How to Organize Your Cosmetics, Shoes and Everything Else

The past few weekends have been frigid, gray and short. It’s been the worst possible weather for outfit photos. Instead, these types of weekends seem built for doing chores. (Riveting, I know.)

The bright side? I’ve discovered the single greatest organizational secret for cosmetics. Don’t laugh. But do you ever have problems identifying which eyeshadow palette is which — especially early in the morning before work?

Try figuring out which is which at 7 a.m.
Try figuring out which is which at 7 a.m.

Nearly all my cosmetics appear virtually identical, making my morning routine especially time-wasting. Because modern cosmetics have such artistic, nonsensical names, I can’t discern the products based solely on the labels stamped on the back of the compacts.

(Example: Do you know what color Mediteranee is? Because it’s not blue, green or any other color I associate with the Mediterranean — it’s orange.)

Enter the miracle-maker.

I used a Brother labelmazer, Model  PT-H100, which retails for $34.99
I used a Brother label maker, Model PT-H100, which retails for $34.99

I don’t know why it took me so long to think of using a label maker, but the idea turned into a weekend-long fascination with translating obscure-sounding colors into plain English. (Like the color “Cleo.” Seriously, what is that supposed to even mean?)

I should have thought of this sooner.
I should have thought of this sooner.
narscollage
The color is normally called Misfit. Good luck figuring THAT out on your own.

I quickly labeled every soldier in my cosmetics calvary, but it didn’t end there.

Because I often buy shoes from consignment stores, I wind up storing the more valuable or delicate pairs in random shoeboxes that have nothing to do with the actual contents. This is much more practical than the still-circulated tip of taping identifying Polaroids to the outside of the boxes. (Consider the ridiculous expense of tracking down a working Polaroid and dozens of boxes of film.)

shoeboxes

I did a cursory look on Pinterest and couldn’t find any other tutorials on this. Is it possible I have actually invented something useful? Perhaps not, but let’s create a movement anyway.