I have 4 different ways which CC gets added to my game:
1. The game is lacking and I go looking for it. Makeup, facial hair, Jewelry, decor (specifically clutter), and curtains/blinds are categories of CC I have downloaded a lot of because of this.
2. When I'm doing an active search for something (#1 above), if I see something else that I also like, I will download it as well. A ton of the clothes and BB CC that I use fall into this category.
3. I follow a lot of my favorite CC creators on Tumblr and if I see things in my feed that I like the look of, I will download it. Most of the hairs and shoes, as well as quite a lot of clothing that I've downloaded has been due to this.
4. Functional CC, as in CC that is in reality both CC and a mod...I'll always grab this when I see it or hear about it, unless it looks ugly. More gameplay is good. A ton of Ravasheen, Brazenlotus and PandaSama CC that I use falls in this category.
I have a total of 6.5 GB of cc in my game so far, and I really try very hard not to download anything that I don't think looks absolutely fantastic outside of the 1st and 4th options above. For those I settle for things that look decent, because they are filling a need, rather than just a desire.