Focusing on Simplifying my space update #1…

I don’t know about you but getting ready for work in a morning has to be a very smooth operation and it often feels like I am a contestant  in that well known game of Beat the Clock.  I hate to be rushed in a morning and my  preferred style of  getting ready is ‘Beautify and Stroll’ rather than ‘Primp and Scurry’ quite amusing terms I once saw in a magazine.  However I do find myself often primping and scurrying rather than strolling due to a lack of organisation.

So to help me in getting ready on time everything I need has to be in the right place.  My morning routine is very simple so it easy to stay on automatic pilot until I am fully awake.

However, there is always room for improvement and I am hoping that as my Focus on Simplifying develops my routines will become so streamlined I can sail through the day.

Of course getting up and getting ready in the morning really begins the night before when I should (note the should!) make sure my bedroom is tidy, my clothes for the next day are chosen, my bags packed, my To Do list printed, and any other errands I have to do are noted and prepared for.

One other important task is to estimate how much time I need working backwards from the time I want to leave the house and then set the alarm clock accordingly allowing for 3 snoozes before I have to get out of bed.

Organising my beauty essentials

One way of making my morning routine simpler has been to reduce the amount of clutter in the bedroom starting with my dressing table drawers.  I have been through them item by item and identified those I use everyday and those that I may only use every now and then like foundation cream and anything that I found I hadn’t used has been put on the out / use – up / charity pile. 

As I sorted I also cleaned not only the drawers but the items themselves which always adds a nice sparkle.  So I am really down to the basics now – no rummaging around and nothing in here that isn’t used at least 20% of the time, in fact I would say that 80% of the contents are used 80% of the time.

Drawer 1

In the top drawer I have my skin care, makeup and fragrances –

•  face cream 2 for daytime and two for night time

• Nivea for really dry patches

• Cuticle massage cream from the Sally Hansen range

• foundation creams

• sponges, cotton wool and towelling headbands

• everyday makeup – mascara and lip sticks / gloss

• makeup brushes and pair small scissors

• eau de cologne and deodorant

Everything is neatly laid out and ready to go and kept in a series of Muji containers with a small flat box of Kleenex tissues perching conveniently on top.  I also keep my Thyroxin medication to hand in here as taking my tablet for the day is the first thing I have to to do when I wake up.

Drawer 2

The items in this middle drawer are less used – perhaps weekly rather than daily – I keep

• much reduced selection of nail polish

• cotton buds

• small emery boards in case of a quick repair to a snagged nail.

 

This is also where I keep more specialised creams for occasional use – I find I prefer keeping them here to the bathroom cabinet as this is where I would apply them at night.

• Calendula

• Tea Tree

• Traumeel

• Arnica Gel

• and essential oil mixes for massage

I also keep my ‘Sunday’ Thyroxin in here (which is a lesser dose) and needs to be kept separate from my main dose.

I have also a collection of eye make up and blusher cases for special occasions and a mini massage roller and soft skin brush.  Again everything is contained in the clear perspex containers from Muji with movable sections.

Drawer 3

The bottom drawer is where I keep my hair styling bits

• soft rollers for a bit of bounce

• hairdressing scissors

• brush and comb

• travel hairdryer

• extra rollers hidden away at the back.

The brushes just rest neatly on top of the tray which was from Ikea.

       

My main stock of creams are kept in the shower room cupboard and bulky paper goods such as tissues and cotton wool in the airing cupboard – this keeps my drawers free of unnecessary duplicates.  I like the ever increasing minimal look of the drawers and feel that this is probably is as far as I can go.

Of course there are always the annoying bits and pieces that do not fit into the drawers and I have 3 of these

• hair Mousse

• fine pump style hairspray

• Aveeno body lotion in a pump container

None of them are particularly appealing in respect of the packaging design, they do not co-ordinate in anyway and are not a pretty addition to my dressing table top and until I can come up with a solution I just have to live with them.

