How To Store Self Care Items Like A Queen | Stay Organised

As the pace of daily life ratchets ever higher, people are increasingly recognising the importance of taking time out for self care. Whether it’s treating yourself to a long hot bath and an at-home manicure, or spending a quiet afternoon flicking through your favourite magazine, self care practices can help you find calm in an otherwise busy week. And they’re not just a fun way to treat yourself after a challenging day at work—they can also reduce your stress levels, helping to prevent burnout and increase your health in the long run.

To help you get the most out of your self care routine, we’ve pulled together this advice on how to store self care items, to ensure they stay in great condition and don’t add to your stress levels by creating more unnecessary clutter.

What are self care items?

Before we get into how to store self care items, it’s useful to define what exactly we mean by self care item. Broadly speaking, a self care item is any item a person uses to look after themselves by undertaking an activity they enjoy that’s designed for relaxation. While lots of things could be defined as self care items, some of the most common self care items include:

• Moisturiser, face masks and other beauty products
• Scented candles, essential oils and diffusers
• Bath products, like bath bombs and bubble bath
• Journals
• Massage devices
• Yoga mats
• Items for mindfulness activities such as puzzles and adult colouring-in books

Why is it important to learn how to store self care items?

We’ve all experienced that unpleasant, slightly claustrophobic feeling that arises when we’re surrounded by mess and clutter. As it turns out, there’s a scientific link between our mood and ability to concentrate, and the state of our surrounding environment with evidence suggesting that a consistently cluttered environment can trigger a constant low-level flight or fight response.

So just like it’s important to organise your bed linen or keep your pantry tidy, it’s important to store your self care items in a way that makes them easily accessible, without creating a mess. After all, self care items are meant to help you to de-stress, not add to your stress levels!

Top tips on how to store self care items

Before we get into specific methods for storing self care items, here are some general principles to keep in mind when thinking about how to store self care items.

1. Store your self care items somewhere easily accessible

Your bathroom cabinet is a good place to store your self care items

The last thing you want to have to do when you’re keen for a relaxing half hour by yourself is to spend five minutes pulling items out of a cupboard to find the item you’re after. So whether it’s a scented candle, journal or favourite moisturiser, make sure to store the self care items you plan to use regularly somewhere easily accessible.

2. Only keep the self care items you need

As decluttering extraordinaire Marie Kondo would say, only keep the self care items that spark joy. Too often we hang onto objects ‘just in case’ we might find a use for them in the future. To help avoid excess clutter, audit your self care items a few times a year and get rid of any that you don’t reach for anymore (like that puzzle you’ve already completed) as well as items that have passed their use-by-date (like that nearly empty bottle of hand cream). Where you can, look for opportunities to donate or re-gift unwanted items rather than throwing them into the bin.

3. Compartmentalise

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Whether you opt to store your self care items all in the one spot, or spread them throughout the house (more on these two options below) compartmentalisation is the best way to keep everything organised and mess-free. When it comes to storage, compartmentalisation involves sorting your items into different categories and using storage solutions to keep them in these groupings. For example, using a drawer divider such as a cutlery tray is an example of compartmentalisation as it keeps the drawer’s contents neatly divided into particular categories. Compartmentalisation not only helps to minimise the amount of space items take up, but also makes them easier to find.

There are two main methods for storing self care items

When it comes to how to store self care items, there are two main methods that will work, regardless of the type of self care items you have. These are:

1. Creating a dedicated space to store all of your self care items.
2. Storing items throughout the house, like you would any other item.

More information about how to store self care items using each of these methods is outlined below.

How to store self care items in a dedicated self care space

Creating a dedicated space for your self care items can be a great way to keep everything together so that it’s easy to find items when you need them. This method is also popular with people who like to keep a sense of ritual attached to their self care routine. Having self care items tucked away in a dedicated place, rather than jumbled in amongst other household items, can help to keep those items associated with relaxation. Similarly, physically reaching for items from a dedicated self care cupboard or box can build a positive association that makes it easier to switch into self care mode.

