family, and a couple of Tim's bagels, but we didn't technically "eat out" at restaurants a whole lot. I ran the dishwasher almost every day, which is always a good barometer of how much I am actually cooking.

Oh, and just to randomly end things on my new share-more-with-my-readers note:

Number of grey hairs plucked: 2

So far I have maintained that any hair-colour changes are strictly for fun. Those days may be coming to an end.

January Jingles: $100 Paypal Cash Up For Grabs!

Giveaway open worldwide.

What better way to warm up this winter than with some retail therapy? I've teamed together with some other great bloggers to offer you a $100 Paypal Cash giveaway!

Please read the information below and use the Rafflecopter form to sign up (this is the first time I've used Rafflecopter here, so bear with me). You only need to enter this giveaway on one of our blogs, as we are all using the same form.

This contest will run until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 23rd.

Welcome to the January Jingles Paypal $100 Giveaway hosted by The Knit Wit by Shair and Multi-Testing Mommy.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event has been brought to you by the following blogs: The Knit Wit by Shair Multi-Testing Mommy Maple Leaf Mommy The Education of a Stay at Home Mom Talking MomCents HabitueTO Little Miss Kate The Spring Mount Six Pack Sober Julie Golden Charm Blog My Secret Home About a Mom Emilys Reviews Sadie Bakes A Girl Worth Saving funny things are everywhere This Mom Loves Raising My Boys Show Me The Prizes

Good luck!

Valentine's XO Frames Craft...and My Intro to Pinterest

I should have listened.

Three of my coworkers were the first to try to convince me to join Pinterest, with a caveat: "It's really addictive!" they all warned. I resisted for a while, but finally gave in, and were they ever right.

I'll post more about Pinterest in the future, but already I love it. It's a great way for me to organize the wealth of information I gather online, and to find great stuff that others recommend.

Case in point: I went on Pinterest and searched for Valentine's Day ideas. Originally I was looking for something cool I could do with my class, but when I came across this "pin" for an XO Frames Craft from Tatertots and Jello, I was inspired to try it myself: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/175288610466308681/

So, first I "pinned" it to my "Valentine's Day" board, so I will always have it handy when I'm looking for it. Next I hit the dollar store and picked up supplies: 4 frames, 2 gift bags (I couldn't find wrapping/scrapbook paper that suited for me so I went with Valentine's-y bags, which make my product a little cheesier and less classic looking, but oh well) and a bag of clear glass beads. Total cost: $7 plus tax.

Then I grabbed my glue gun and made magic! (Okay, Jen from Tatertots and Jello made magic. I made a reasonable facsimile. Or a cheap replica, whatever; I still did it myself!)

The moral of the story is that Pinterest inspired me, and just might inspire you too! Click the button below to follow me on Pinterest.