How to Organize Your Makeup Drawer in 4 Easy Steps

When was the last time you organized your makeup drawer? If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to put off and it doesn’t take long before it’s cluttered and hard to find what you need.

Women spend an average of $1,200 per year on cosmetics alone. Between tons of free samples and everyday items, it’s no wonder our drawers get disorganized so fast.

Did you also know that your makeup expires? I’m definitely guilty of hanging onto some of my cosmetics for way too long. I finally worked on decluttering and organizing my makeup drawer and I’ll share my tips and tricks that helped me do it. 

Here you can see the “before” shot of how crazy, messy and cluttered my makeup drawer is:

Step 1: Empty your makeup drawer

Lay a towel on your counter and you can put everything on it without worrying about it rolling onto the floor. 

Don’t leave anything in your drawer.

It’s always easier to declutter a space when you empty it first, then organize items back into the space.

Clean out any makeup dust or broken pieces from inside the drawer.

Step 2: Take inventory of your makeup

Now take an inventory of how long you’ve had each piece of makeup. Makeup does expire and lose its effectiveness, so it’s best to replace the old with new. Be honest with yourself on this step because there is no use in keeping items you don’t wear or items that are expired. 

Throw out anything that’s too old, broken, or you haven’t used in a long time. 

Not sure when your makeup expires? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve got a free printable reference guide for the shelf life of makeup for you.

The list fits perfectly right inside my medicine cabinet. 

Download your free printable Shelf-Life of Makeup Guide here

Step 3: The Secret Organizer

After you have reduced how much makeup you have, it’s time to set up a system to organize your makeup drawer and save yourself time in getting ready. There are several drawer organizers that can be used for makeup, but my favorite is an expandable hanging drawer organizer.

The best way to get the most use out of a drawer is taking advantage of vertical space. And that’s exactly what this little organizer does. It hangs onto the edges of your drawer while still leaving space underneath for other items. It’s also great because it’s clear, and the bottom of the drawer is still visible.

You can purchase an expandable hanging drawer organizer on Amazon or The Container Store.

Sort your items into your hanging drawer organizer. I put my most-used makeup here for easy access.

Step 4: Keep “Like” Items Together

With the makeup that’s left on the towel, group similar items together. Then place these items in the compartments best suited for their size.

Larger items or items not used as often can be placed below the organizer in the bottom of the drawer inside their own divided unit. I like to use white containers for this so it keeps it bright inside the drawer and makes it easier to see everything.

I love how organized my makeup drawer is now. It’s much quicker and easier to get ready in the mornings now. 

And that’s how you can organize your makeup drawer. It doesn’t have to be a complicated project where you have to spend a lot of money. A simple organizer and a few containers will do the trick.

Whether you organize your makeup drawer completely or just throw away the old makeup, this simple task should only take you about 15 minutes. Those are 15 minutes that will save you much more time in the long run too.

Go organize your makeup drawer today! You’ll be glad you did.