So I love makeup. And skincare. And haircare. I really enjoy the whole process of taking care of my bod.

But I recently realized that the desire to try ALL OF THE THINGS and tiny home living do not mesh well. There’s a reason why all of the big beauty YouTubers (or gurus, but I really strongly dislike the label of “guru”) have beauty rooms, makeup rooms, or offices dedicated to storing all of their crap.

Makeup has become, for a lot of people and myself included, about trying the new thing (and there is always a new thing) and finding that “holy grail” product for each category. The perfect mascara, the perfect highlighters for a natural look and for a more intense glow and every level in between, the perfect red lipstick, the perfect berry lipstick, the never-ending quest to to find the exact perfect foundation that makes you look flawless and like you are wearing nothing at all, and on and on and on and on. You get the picture. It’s a nonstop process of finding new things and trying new things.

And that’s not even factoring in skincare and haircare and the miscellaneous tools and materials that go along with everything.

Let me tell you, it is an interesting experience to move into a tiny space and realizing that you don’t have the storage space for the giant bag of cottonballs that you buy twice a year because it’s cheaper per cottonball than the smaller bags. Or to think, “crap where the hell do I put each item of my 12 step nighttime skincare routine while still leaving room for my husband’s stuff as well?”.

Anyway, when my husband and I moved into our converted school bus we had to go through each and every item we placed in it. I held out on my makeup for a long time. It’s been almost a year and the patience of both myself and my husband has been wearing thin in regards to my products scattered throughout our 180 sq ft.

So. It is time to downsize. I have been working to simplify each part of my routine so I’ve been eliminating products and steps for a few months now. Now, I’ll be going through each category of products and eliminating the things that I don’t use, that I tried and disliked, and that have turned on me.

That’s the other thing with living in a school bus- it’s hard to regulate temperatures so I have products which have gone through extreme temperature changes from below freezing to in the 100s. Liquids, oils, and creams don’t tend to do very well with that kind of fluctuation so I am trying to move into as many powder products as I can. There’s nothing quite like slapping on a primer only to realize that it’s turned and gone rancid as soon as you get a whiff of it as it touches your skin.

I’ve got a set amount of containers/baskets/bags and all of my products have to fit in those. I think this will be tough but ultimately I should be left with a small collection of stuff that I actually use and enjoy which I imagine will make getting ready easier and more enjoyable. Plus it should allow me to pinpoint what products I need to start looking for powder alternatives to. After this, I’ll just have to stamp down the urge to buy more and new things (which has been helped by my switch to cruelty free products) to prevent the overload from happening again.

Wish me luck!