Happy Tuesday ladies! I hope your week is off to a good start. The rain is finally gone and the sun is shining so I'm a happy camper :) This is my second Tuesday Tips post (hence 2.0) and it's all about cleaning.. Ugh yes, cleaning. I've learned that there are two types of people in the world: people who love cleaning and people who hate cleaning. Raise your hand if you're someone who dreads cleaning like I do! The thought of taking time out of my day to clean makes me cringe. There are so many things I'd rather be doing than cleaning (online shopping, working out, catching up on TV shows, even homework). But.. once I get in the mindset to clean I do it, and I do it well. If I didn't do it well then it would just be a waste of time, right? I also have to admit that I feel great after I clean because I did something productive.
The three main cleaning tasks that I struggle with are cleaning my room, cleaning my car, and cleaning my makeup brushes. When all three of these tasks build up and have to be done at the same time I get really stressed out. Recently, I've been trying to complete these three tasks on a weekly basis, at the least. It's been working so far.. well kind of.
First let's talk about cleaning your room. My problem is that once my laundry is done and folded, I have piles and piles of clean clothes that sit on my floor for days. Why don't I put my clothes away right after they're folded? I don't really have an answer for that. It's just a task that I avoid. When these piles of clean clothes get combined with clean clothes that I try on and then take off and don't hang back up, it creates a disaster. Then I have clean clothes in piles and clean clothes just thrown around. Then, I can't remember if the clothes thrown on the floor are clean or dirty! What a mess. I've come to the realization that putting my piles of clothes where they belong right away is obviously super helpful. I've also come to the realization that hanging up clean clothes after trying them and changing my mind is also helpful. (Who would have thought, right?) Moral of the story: avoid a messy room by putting your clean clothes away, right away! I promise it helps and if you get in the routine of doing so you won't have to dread cleaning your room.
Second, let's talk about cleaning your car. I'm always on the go. Whether I'm going to class, work, or Rob's, the mess in my car can build up pretty quickly. My mess consists of clothes, shoes, and trash (water bottles mostly, some protein bar wrappers, and the occasional banana peel, gross I know). SO. To avoid a messy car, I take my trash out EVERY DAY. I keep plastic bags in my center console that way I can throw my trash in the bag and only have one item to carry since my hands are usually full when I get home. Even if I have to make a second trip out to my car to get my trash or extra clothes that made their way to the back, I do it. It's worth it knowing the next time you get in your car you won't have an even bigger mess to clean. Moral of the story: take the trash out of your car every day and take out any clothing items before they build up.
Last, let's talk about cleaning your makeup brushes. This is a task that most ladies forget to do on a regular basis, myself included. Who really feels like cleaning their brushes and waiting for them to dry? Not me. Especially when I know they won't be dry by the time I need to use them next. What a pain right? Cleaning your makeup brushes on a weekly basis would be ideal, but since timing is a big part of it, it's hard, I get it. What I've been doing is writing a reminder to myself in my calendar to clean my makeup brushes. This helps me because then I am able to look at my schedule and pick a day where I know I probably won't wear makeup, that way I don't have to worry about them being dry or not. (And yes.. you read that right.. I don't wear makeup every day.. it's important to let your skin breathe so it can stay healthy!!) This cleaning task is so important because if you neglect your brushes, product and bacteria will build up and cause your face to break out which no one wants. I currently clean my makeup brushes with warm water and baby soap. It works like a charm and leaves my brushes feeling smooth as ever! If I don't have baby soap I will use my face cleanser, that works just as well. In the past I have used makeup brush cleanser from MAC, but I think it's overrated. Moral of the story: clean your makeup brushes as often as possible, even if it's once a week, to avoid breakouts and product build up on your brushes.
I hope you enjoyed this post and now feel somewhat inspired to clean on a regular basis rather than avoid it for as long as possible! When you get in a routine, cleaning will become less work because the mess won't be as big. Just remember: clean your car, clean your room, and clean your makeup brushes! If you have any cleaning tips that make the process easier I'd love to hear them in the comments below!
xo