Product Storage: You've got 700 Hairsprays. Now What?

This last week has been a whirlwind. Not only did we list our house for sale, but we had 3 showings AND an open house within 30 hours of listing. As a product junkie, its an understatement to say that a few things had to be tidied up. But I wondered: How will I ever hide/display all of my endless beauty paraphernalia so people don’t walk out of the house wondering if a mad scientist lives here?

In my next few entries, I’ll share some cheap, cute, and/or creative solutions I came up with to make being a product junkie live-able AND conducive to selling a home:

To start, here is my home spa room on the lower level of the house, home to a zillion skin care products:

Baskets? Sure, they're cute... but not so creative OR cheap (typically). I needed lots of them in this case, and these little guys came CHEAP in packs of 4 or 5 from Ikea. If I did it again though, I might go with THESE which my mom loves for her office storage. I love how clean they look and IKEA has the best prices for the quality (2-packs in varying sizes for $6.99).

The silver metal case on the shelf is really the AWESOME find in this post. It's from a store called Harbor Freight Tools. 

Baskets from Ikea, and one of the Aluminum cases I got at Harbor Freight

Those who know me may think it’s weird for me to be randomly shopping in this dollar-store-version of a Home Depot, but I resent spending big bucks on utilitarian items. I look at it this way: the more I save here, the more I can spend on skincare and handbags. Right??

Anyway, this aluminum case is perfect to store and travel with makeup, paint/paintbrushes, skincare, and tools too -if you’re into that kind of thing!-  and comes with adjustable dividers and a shoulder strap. Style-wise, it could be a cousin of my expensive Sephora Brand Aluminum makeup kit. It doesn’t feel as high quality as others, but you just can’t beat the price- I actually bought 4! Harbor Freight also offers ‘20% off one item’ coupons, so if you’re stocking up, sign up for their mailing list.

This brings up a good point (if I do say so myself): when you’re looking for a solution, try to think outside the box, or at least try not to default to the most convenient solution.

Here's what I mean: in a casual google search just now, a metal 36" ruler at Dick Blick is $11.25. Then there's our friend Ace, who carries one for $4.49.

Of course, sometimes you get what you pay for, and there are always exceptions.

Many times, makeup and skin care supply/storage can often be found where you're not looking for it: in the kitchen section of a store or maybe the Dollar Spot at Target. You could even re-purpose that collection of fabulous boxes you accumulated when you were on that Louis Vuitton kick (oh, maybe that was just me) but you get the idea...

So the next time you're looking for a storage solution or a new supply, look around and see what you can re-purpose, and keep your eyes open for the less-likely solution. Getting creative may just make your life easier without spending all of your shopping money!

Jumping In! ...But I'm definitely holding my nose.

I'm assuming that my friends and family will be the first ones following my blog, so: Hi Mom! ...But for anyone else out there, my name is Elizabeth Weiler and I'm a licensed Aesthetician (Skin Care Professional), Medical Assistant, Laser Technician, and now: Business Owner!

That last part is new, I've just incorporated my small business, med-E-spa so I can help others open medical spa practices or salon/spas AND learn new tricks of the trade!

So, here's my first post. I think this first one was sort of a challenge for me. I have ENDLESS ideas for posts: makeup, skin care, non-medical, medical, plastic surgery topics, skin health, and even hair care, trends, fashion... the list goes on! But frankly, I was feeling intimidated about blogging for the first time. I think I was avoiding the whole thing because I had no idea where to start.

But isn't that how many things in life go?

I have clients that walk through the door with NO idea how to start treating their concerns. "What do you think about Microderm? Oil of Olay? Lasers?" ...talk about lists going on! But no matter how long we need to chat about their options (downtime, budget, commitment), those clients leave feeling confident and less stressed (let's not forget that stress contributes to aging, people!) 

So here's a guide that I found helpful about writing blogs, which I thought was very well done, and helped me take the first step. Because- just like my confused clients, once I had a professional pointing me in the right direction, it felt just a bit less scary to take that first step.