Living with Less: Perfumes and Lotions

I know I am guilty of hoarding every perfume, body spray, and lotion I can get my hands on. I constantly get them as gifts, and I pick up every one that peaks my nose's interest. Trust me you don't need a lotion and perfume for every holiday and season. I know this can be quite a hard section to de-clutter, so I decided to make it it's own day. Here is your job this week. To go through all of your lotions, body sprays, and perfumes! 'How do you do that' you may ask. Here's how.

Step 1: Create three piles. This "three pile" system is something you will see over and over again throughout this Living With Less series. You want to make three piles. One pile is dedicated to your "keeps." These are all of the ones that you extremely love and use on a regular basis throughout the year. Next, make a "donate" pile. These are the ones you haven't even used and that you could give to other family members or friends. The last one is "trash." These are the ones that started smelling "funny" and just aren't good anymore.

Step 2: Start deciding. My note is to keep a couple lotions and perfumes for the spring/summer season and a couple for the fall/winter season. These caps you at just a few seasonal ones. You can continue to replace these throughout the year, but just make sure you completely use one up before you buy another. Next, limit yourself to 2-3 of your true loves. These are the expensive ones or those you have loved for years that you cannot just let go.

Step 3: A tip for letting go is to remember that it is fun to have a "signature scent." People will know you by it. It will also save some space on your dresser and make it look a little more clean. Work on spending money on only your favorite couple of perfumes. Even if they are more expensive than your Bath and Body Works favorites, they will pay for themselves when you stop buying 20 of your favorite B&BW scents each season. Remember that the goal of Living With Less is focusing your money on fewer items that are a nicer quality that will last you for many years.

Step 4: Display it. Since you have brought your stock down to just a few products, you can make your display of them super cute. Here are a few inspirations bellow for how to display them.

Pair them next to a large picture!

Display them on a cute cake stand.

Lay them out on a mirrored tray.

 

That's all for today's Living With Less post. Now spend your weekend taking a long hard look at all of your perfumes and lotions! And always remember to...

 

Stay classy,

Molly

 

Photo Credits: pinterest.com