How-to Tuesday: Organizing Your Makeup Stash for $25 or Less

One of my most popular posts to date has been my Keurig K-Cup Storage tutorial from 2012. It has been awhile since I have put one together, and I found another great use for Sterilite plastic drawer sets - organizing makeup! This is crazy simple, and can be expanded (as mine is) or toned down (to a mini version) to meet your needs. For someone who looked at the prices of Kardashian-style acrylic organizers, but still had a need, these drawers are a lifesaver.

So, what do you need? I have a Sterilite drawer set like this one (the large one in the above photo), which I found on Amazon. I picked mine up at Target, for around $13. If you have a large collection like mine, you can pick up a smaller one for under $10. All that I did here is figure out the best way to organize each part, and was off to the races from there. I keep my brushes in drinking glasses set on top of the organizers on my bathroom counter.

In the large drawer set, I have, from top to bottom: foundation, blushes, BB creams, and other skincare items. In the second drawer, I have loose eyeshadows, eyeliners, and brow products. The two inserts are $3 organizer drawers I picked up in the bathroom decorating aisles at Target, and I use them to hold eyeliners, brow products, and mascara. The bottom drawer is for eyeshadow palettes. Just enough space.

I no longer have to worry about eyeshadow palettes everywhere, and have a much, much easier time keeping everything organized.


In the small chest of drawers, I have lip products (lipstick, gloss, etc.), skincare and toiletry items like toothpaste, and skincare items like face masks.

Like I said, if your collection is not as big as mine, you don't need to worry about the second chest of drawers, but I thought it would come in handy if I ever needed to stack them together.

There you have it! A quick and easy way to organize your cosmetics on a budget - and all it takes is a trip to your local Target store (or Amazon.com shopping cart)!