Time To Toss

You discard bad food and change the oil of your car. You buy new shoes when your pair is scruffy. You buy new pans when the Teflon coat is peeling. Basically you know when to buy new stuff to replace the old ones. Here are some more guidelines on when to throw out your stuff and buy replacements.

Toothbrush: You know it’s time to replace it when the bristles are worn-out. Even if you brush your teeth for 15 minutes (which is highly unlikely), an impaired toothbrush is useless. A toothbrush’s life span can be from one month to 3 months depending on usage.

Hairbrush: Wash your hair brushes! Do no let loose hair accumulate on the brush. If you take care of your hair brush its lifespan can reach up to ten years.

Mousse: As long as it does not smell more like alcohol and is not runny or hard as a rock, then I guess you could still use it. It usually has a shelf life of five to eight years which is pretty insignificant for a canister of mousse, no matter how rarely and sparingly you use it is gone in 3 weeks.

Lipstick: I have tons of lipstick dating back to the early 90’s. I read that lipstick tubes should be thrown our after two years. I cannot even finish a tube of lipstick in a year. Why? I have about 4-6 tubes that I use alternately, not counting the tons hidden in my dresser. Maybe someday I’ll be able to throw them out.

Mascara: Throw in the thrash after 6 months which I’m quite sure none of you will follow. Mascara tubes cost a lot and unless you coat your eyelashes with a quarter –inch thick of mascara day-in day-out, there’s no way to finish a regular tube.

Eye shadow: Just like the mascara, it should be discarded after 6-12 months. Again, just like the mascara, there is no way to finish one color in your usual 4-color compact unless, just like the mascara, you apply a copious amount on your eyelids and maybe on your neighbor too.

Perfume: I have a real oil-based perfume that is sitting patiently inside my dresser, waiting for the day that I will finally open the bottle. The perfume is older that my 4th daughter and son. I read that a perfume should be thrown out if its smell has changed. That would be a problem for me since I do know the original scent of the still unopened bottle of perfume.

Blush: Not in pristine condition after 1-2 years. At its third year of existence, do throw it out if you can. I use 2-3 shades of blushers. I’ve been using it for the past 4 years. We’ve bonded; the blushers and I. Parting with them now will break my heart.

Talcum Powder: Will last forever as long as it stays dry.

Razors: If it nicks, then junk it.

Now that I’ve given some tips on when to throw out stuff, I’ll read up on “how to part with old stuff the easy way.”