There are only a few days left in February and I am finding that I am not able to declutter at any speed and this months focus may just spill over into next month.  This week I am going to concentrate on the office.  After focusing on our finances I realised there are a few systems I want to change so that the finances are easier to track.

To read about my grocery spending and see what I bought this week click here and it will take you to my other blog Re-routed.

Waste not… want not…

My ‘use up’ box

Below are the oddments of beauty products from decluttering my cupboards back in February and that for different reasons I am using up at the moment.  I have put them together in a Muji container on my dressing table so that I do remember to use them as I can’t bear to waste things even when I am not too happy with them.

The Umberto Giannini Shapely Body Mousse has been great it is the only aerosol I allow myself as they are not very ‘green’ but I haven’t found a natural mousse equivalent yet.  However, when I went into Boots recently for another can I couldn’t find it.  Their range now is different and all I could find is ‘Sex Bomb Massive Hair Mousse’ in an all black container – well Umberto I actually liked my pale green one with the shiny chrome top and as I cannot fit it into my drawer I am very particular about the items I have to display on my dressing table and shiny black just does not fit with the decor!.

The cellulite oil although quite nice I have already replaced with a bottle of Weleda Birch Cellulite oil that I have seen recommended in a few health magazines now and thought I would give it a try.

The tiny pot of Protect and Perfect Night cream came as part of one of those free promotional gift bags.  It is amazing how long they last and I am hoping it will last me to the end of the month.  I quite often buy the Neal’s Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream to use as a night cream – it has excellent reviews and leaves my skin very soft and moisturised.

I bought the Bio-Oil after I had surgery to remove my Thyroid in 2008 to try and help the scar around my neck to fade. It does work quite well however I do prefer the product below – Rio Rosa Mosqueta.This is completely natural and I thought worked even better than the Bio-Oil.  I bought the Rio Rosa oil discounted from a health food shop that was sadly closing down and as soon as I have used up all the Bio-Oil so as not to waste it I will definitely buy another bottle.

The Weleda Natural Citrus Deodorant is one of my favourite buys.  I do not use it everyday as it is a wet spray which takes time to dry and quite different to the usual deodorants but I love the fresh smell and the reason it is in my ‘use up’ box is because I decant some into a small handbag size bottle to keep with me when I need to freshen up.

So there you have it my small attempt at being thrifty – I always feel quite delighted with myself when I have squeezed and scraped every last drop out of the jar or bottle.  It is a bit like using up all the left over bits of veg in the fridge and turning them into a delicious soup and gaining an extra free meal.

All being well…I’ll start tomorrow

After dealing with my finances and getting them in better shape and having made a start on the Big Spring Clean for the house I am thinking it is now time to take control over my own personal well-being.

I Googled ‘well-being’ and found a couple of definitions I felt summarised my understanding of the concept quite well

‘a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous’

and

‘maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle’

– sounds good to me but probably quite hard to actually achieve without persistence and hard work.

So enough off this I’ll start tomorrow there is no time like the present – I am going to down tools for the afternoon and smear a cellulite mud mask on my legs which I purchased months ago and is now in my ‘use up’ basket from the shower room cupboard clear out,  followed by a nice hot shower and then a relaxing home-made face mask (but not forgetting to lock the front door of course!)Cellulite Mud Mask – I can only hope it might work!

For anyone that is interested below is the Face Mask Recipe brilliant for re-moisturising the skin

1tblsp oatmeal, 1 tblsp live yoghurt, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp honey and 1 tsp mayonnaise – mix together and apply to clean dry skin and leave for 15 mins then rinse off.

And to follow…

I will book an appointment with my hairdresser next week to cut and restyle my hair and another one as a treat with Vicky from VJW, who does wonderful organic facials and deep tissue massage.

I must also type a list of all the supplements I should be taking daily but always forget and post it on one of my kitchen cupboards as a reminder.

Next I will search out my moleskin Wellness Journal that I purchased a few months ago and start making some serious entries and a plan to get my journey to my new state of well-being started…watch this space.