Having fewer items and keeping them organized not only clears your space and mind from clutter, but it might also help clear your skin.

I used to hoard travel-sized lotions and use them on my face and body, and I also used to break out often, especially with big, painful cystic pimples. I thought it was a natural part of growing up, and that I’d eventually grow out of it, so I went on medication to temporarily solve that problem.

After a few years, I decided I didn’t want to put any synthetic hormones or unnatural chemicals in my body, so I got off the acne medication. I was afraid that I’d break out and always have to deal with multiple cystic pimples on my face now that I wasn’t on medication.

Around this time, I moved into a new apartment and got rid of a lot of my facial lotions and cleansers, and stuck to just two products: a face lotion and a facial cleanser. After reading about the harmful chemicals in many so-called “all natural” facial products, I decided to try *Arbonne products. Since the products are so expensive, I only bought one facial cleanser and one facial lotion.

Since then—three years ago–I only use two products on my skin: face cleanser and face lotion from Arbonne. They’re both pretty expensive, so I use pea-sized amounts each day, but ever since I stopped using a plethora of lotions and washes, and I stopped picking at my skin and squeezing blackheads and pimples, my face cleared up. I rarely get cystic pimples anymore.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that my husband and father never get pimples, ever. I have only once seen a pimple on either of their faces. They never touch their faces or use lotion. Why do men get fewer pimples than girls? Well, hormones, of course; also, they don’t get as many pimples because they don’t mess with their skin and use few (if any) products!

Similarly, I’ve noticed that when I use fewer—yet quality—products on my hair and skin, I have fewer “problems” like itchiness, oiliness, or pain.

One day, my legs started itching painfully, and scratching would not relieve the itch. After a few days where I’d spend up to an hour just scratching, I finally saw a doctor. Actually, I saw three different doctors. One doctor thought I had been infected by a parasite on my recent trip to the Caribbean, so he prescribed me steroids. Didn’t work. The next doctor thought that maybe I just had dry skin, and I instructed me to keep slathering my legs with lotion. The last doctor suggested it was allergies due to the lotions I was using. So, after the steroids didn’t work, and I had used up every type of lotion I owned, I threw out all my lotions and replaced them with one, gentle, natural body lotion. I still use that body lotion brand to this day, and only that lotion, and my legs have resumed to their normal state of non-every-day-itchiness.

I am convinced that less is more, especially when it comes to the products we use on our skin. The fewer items we have, the fewer problems we encounter with our bodies. And, in turn, the easier they are to organize!

*I am not an Arbonne representative or affiliate. I really just use Arbonne and noticed that their products work with my skin.