The Nitty Gritty Guide to Decluttering Your Bathroom
Make your bathroom a more relaxing space by organisation each and every item
One of my favourite pastimes is looking through home magazines and Houzz, and tagging photos of my dream bathroom. It’s a place to refresh and relax, so my ideal space would look and feel like a spa.
Of course, staged photos don’t display the cleaning supplies and big-box-store-size toilet paper packs that are the unglamorous but realistic parts of daily living. Even with these necessities stored, you can create a space that is both efficient for your morning routine and rejuvenating after you’ve had a long, tiring day. The first step is decluttering your bathroom to remove excess items. Here’s how to do it.
Bathrooms are usually multipurpose storage centres of toiletries, linens, cleaning supplies and medicines. To declutter, I recommend separating everything into categories (also sub-categories if necessary) and purging items in each category before moving on to the next.
Bathrooms are usually multipurpose storage centres of toiletries, linens, cleaning supplies and medicines. To declutter, I recommend separating everything into categories (also sub-categories if necessary) and purging items in each category before moving on to the next.
1. Cosmetics and toiletries
This is one category I find myself editing all the time. My toiletries multiply quickly, whether I’m purchasing new products to try or receiving gifts from thoughtful friends. If you are like me and can’t seem to use these items as fast as you accrue them, you may need to take a realistic look at what you’re not using.
If you find it hard to discard perfectly good, unused toiletries, take heart, research online to find charities and organisations that welcome these such as Pass-It-On.
This is one category I find myself editing all the time. My toiletries multiply quickly, whether I’m purchasing new products to try or receiving gifts from thoughtful friends. If you are like me and can’t seem to use these items as fast as you accrue them, you may need to take a realistic look at what you’re not using.
If you find it hard to discard perfectly good, unused toiletries, take heart, research online to find charities and organisations that welcome these such as Pass-It-On.
However, do consider how long you’ve had the product before donating, as makeup and lotions expire. The effectiveness of the active ingredient will diminish over time, as will the fragrance.
I used to love free beauty gifts and samples, as they seemed like an easy solution for traveling light. However, the small sizes were rarely enough to last through an entire trip, even a weekend one. Plus, mixing and matching different samples seemed like a recipe for breakouts. So I would leave the samples at home and by the time I got around to trying them, they often smelled stale. I now either say no to samples or use them right away.
If you travel often, it may be worthwhile investing in a second set of toiletries and keeping those items in your travel kit. You can save some packing time and avoid forgetting anything. Unpacking may be easier as well since you can put the entire bag away rather than unpacking each item within the bag.
13 clever storage solutions for the bathroom
I used to love free beauty gifts and samples, as they seemed like an easy solution for traveling light. However, the small sizes were rarely enough to last through an entire trip, even a weekend one. Plus, mixing and matching different samples seemed like a recipe for breakouts. So I would leave the samples at home and by the time I got around to trying them, they often smelled stale. I now either say no to samples or use them right away.
If you travel often, it may be worthwhile investing in a second set of toiletries and keeping those items in your travel kit. You can save some packing time and avoid forgetting anything. Unpacking may be easier as well since you can put the entire bag away rather than unpacking each item within the bag.
13 clever storage solutions for the bathroom
2. Hair products and tools
Styling tools take up a lot of room yet may be challenging to pare down because each tool seems to have a slightly different purpose, such as the curling iron, curling wand, flat iron and hot rollers. So consider which tools you use often, which tools may be redundant and which tools can multitask.
For example, my curling iron seemed like a good idea until I realised it took me an hour to curl all of my hair. My hot rollers heat up in one minute, and I can roll my entire head in 10 minutes and let it set while I am doing something else. The result was close enough, and definitely worth the time savings. So I parted with my curling iron.
I’m not really sure how my hairbrush and comb collection grows, but somehow it does. I kept two that I use daily, and put a third in my travel kit. Getting rid of the remaining brushes felt pretty risk-free. Also fair game for tossing: hair elastics that have lost their elasticity, broken clips, rusted pins and worn fabric headbands.
Styling tools take up a lot of room yet may be challenging to pare down because each tool seems to have a slightly different purpose, such as the curling iron, curling wand, flat iron and hot rollers. So consider which tools you use often, which tools may be redundant and which tools can multitask.
