Whether you have a hoarding tendency or a busy enough life that you unknowingly have insignificant things you still keep in your condo or home bathroom, it is interesting to look at the piles culled out from people’s bathrooms after a much-needed bathroom renovation. For an extreme example, Marie Konde, an organizing expert, recalls having clients with 60 toothbrushes, 80 toilet paper rolls, and 20,000 cotton swabs.
More than a necessity, the bathroom is your health and beauty haven where you prep yourself before heading out and wash it all down after a long day. This is why it is crucial to make the most out of every space especially when setting up and designing your place.
Decluttering your bathroom works wonders in many ways: it gives you more space for your bathroom design ideas, saves you money by unearthing usable items, and makes life a whole lot easier. So before giving your bathroom the long-overdue overhaul, keep in mind these things you should never keep there.
Anything Beyond Its Prime
Again, the bathroom is your special place for health and beauty, so why keep things that say otherwise? Expired products not only have lost their vibrancy and effectiveness, they also pose health risks.
Know when to kiss your makeup goodbye, no matter how good it makes you look, as expired makeup could already be breeding grounds of bacteria. Mascaras usually have a shelf life of up to three months; liquid and cream makeup, six months; and powders and lipsticks, two years.
Toss out razors and tweezers in less than excellent working conditions. The rust on the metal may infect you with tetanus and a crooked shape or handle could have you rushing for the first-aid kit. Speaking of which, discard expired medicines and ointments. In fact, the first-aid kit is one of the things you should update on a regular basis.
Anything Empty (Or Almost Empty)
Got tons of tubes, bottles, and jars with a dollop or two of lotions, shower gels, body cream, and what-have-you? Decluttering professional Vicky Silverthorn points out overbuying as the most common culprit and advises using up what you have and buying only what you need.
To get the most bang for your buck, store the bottles of thick liquids such as conditioner upside down for a day or two. Once the product collects at the top part of the bottle, it should come out more easily.
Also, throw out empty toilet paper rolls. If you are into DIY projects, keep just the number of rolls you need. However, put them not in your bathroom, but on your craft work table.
Anything That’s Overkill
You may not have as much items as Kondo’s clients, but there is no point in keeping more than what you need. Keep only one toothbrush per person. Discard the frayed ones and put the ones for travel in your bag and the ones for your guests in the guest room.
Scan your cabinet and racks for things you can whittle down. Buy less so you can splurge on fewer but higher-quality products. Also, consider the one-in, one-out rule where you have to toss out an item for each new item that you bring in. Another mind trick is to have a reasonable and manageable number that will serve as your limit for a certain category of product. For example, if you decide on the number three, remind yourself to keep your body scrubs, lipsticks, and so on at three.
Anything Given That Does Not Exactly Excite
While it is a fact of life to receive gifts that you are not enthusiastic to use, you can definitely do something about it other than letting the items go past their best-before date. If you can tolerate the scent or consistency, you can use the product on lazy days when staying in. If it is something still unopened, find it a home where it will be better appreciated by re-gifting it. Be careful though in selecting someone who will actually use it. You may also want to give it to someone outside the circle of the person who gave it to you.
Anything That Belongs To The Trash
Yes, this is obvious, but you will be shocked at the junk that may have accumulated in your bathroom. Aside from the usual suspects such as used tissues, cotton balls, and so on, discard items that are no longer efficient to use—gloves with holes, combs with missing teeth, and other things that do not take much to replace with new ones.
Decluttering your bathroom takes time, especially if not done on a regular basis. But fret not. If you have successfully gotten rid of the above-mentioned items, then that’s definitely a good start. Once you have the essentials pared down, arrange them in visible and strategic ways. Using coat hooks, extra shower rods, a shelf above the door, and a magnetic strip for your metal grooming tools are just some of the practical hacks perfect for small bathrooms.
For a more pleasing bathroom design, choose baskets and trays with colors, textures, and materials that will best suit your interior and personality. If you are the minimalist type, a no-brainer option is a functional and sleek cabinet fixed on the wall. To evoke a carefree vibe, go for hand-woven storage.
Date and rotate your supplies so you won’t have to discard unused expired products the next time you declutter. Put the older stocks at the front and the new ones at the back. Mark your cosmetics with the date you opened them. Make an inventory of your first-aid kit contents and put the list inside the kit and on top of your first-aid supplies.
Your bathroom is an indispensable part of your home and deserves regular decluttering. Keep it clutter-free and you will reap the rewards of streamlined mornings as you head to work and soothing evenings as you unwind.
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