Here’s how to store self care items in a dedicated self care space:

• Choose a cupboard or box that is large enough for your items. There’s nothing worse than having trouble packing things away because they’re jammed into a space that’s too small.
• Select a storage location that’s appropriate for the frequency with which you’ll access the items. For instance, if you plan on using your self care items regularly (i.e. daily or weekly) choose a spot that you can quickly access without any hassle. The last thing you want to have to do is move other items or climb up a ladder every time you want to get your yoga mat out.
• Use smaller storage solutions to compartmentalise items within the larger space. Even if you store your self care items in the one box or cupboard, you should try and group similar items together and store them in smaller containers to keep them organised. For example, use smaller boxes (shoe boxes are great for this!) to separate candles from beauty products.

How to store self care items throughout the house

Another common way to store self care items is by keeping them in the rooms where you’ll use them e.g. storing products you’d use in the shower, in the bathroom. This method has a few advantages over storing self care items in the one spot. Firstly, it doesn’t require a dedicated cupboard, so items can be slotted around the house where they fit best. Secondly, it means you have the items in the place where you’ll use them, which makes them quicker to access. This is particularly useful for products such as bath bombs, or face masks, which you’d likely want to use in the bathroom without having to get them from another room. It also makes sense for items such as candles and essential oil diffusers which you might want to keep on display and be able to light quickly.

In terms of how to store self care items throughout the house, the same advice applies as when you’re storing self care items in a dedicated space. Specifically:

• Store self care items in a place that you can easily access. For example, place self care items at the front of drawers or cupboards, unless you plan on using them irregularly.
• Use storage solutions that let you easily compartmentalise items. In order to prevent your self care items from contributing to the jumbled mess in your drawers, take the time to declutter and re-arrange drawers and cupboards to ensure your items are stored away neatly.

Tips on how to store specific self care items

Regardless of which of the two methods outlined above you use to store your self care items, there are some items it can help to store in particular ways. Below we outline some tips for how to store a few specific self care items to keep them in good condition.

Candles

Ideally, candles should be stored in a cool, dry environment—at or below room temperature—to prevent them from melting or bending out of shape. Store long, thin candles such as tapered candles flat in a drawer or box and wrap them in tissue paper or bubble wrap if they will be stored alongside other items to prevent them from being damaged. Other decorative candles should be stored the same way, whereas jarred candles can be left to sit upright in a cupboard or on a shelf. Just make sure to keep them away from direct sunlight, as it can cause candles to fade and/or lose their fragrance.

Beauty and bath products

Without a proper storage system, it’s easy for beauty products such as face masks, moisturisers and nail polish to become a jumbled mess beneath the bathroom sink. To help keep everything neat and tidy, invest in shelf or drawer organisers to keep similar items together and place the most commonly used items towards the front of the cupboard. For small bottles (such as nail polishes) you can even use hanging spice racks to keep them separate.

To prevent drawers from getting dirty or mouldy, ensure you dry items before putting them away, and secure the lids on half-used bottles to prevent leakage. If you have face masks or similar products that come in sachets, place them in zip-lock bags once you have opened them. Also, make sure to regularly clean items such as makeup sponges or brushes.

It is also a good idea to go through your bath and beauty products once or twice a year and discard items that have passed their use-by date.

Perishable items like tea and chocolate

Sometimes there’s nothing more comforting than a warm cup of tea and bar of chocolate. As with any other pantry item you want to keep fresh, store tea in an airtight container once opened. This not only prevents it from spilling through the cupboard, but also helps to maintain its freshness. Chances are your chocolate or other self care snacks won’t last very long, but it’s also a good idea to store open packets of chocolate in plastic containers or tins to keep them fresh.

Mindfulness games

Storing mindfulness games like puzzles and colouring in books on shelves is a great way to keep them accessible while adding a fun touch to your room. Alternatively, stackable plastic storage containers are a great place to store games you use less frequently.