7 Steps and you're Ready in No Time
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden
You can shave dozens of valuable minutes off your morning routine by being better organised. Think of it this way: if you spend 10 minutes every morning hunting for make-up or toiletries that aren't in the right place, you'll waste more than 60 hours a year! Follow our time saving tips and you'll be ready in no time.
1. Cosmetics
Keep all your cosmetics and hairstyling preparations together. If you do your hair and make-up in the bedroom, keep all your cosmetics and grooming aids near the mirror or in your wardrobe or dressing table, wherever you will be getting dressed.
2. Storage
Be neat. If you usually get yourself ready in the bathroom, utilise walls to hang extra shelves, or buy wicker or mesh stackable baskets or trays for handtowels, tissues, soap and bath essences. Under-sink wheeled trolleys are an option for even the smallest bathroom.
3. Drying Off
Install enough towel rails for everyone's towel. A heated towel rail is a wonderful luxury on a chilly morning. It also helps towels dry more quickly and reduces damp, musty smells.
4. Past its best
Throw out any medicines that have exceeded their expiry date. Store all drugs and medical supplies in a medicine cabinet or a lockable first-aid box.
5. Get Rid
Discard old toiletries and fragrances, especially if they're over a year old. Unopened fragrant products such as aftershave and cologne should last about two years, but if they've been opened and/or exposed to light, the formula oxidises and breaks down.
6. Rancid Cosmetics
Watch out for signs of decay: rancid odour, oil separation, flaking and discolouration. The shelf life of moisturisers, sunscreen, toothpaste and shampoo is usually between two and three years, but it's less once they've been opened. Cosmetics with less water in them (e.g. lipstick) last longer than those with more (e.g. body lotions). Items mixed with saliva, such as mouthwashes or eye cosmetics, go off fastest of all.
7. Group All Items
Group like items (hair-care products or bath items) together. Take into account what order you use different items in, and how often. For instance, if you only style your hair every two or three days, store hair gels and sprays behind the frequently used items, such as moisturisers, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Organising your beauty products and toiletries, and also culling them occasionally, can save you the aggravation of hauling out half a dozen bottles or jars that you don't need, not to mention the time you save by being able to put your hand on exactly what you need when you need it, use it and then return it to where it belongs.
