Bathroom Declutter
Declutter Bathroom Makeover
Bathrooms are a great place to start. It’s usually a smaller room compared to others in the house. The intention or purpose for the room is clear: clean and care for yourself, get ready for the day. Setting an intention for a space before you start helps you understand what to keep and what to get rid of.
Clutter-free Mindset
The most helpful mantra I have found for the bathroom is to keep what you use every day. Get rid of the rest, it’s all clutter. We have all been fooled by the beauty ads and videos: buy this shampoo, lotion, skin moisturizer, soap, makeup and you’ll be happy. The pictures of laughing happy models with beautiful skin are tempting. Then the product arrives and it’s okay but not great. You shove it to the back of your cabinet or drawer and forget about it. Except this happens many times. And suddenly you have a graveyard of bottles and tubes….bathroom clutter!
How to declutter
Hold up each item. Keep only what you use every day. Discard the rest. If you are not ready to get rid of it, place it in a box. This is important: date the box and move it out of the main living area into a storage area. If you keep the box in the bathroom, bam! You’ve got more clutter!
If you miss a product or item in the next few months, you can go in the box and pull it back out. If you don’t miss anything in the box, you didn’t need it and you can get rid of it in a few months with confidence.
Donate & Discard: Release the stuff, release the emotions
Sometimes people feel sad, upset, or wasteful when they see all the items they spent good money on and are getting rid of. If the items are new, unopened, and unexpired can you donate or give them away? Taking them to work with a sign stating “free” or posting online in a “buy nothing” facebook group are some options.
If the items are opened, probably no one else wants them, even if they were expensive. The money was already spent, you cannot go back in time and un-buy the item. Learn from this experience and commit to only buying items you use everyday or carefully vetting new products before purchase. If you buy something new and don’t like it, clear it out right away - don’t let it sit for 6 months to see if you somehow magically will like it later, you won’t. You will feel lighter without having to look at a reminder of a poor purchase decision every day.
The 20/20 Rule
An area that sometimes concerns people is “just in case”. The Minimalists have come up with the 20/20 rule. For most of us, most items can be replaced for under $20 and traveling 20 minutes away (or less). With the amazing availability of products cheap and nearby there’s no need to keep items “just in case” anymore. If you really need cough syrup, guaze pads, nail polish remover, or new toothpaste - they are usually a short trip away.
Too much inventory
Stocking up on items can also cause clutter. A small stock of consumable items that you use every day is reasonable if you have the space. Will you think to look there when you run out? If not, don’t bother. Consider how much stock you are keeping - 12 years of soap is probably too much, there’s no reason to store that amount…remember the 20/20 rule! The recommended time to buy a replacement is when 75% of something is gone. That gives you a little time to go to the store and be ready without totally running out.
Start small
Clutter in any space can feel overwhelming, one strategy is to set a timer for 15 minutes and just see how far you get. Then stop. Come back tomorrow for 15 more minutes. Even with only minutes a day, over time you will see progress!
