Streamlining My Nail Polish Stash (Again)

I'm April and I love nail polish. I also - as you'd already know if you've seen this post I did a while back - love a good clear out of my ever-growing stash. Whilst the chances of me doing a spritz of mega proportions are virtually impossible, I do think having a small streamlining sesh every once in a while can help you give your collection a good 'ole reorganise - dumping those beyond salvation, rediscovering old favourites and of course leaving room for some new additions in the process. Though last time we discussed this I took on more of a 'step-by-step' approach, giving you the lowdown on what process I personally like to follow, this time round I thought I'd simply share some things I learnt last time I gave my nail polish collection a spot of streamlining...

You will discover that you basically own two of everything. Be it colour, finish, effect - why have one when you can have the whole range? Every time I go through my stash I find shades that are virtually identical bar their packaging and have to somehow justify this by pointing out something that they do not have in common (Spoiler alert - there never normally is).

You will come across polishes that you can't even remember buying, let alone wearing. We've all been there, right? Being a nail polish fanatic it's all too easy to get swept up in it all and make unwise purchases that more often than not lead to bottles miserably gathering dust somewhere at the back of your stash. It's only when you actually go through it that they finally see the light of day and hopefully go to a better home (at last).

You will realise that organisation is key. Before this last sprucing, I was displaying my polishes in quite an unorganised fashion, hoarding them in rows going from one brand to another. What I thought was an effective technique was in hindsight, probably not, and lead to the above point happening far more frequently. This time round I instead opted for more of a 'column' style display, with the rows going forwards instead of to the side, making seeing my collection much easier. I also categorised them by colour this time, as usually that's what I firstly look for when going through my stash to pick out my next shade of choice.

So there's just a few things I learnt when last streamlining my nail polish hoardings! Is this something you like to do? What would your tips and tricks be for a beauty fanatic trying to manage their (rather unruly) stash? Other than to be banned from ever buying it again, of course...