An Organized Beauty Regimen

Getting dressed and out the door on time has become an unending battle that many of us are losing daily. Often, if we don't live alone, it's not always our fault. But, sometimes it is. Time management skills aside, there are a couple ways to improve the chances of starting the day off in an organized manner.

Getting dressed without tossing 13 outfits on the floor and screaming, "I don't have anything to wear!" is always a plus! In order to help ease the frustration of finding something appropriate and comfortable to wear on a daily basis, I suggest starting by organizing your wardrobe. Remember when I wrote about that process last year?

If you've got kids, maybe getting them safely out the door will help ease your morning, too. Homework done, lunches made and teeth brushed - success! I was interviewed for an article about just that last winter, too. Trust me, that's a whole topic on it's own!

What is probably left to tackle is whatever beauty regimen you may or may not have. Regardless of

how many products you have or how many steps it takes to 'make up your face,' all of us have at least a handful of things to do in the bathroom.

I wrote about culling down your collection of products already, so I'd rather spend time discussing how to set-up all the 'keepers.' As always, we start with grouping our products: hair, face, body, shaving, medicine, nails/toes.... you get the picture.

Before we start to assign space for those categories to live, I like to sift through each group and pull out anything I know I'm going to use everyday: toothpaste, deodorant, contact solution and so on. These items are immediately put in prime real estate - usually the medicine cabinet or the most accessible drawer. If need be, these items can go on a try or in a basket on the counter, too.

Next, I do a second run through the piles to find 'special occasion' items: costume make-up, travel-size products and bulk supplies. These are things I'm going to rarely reach for. These items will be stored out of the way. A linen closet, bottom cabinet/drawer or a bin in a closet might work well for these categories.

All those in between categories can now fill in the middle drawers and other spaces still up for grabs. Vitamins to refill pill reminders and bandages are good in-between categories - things I'll reach for a couple times a month.

To 'put your face' now, all you have to do is look in the right spot! No more combing through four make-up bags to find your everyday lipstick. It's in the make-up bag that has all the everyday products in it. The holiday make-up is in it's own bag; the Halloween make-up has a separate spot.

Now, get going!