Posted by Clear the clutter is one of the popular sentences and advice you can hear from lifestyle and health coaches – any coaches actually. This because organizing our environment often helps us organize our thoughts. It brings peace of mind and any extra burden is good to get out of life. And I admit it is such a liberating feeling to get stuff out from home, drawers, or even from a wallet (not money but the receipts.)
Personally, mess and clutter make me restless and annoyed. I have never been a hoarder, but some things just tend to stay in the house for too long. I noticed cosmetics are a bit of a problem for us. Today I had a weird burst of energy after the nightshift nap, and I went through all the cosmetic bottles, jars, and my make-up in our bathroom and closets. A lot had to go, and yet a lot stayed.
What did I find?
Most of these containers are not recyclable. How about the products – what was their story? Some of these are unopened but so old – years – that I cannot give these to anyone. Curbside recycling only accepts a few of these bottles. I separated all the parts I think the Resource Recovery Center of our city can recycle – like lids and caps – and the rest will go to the trash bin. We had not needed most of these products. Why had we bought them – not all of them were presents? Maybe we hide these on the shelves and closets because we did not remember what we already had, and we just kept buying more? Awareness of what we have would have been a key here. And the less clutter we have, the easier it is to be mindful.
Most of these jars, bottles, and lids are recyclable. I decided to keep them for three months. If I have not used them for DIY projects by then, those will get recycled. The pumps will stay for a longer time – because they cannot be thrown into the recycling bin. I will try to re-use those at home instead of throwing them into the trash can. The sad fact was that maybe 30% of the products were unused. They had not been a perfect match for our purposes, and I just had let them be. Luckily I have now found better brands for us.
The essentials with two flaws 
These can stay but will be replaced with plastic-free products in the future 
These got one month 
Everything in this picture got tossed away – some parts got recycled luckily
In the first picture are the make-up products I use daily or weekly. At the moment, I have two old products that are not aligned with my decision to have only plastic-free make-up. It would be wasteful to toss them only for that, so I will use them until the end and then replace them with plastic-free options.
All these products in the second picture have plastic in their containers. But because I like them as products and they are something I can use weekly or monthly, I chose to keep them. When I have finished these, the new alternatives – if ever needed – will be plastic-free. Why did I have four mascaras in the house, I wonder?
The third picture has a frustrating story in it. I have probably bought these for dance competitions, and I doubt if I have ever used these. I am not even sure about the best before dates. I gave these a month to live. If I don’t need these, I will put them in the trash. Some parts of the packages could hopefully get recycled at the RR-center.
And then picture number four. I opened my old “competition make-up box where all the brave colors and thick foundations have been spending their time for past years. These are so old, even historical, that I could not use these even if I wanted to. I removed all the parts of the tubes and applicators that I believe our RR-center will take. The rest, unfortunately, goes into landfill/incineration station. Lesson learned.
Mix and match and so much waste 
What was actually left for use 
The future
All the shaving supplies I found got me annoyed. The craziness and wastefulness are so obvious with these products. It seems that I have been gathering different types of razors during past years and that had created an interesting mix and match game. It seems I have some plastic ones to use for this year, and I have already bought a sustainable alternative from EarthHero. No more plastics to this house in the form of shaving products.
But the clutter is still here
It is a thrilling thought to throw away everything we don’t need or like. Out of sight, out of mind, and the idea was to get rid of stuff, right? Yes, but I find this process being an opportunity to observe our consumption and purchasing habits. When the clutter from our house disappears, it will still stay on Earth. That is an essential thing to remember. Please, let’s be mindful when we make decisions about the destiny of each product or item. So much can be donated, used for different purposes, and recycled.
If you are looking for plastic-free and sustainable hygiene, skincare, and makeup products, check from EarathHero! You can choose by your priorities, such as; vegan, organic, minimal plastic, made in the USA, etc.
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Featured image: Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
For the Earth and Us 