I love January! Not only is it my birthday month, it's a great time to tackle clutter. Magazines are full of inspirational articles about clearing out unused stuff in their January issues. (
This and
this and
this, for example.)
There's hardly anything (besides eating chocolate) that I love more than getting rid of clutter.
So, today I decided to tackle the middle drawer (of three) in my bathroom. It's the drawer I use the least. Can you tell?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Bif38YmsrnGO1m5wz49LRJgBj3393sWRdeHJ6Agjs3zYDQKLXoDigzjZEZK_I6g95NpTdsTMTbc62x1fFIBwd7X67jjEY6Gt1Pdz2OZnvyKAAKXu9_95th1Sgh21u9PnDsx4zYjNeoI/s400/P1140024.JPG)
Oh, how ridiculous. Manila file folders (above) do NOT belong in bathrooms. And look at that clutter!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aCAIJbZMPrL8KiQ9J0lqbVGYIvk2E_tl6LL8MfNx72_rOGkGDY_3nJxXIw4guP75DX1Y2H34LvKnUPSAz2Ejl03IwLdY8UFbwVsPu6PdNcbcfNkc083PrDYJ5HlFr9gPRba8mASABss/s400/P1140027.JPG)
After pulling everything out and wiping out the drawer (total time: 2 minutes), I found these beautiful little boxes languishing in the dark. The cloisonne ladybug one my mother made for me:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpr1Na0JFXjgAOLfKYgN32ce0OEdwHFLtOBsLUJvV1LfI4pXwJsV9YVUm8OZfxxMW5zT8c8k2u4ot4dvm5iL3lhOIDh-_jx4h6H0YAF3MimzcxvIKl5ySpHh1piNh2Kb7xxyG-ROh8Jw/s400/P1140030.JPG)
And that drab-looking blue-grey one? A very sentimental, very vintage box from Tiffany:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTx0ywquvBp2wL7l_4vaYh6Z_Thp2DJgGNeglYc9TqExfou3fqLnz5T3P1VxPFXPBxpRzPMuFPlXDZhDhbEGWuMf8PSE3R417WbxtSCGHj8H2wgLYFq68lFz_OH9K_WuX-B_5XpTOE3A/s400/P1140031.JPG)
Inside, a note in my mother's handwriting, indicating that these beads were on clothing from my grandmother's 1913 wedding wardrobe. How sweet! and how NOT to treat them, to shove them in a bathroom drawer:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-7J61QpXlUnHYqvkoLfgDqrlfeejKP4ni-_v6tlol_nJn4Pbwa_sjZaAyifzeT9U-pupcX7wUcE8qXxMPnKBnEtWvE0GFiUFnllGOV2XQg6aQtilKqZwqn7Foa_-95juIonAzrMT3YU/s400/P1140032.JPG)
Shame on me.
I also found this little beauty. It's an Estee Lauder compact from the 1980s, and although the powder in it is far past its "use-by" date, the sheer adorableness of this keeps me from throwing it out:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_vr_Ffwvt31YV3YlFMxoTHCYfblF8OMCY4VS97BIAGedPPJraX7lXC2mzPFFReqt20GRXQwhkjgQLKRcnEGPdsM9a8yPn1l9mzEc-8skerQlB-CNzI7mSuHUyrAfnRZxX0dMNBgCraPA/s400/P1140049.JPG)
Another relic from the 1980s: a tube of Estee Lauder lipstick, bombshell red, that I used only when I was all dolled up for cocktail parties and black-tie affairs. The case is so darn glamorous:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hz1-ABilDvHWFw6mt5JKfOOskm3eO7prJ6Kd49yklQqDD8SGoQv6M9Xnezn8koftx8GfCxOEcU2SpDB5IrOm2ReEeX_Imd1Z5tl_YeVlF0KLnoZe3kNF-0EybUzxcwMlg5BGmAW0L0Q/s400/P1140058.JPG)
But egads! I could never wear that shade now, not to mention that it's older than some of my children:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0hMAiOUpTV4HcHQw8KYLDNnqVKWlkG4XqSzDclmIuGDvRYS_ZthH28KXgKCtH5He2_oEEEeHCTukMVW8XFa1IYqEE2WJZA1YoFmXvRxiEMTbWoAQirrDOkbny7oKRUTwQ_51_YZR3RE/s400/P1140056.JPG)
Speaking of old, this was my Nana's brush. So although it's nicked and worn, I'm keeping it:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKyhmnGlJb0EDfwxhyphenhyphenTmY5T7P3ssthEiwMtzf5ejiQ2CeTit4wJg-nA08kOf6VKktNjkKZ5sfNt0FjxorVzChORUMIRsoGpXZ_5oWHvM3JDE6HWkrV-g_stPI7D2RQNvUepw-t8A_I6Bo/s400/P1140061.JPG)
Compiling all the sentimental things that don't belong in this drawer: another 2 minutes.
