Inventory and Review for 2018 and No Buy 2019 Prep

One of my most-repeated "stop buying shit" tips is to pull out everything you own and really look at it. You can arrange everything in neat rows and count it, or you can pile it up like a dragon's hoard. I like to do both: the organized method helps me calculate exactly how much I have, and the pile o' stuff is just a fun visual. I mean, c'mon, look at this picture! Isn't that quite a lot of frivolous stuff? Just call me Smaug.

I dropped almost $2000 worth of makeup on my office floor because I've decided to go through with my no buy in 2019, and before I start that, I need to get a handle on what I currently own and how I did with my 2018 goals. Frankly, I didn't do well, but I'm not the least bit upset about it. Why? Because I absolutely underestimated how taxing it is to move to a new place and start two new jobs. I was up at 7am and working by 7:15am most weekdays, and I worked until 5pm, then made dinner, then cleaned...reading and wearing makeup took a back seat to so many things these last few months.

I will not read 50 books this year.

I will not finish $200 worth of makeup.

I spent too much money these last few months on things I didn't need.

That's fine. I've got this. I'm settled. We're looking forward to a brighter, better 2019.

First up, let's look at some numbers! Here's what I had at the start of the year versus what I have now.

PRODUCT	JANUARY	DECEMBER
Concealer	4	4
Foundation	2	4*
Powder	2	1
Spray/Mist	1	1
Brow Pencils	3	5
Brow Gels	1	3
Eyeliner	2	1
Powder Shadow	16	3
Cream/Liquid Shadow	5	12
Eye Primer	2	2
Mascara	3	5
Lip Gloss	1	2
Lipstick	18	26
Lip Pencils	6	7
Blush	11	12
Highlighter	4	6

Note the * next to my foundation number: I just bought a foundation I've been wanting for over a year from Sephora, but it disappeared from the website ten minutes after I placed my order, so I have the sneaking suspicion Sephora will cancel that item. Also, I'm not too upset about where my numbers went up, since a decent amount of that is going to get used up pretty soon. For instance, I'm almost done with my Milk Makeup Gel Brow pencil. That drop in my number of powder shadows is just...so pleasing. Lastly, I have a small pile of products I plan on purging: I've set them off to the side, and if I don't miss them in the next month, away they go.

Now for my official plans for my 2019 No Buy! First, the exceptions. I am allowed to:

• Purchase replacements of staple products, like MAC Face & Body foundation or Jordan Samuel Hydrate Serum.
• Buy new things if I have gift cards or store credit.
• Receive products as PR or gifts.

 To stay on track with my goals, I plan on:

• Collecting all of my makeup and skincare empties for the year. This might be easier said than done, since we only have so much space, but I can try to squeeze a bag under the sink!
• Keeping all of my receipts AND keeping a list of my purchases. If I buy something with a gift card and end up paying a few dollars for taxes, I need to keep track of it.
• Writing down what I wanted to buy, then calculating how much I saved by not buying it. I already have a sticker in my planner for this!
• Doing regular update posts and/or videos. (Would posts or videos be better?) I think a monthly post in the same format would be a bit dull, but I could probably do something no-buy related each month.
• Forcing myself to be more inventive with the products I have. As I've gotten older, I've grown away from heavy eye makeup, but isn't it worth revisiting?

So what new stuff do I plan to bring to the blog? Well...

• It would be great if I could bring my day jobs in to the blog from time to time. There's a slim chance of that happening, since I work in education, but my career is incredibly important to me. 
• I want to write about food from time to time, particularly as it relates to my health. I've been somewhat shifty about this because it's so personal, slash, some people hate hearing about it, but I try to eat a certain way 90% of the time because I have irritable bowel syndrome and I work weird hours. So the occasional meal prep, what I ate today, food challenge-type stuff seems interesting and worthwhile.
• Kirby will probably come back for another video. He's funnier than I am, so, you know...worth it.