For example, my curling iron seemed like a good idea until I realised it took me an hour to curl all of my hair. My hot rollers heat up in one minute, and I can roll my entire head in 10 minutes and let it set while I am doing something else. The result was close enough, and definitely worth the time savings. So I parted with my curling iron.
I’m not really sure how my hairbrush and comb collection grows, but somehow it does. I kept two that I use daily, and put a third in my travel kit. Getting rid of the remaining brushes felt pretty risk-free. Also fair game for tossing: hair elastics that have lost their elasticity, broken clips, rusted pins and worn fabric headbands.
3. Medicines and first aid
Medications have expiration dates, so tossing expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs is relatively straightforward. But how about adhesive bandages? If yours are old, they may be no longer sticky, or they may be too sticky from degraded adhesive. The same is true for wraps designed for sprains.
Note: When you sort these items, be sure to gather them all from throughout your house before reviewing. One of the general keys to organisation is to keep like items together in one spot. This is a good time to assess where the best medicine centre is in your home. It should be a cool, dry spot away from sunlight.
Medications have expiration dates, so tossing expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs is relatively straightforward. But how about adhesive bandages? If yours are old, they may be no longer sticky, or they may be too sticky from degraded adhesive. The same is true for wraps designed for sprains.
Note: When you sort these items, be sure to gather them all from throughout your house before reviewing. One of the general keys to organisation is to keep like items together in one spot. This is a good time to assess where the best medicine centre is in your home. It should be a cool, dry spot away from sunlight.
4. Cleaning supplies
In my house, I make an exception to the ‘one spot’ rule when it comes to cleaning supplies. To encourage my family to keep their bathrooms clean, and to make it as easy as possible for them to do so, I have a full set of supplies (including brushes) under each sink. It isn’t the most efficient use of space to have duplicate sets, but in this case I am sacrificing space for action. Your organisation system has to work with your lifestyle and priorities.
To save space, I limit the supplies to the basics – toilet cleaner, multipurpose bathroom cleaner, magic eraser (excellent for tub grime), grout brush and toilet brush – and I don’t buy extras to store. Instead, I replenish when necessary.
When editing your cleaning supplies, work toward keeping just the basics – one product may be able to do many jobs, minimising the products you have to store. A multipurpose cleaner may be able to take the place of several specialty cleaners, such as glass cleaner and soap scum remover. Specific cleaners may work a little more effectively at its one given job, but I am satisfied with the balance between cleanliness and space savings.
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In my house, I make an exception to the ‘one spot’ rule when it comes to cleaning supplies. To encourage my family to keep their bathrooms clean, and to make it as easy as possible for them to do so, I have a full set of supplies (including brushes) under each sink. It isn’t the most efficient use of space to have duplicate sets, but in this case I am sacrificing space for action. Your organisation system has to work with your lifestyle and priorities.
To save space, I limit the supplies to the basics – toilet cleaner, multipurpose bathroom cleaner, magic eraser (excellent for tub grime), grout brush and toilet brush – and I don’t buy extras to store. Instead, I replenish when necessary.
When editing your cleaning supplies, work toward keeping just the basics – one product may be able to do many jobs, minimising the products you have to store. A multipurpose cleaner may be able to take the place of several specialty cleaners, such as glass cleaner and soap scum remover. Specific cleaners may work a little more effectively at its one given job, but I am satisfied with the balance between cleanliness and space savings.
7 natural products to clean and green your house with
Once you’ve condensed your items, you can organise them in your drawers and cabinets. The most frequently used items should be easily accessible and convenient for you. There are so many categories of bathroom items that it’s best to keep like items together in smaller categories to stay organised. For example, rather than having a general makeup drawer, use compartmentalised containers to separate categories such as eye makeup, lip products, foundations and blushes. Make a conscious effort to put items where they belong right away to maintain your organised space.
TELL US
Please share your bathroom organisation tips in the Comments below.
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TELL US
Please share your bathroom organisation tips in the Comments below.
MORE
Ideas to Steal for Your Own Tiny Bathroom Escape