01 May 2012

Cleaning the Style House: My Sample Pledge

I’m getting organized [H busts out laughing in the distance].

I’m cleaning house. Literally and figuratively.

While there are major home organization and cleaning projects (like, say, clearing out the minicrib Bean No. 2 hasn’t slept in for oh, over a year, of all the accumulated crap. It makes for great storage, people), I’m also trying to clean up me. #healthyme was obviously the start of that. Now that I’m feeling physically cleaner, I’m taking baby steps on other fronts.

First up was my 10% weightloss goal reward: my new Clairsonic Mia. I can’t review it yet, as I’ve only used it twice. But it is pretty fun, this “toothbrush for my face” (only way I could describe it to The Beans).

Second, and also a first step [again, H busts out laughing in disbelief] in the Big Projects, was cleaning up my dresser top. It’s a horrible catch all. Our nanny regularly clears it off for me (bless her), but I think she’ll stop soon out of frustration.

So Saturday, after a Big Tar-ZHAY run in which we bought a new lamp for the living room and I found one for my dresser (similar here, I just couldn't find my exact one online), I hauled proverbial ass and cleaned up the dresser. I dusted it, and I even pulled out the Old English Polish like Mommy taught me (if you have wooden furniture, it's really the best).

Isn’t it pretty?

I’m blessed to have a family that pulls things from the trash. Good things, like, oh, this actual dresser and this beautiful enameled tray. It’s graced my dresser or a dining room table in my “grownup homes” for as long as I’ve lived on my own. It was also Grandmom’s. Which means I won’t ever part with it. I found the box that now holds my cosmetics samples at Container Store (similar, but not wood, here) a while back. It’s held various things on and off, but it’s been a clean way to hold my cosmetics for a few years.

The last part of my cleanup pledge to myself is that I have promised myself I will use All of My Samples before I buy anything new. Between birchbox and blogger events, I’m full up. I do love getting them, but I always forget to use them. So between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, I cleared out all of the old swag bags and birchbox shipments and organized them: hair products, body treatments, facial treatments, facial cleansers, and random @#$% like press-on nails (yup. you read that right). And those cute little birchbox boxes? Two of them fit perfectly inside my wooden box to keep things in line. I like lines.
I’ve made it through 2 nights and have used up 4 packets so far: a Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Cream (my regular cream, I got extra samples on my last order for travel. Clearly, I used them that way), Kiehl’s Rosa Arctica cream (creamy and light all at the same time), a Darphin wrinkle serum (I’m totally undecided on whether serums are worth any trouble at all), and a Paul & Joe face moisturizer. I don’t have any particular product reviews; trying samples just doesn’t give enough time for this girl with a sensitive face to test the reaction.

But I am cleaning house.

Curious about what else I use up in my attempts to purge the samples? Follow my #SamplePledge tweets and on Instagram (yes! I'm finally on Instagram @DCCeline).

3 comments:

RosaLovesDC said...

I love your sample pledge. I stopped Birchbox because I had so many samples and I decided I needed to use them up before I could sign up again.

Alison at Wardrobe Oxygen said...

I have a "swag box" in my closet full of samples and random things PR people mail to me that I didn't ask for in the first place. In the past I have bundled some up and done a giveaway, for my baby shower I bought three mini train cases and filled them from this box as thank you gifts for the hostesses, and each Christmas I take what is left over and donate it to women's shelters. I occasionally use my samples, but I have gotten so into my specific products I fear trying something new. However, love your organization and may have to dig into that swag box and use some for myself!

Alison Santighian said...

Rosa, love your discipline. I'm not quite ready to cut myself off, so long as I start using them (and so much of it smells great!).

Alison, I remember you posting about the baby shower gifts - such a great idea. And do dig into your samples - you just. never. know.