I think now would be a good time for me to confess to being a hoarder of sorts. I’m very attached to my nail polishes and the collective body of bottles that makes up my Stash of around 500. I guess the same could be said for any ‘collector’ – whether it’s of stamps, shoes or books – and perhaps that’s a kinder word to describe me. The only problem I’ve faced as a collector is that housing any collection can take up a lot of space and a little while ago I found myself running short on nail polish real estate.
I have an Ikea Helmer (
UK £25 /
US $39.99) for storing my nail polish but bottles were beginning to spill over on to my work surface and even in boxes under the bed. I decided the best solution was a De-stash: a clear-out and simultaneous reorganisation to be carried out on the aforementioned Stash. During the De-stash I decided on around 100 polishes that would be rehomed to make space for the next generation and they were all weeded out using the following criteria:
1. Is it still a fully functional nail polish i.e. paintable consistency, lid fused to bottle etc.
2. Have I worn it in the last 6 months?
3. Will I wear it in the next 6 months?
4. Is it even really that pretty?
If the answer to most of these questions was ‘No’, the polish had to go! Of course, there were other influential factors such as my sentimental attachment to each individual polish (yes, that happens) but I mostly went along with these four questions.
Despite what I thought was a fool proof de-stashing strategy there were still a few among that final 100 that I really didn’t want to say goodbye to. They were mostly ones who received three No’s but a Yes to the final question – they were all hella pretty polishes.
I held on to those special ones for a little while. I considered keeping them in a box in the attic to be dusted off and marvelled at once in a blue moon but I soon came up with a better solution that would allow me to 1. Display the pretty polish somewhere I can see it all the time, 2. Pass the polish along to my friends and family who would actually use it and 3. Have fun with a good DIY project.
I decided I would decant a little bit of each polish in to those glass vials that you often get when you buy small nail art accessories. I got mine in
Poundland (filled with Caviar beads) but you can also get them from lots of
places online and in
different sizes, and you may even already have some at home.
After disposing of the Caviar, I just poured the polish straight from the bottle in to the little vial and capped the top. At the moment they’re all sitting pretty against the wall on top of a framed print. I know that if ever I decide I don’t want to display them anymore, I’ll easily find a spot for them in the Helmer after sealing the stoppers with a layer of glue.
I wanted to share in case anyone found themselIf you recently had your own De-stash, how did you decide which polishes stayed and which had to go?
