This was how I tackled the bathroom clutter.
A day before I began I took measurements of the bathroom cupboard, a photo of the inside, made a mental note of the contents and what I was going to keep. I then went and purchased some containers. Some people may choose to do this after they have cleaned everything out. But I prefer to have the containers ready, as once I have started I don’t always want to have to go out and get containers and break the momentum. Remember it’s important to spend time getting the right containers and storage items.
I made myself a cup of peppermint and liquorice tea, put on my favourite music playlist, and put my favourite oil of the moment in my diffuser then, I began to empty out the contents of the bathroom drawers and cupboard on to an old towel on the floor outside the bathroom. It is a good idea to give yourself a time limit so you don’t just sit procrastinating all day. Two hours and I would have it all sorted.
I then wiped and cleaned the inside of all the drawers and cupboards.
Once that was done, I started with the medicines and checked all the expiry dates ditching any that were out of date. Then I started grouping things together, medicines, dental care, makeup, spare shampoos & soap, first aid kits, holiday medicines and so on. I had a whole container of little makeup odds and sods, you know the kind spend $60 and get this gorgeous free gift which contains a bright orange lipstick that you will never wear and some ghastly shade of eyeshadow oh and don’t forget the hideous nail polish colour to go with it. It’s time to remove those ‘Just In Case’ items let’s face I don’t think I will need the orange lipstick…These all went into a bag to donate. Also how many hand creams can one person use.
Lets break it down Step By Step
Measure the space
Purchase any storage you need
Get comfy, cuppa, music, bowl of lollies whatever you need to keep you going to get the job done
Set yourself a time limit to get the job done
Empty everything out
Clean the space
Ditch anything that is out of date, not used and not needed
Sort items into categories
Then work out what will go where. Ask yourself how you will use the items what you use the most often and so on.
My bathroom has a cupboard under the basin and four drawers on the side. I decided to put all my excess shampoo, hair care products and razors in one container. After all they are not something I need to access every day so they can go on the bottom shelf of the cupboard. I put all our holiday medicines in another container and so on. I dedicated the bottom drawer for our first aid kits and first aid items so they are all in the one spot for easy access. Another drawer holds the hairdryer, and another my makeup. The last drawer is home to our travel toiletry bags. I actually leave the makeup I use everyday in my travel toiletry bag, that way I always know everything is in there when I go away and it also keeps everything neat and organised for everyday use.
Don’t fall into the trap of leaving things in spaces when you know you wont use them. How many times have you said it’s not taking up much space I might need it one day I’m just going to leave it there? I would much rather look at the empty space than at something I know I don’t need or wont use.
Below left is a photo of my linen press the baskets are from Kmart. The photo on right shows the containers I used in my bathroom cupboard they are available from the reject shop and come in two sizes I used the smaller size which is 6 litre. you can sit on top of each other. These are perfect as the lid lifts up so you don’t have to take the lid all the way off to get to things.
Until next time keep up the good work I also love reading your comments so keep them coming. This week I am going to start on my kitchen, more about that next week.