And here we have a delightful mishmash of makeup products that I don't need or use any more, not to mention tubes of medicine that are past their expiration date:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8f0En9ruZ9UcEG4cqQAlkKJV-Ms6ixLdB0JVuEtzs-KGgjOJfyvNKltCJwzRx-aqR-q8hsa4pad_QXo42LFCFMV-xwmXK3u_WFirEKRSqrLZQwTBiQfgc2JhXHFxgMRHy_XhzlJJnDk/s400/P1140083.JPG)
Elapsed time to identify and corrall out-of-date meds and makeup: 2 minutes.
Now, THIS I can't get rid of fast enough. A corroded eye-pencil sharpener:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdD3tnJHJQzvG3ATvxkZveO-KycuiEr_QJy6WGuRy3-cB6ZrXd2-OMBvC1uXgzzZD3ZK0K0WRKMAQGnZBEEmx4kngKG5aVcR4BM1hbJJuINKsSqgRA4N1yZc8INxg3bboBdHZNvK8nqoA/s400/P1140064.JPG)
Yuck! and Goodbye!
This glop, more like glue than hair gel, was purchased for a
Halloween look The Boy sported last October. It's going in his medicine cabinet. He'll discover it in, oh, 10 years, when he decides to clean up his bathroom:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87un7oAGV8wxaez2Qdl1eOz4VJIU5YLM5YdRXlk1fAdcmMPOCvqUvnRLMLFkh0mKKowx6sPbXF4Usms4ttxsiWmn5KJK1HKa-Y3epgNfFmKF3wf6EDMjRBkhh1Q4gTRRpVUpwyZzXz-c/s400/P1140070.JPG)
I also discovered I had duplicate cuticle scissors. What a waste of money!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiedxRiv_s8txyTRFNe10eQuqYxnLuagXMhFFpSbBPq5zX0pE3XxFxrFbwQ4QLQIRMAQ0JTbu_IRAwKtStYUhShkyCCGcVQ1gHogL3Nhos8_t6E2bcClK21AMoOmwltoG08j308TuD7mSI/s400/P1140074.JPG)
Total time to identify and purge nasty, duplicate, and that's-not-mine stuff: 2 minutes.
So, in 8 minutes, I had a small pile of sentimental, visually interesting stuff that deserves to be displayed somewhere:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzfgpj2WhOZUOxHCu8oifAeU-j6N1J3eCtjtZolq_r2qJslM08yhl9M_RKgYNwGjA_VGGn7nhEbRgYHpw5WOYimCTyantPeAxH9qHP7YD4JeY8vwq8d7_EJVpEjtokY042y8ZncZts4Y/s400/P1140077.JPG)
A small pile of out-of-date, never-use-it-anymore cosmetics and medicines:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTZFBpajts2lq9QYYrVmLrh4L3FwSDP1NVj7ztIXjWrGm1c-QcSre1ygMWT-pv1ir8ByG5qWafdfZcASWE1zvnULXMwGO6U00mCmLYot2dMusUyG1WMPxU0IdZAYY7F4bt9agD8wOPU8/s400/P1140079.JPG)
And with 2 more minutes to put the survivors back in the drawer, I went from a mess like this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3Yg3lVPNO6spY2TikUcdDr98e3exCp_vd4IGIdGE4CJGi70r_XzZ4spXAbRKWs8Xoo_QwLGN92JCh0rqZz0X43kgvH3zcljPIQzbEgUU8G-YfEW98fwuSNGhEd9pRfnlYFEIxJrNR_4/s400/P1140024.JPG)
to a much-neater this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJm_WOQE-QgM0-_JvaIUIfJPKBTROY4gJxsxm8kmF1RY9ttHip1t4c8A8Ibmaxfvrd4W2lWxOyFDxIDUusPCNbXMDZyVBfT7jfhD83D-iOzhvpk9pziNqDHiAV8EJGUilXzYfinzU_1w/s400/P1140076.JPG)
If getting a grip on your clutter is freaking you out, try taking just 10 minutes, tackling one small drawer, and see how much you can accomplish.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVduawT3u6j5ytdSXLrulAeB_Z3uvk-kgorVPRL-R5Qu_asT-n2T4ET4cSacd_Nr-oB1-rHlh7kotndBCDK2cq2vaEFMGsTUeaFw7lACS1zpS0sWrtHdGP18vAiSiH26I4WyouRXS-AcE/s400/P1140066.JPG)
You have only your 1980s makeup to lose.
I'm doing the same de-cluttering this month (I think we're reading the same magazines), and it feels so good....AND, it also feels so good to know that my super-organized-on-top-of-everything sister has drawers like mine! xoxo!
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