Room-By-Room Organizing Challenge | Month 1: The Bathroom

We’re starting this organizing challenge in the bathroom for one REALLY GREAT reason: it’s much easier to organize in the bathroom than any other room in the house. That’s because we aren’t as emotionally connected to items there. Because bathroom supplies are often cheap, beautifully packaged and placed enticingly close to the checkout lines *ahem, Target*, many people satisfy a shopping craving by making impulse soap and cosmetics purchases that they don’t truly want or need. As a result, the bathroom gets cluttered quickly.

The good news is that decluttering in this room is a fairly painless process. Unless you truly LOVE that cake-flavored lip gloss, letting it go is usually a breeze. The goal of this post is to help you achieve that process with no fuss. Bonus points if you open the window, throw on your sweats and turn up the music. Have fun with it!

The estimated time for this organizing activity is 2 hours.

Let’s get started.

Step 1: Gather Like Items
Estimated Time: 1 hour

As with any other room in the home, the easiest way to start is to first gather like items together. Grab several medium-sized boxes and label them in sharpie with the following categories: Donate, Keep (styling products), Keep (cosmetics), Keep (first aid), Keep (hygiene), etc. Don’t forget a big garbage bag as well! Many things in the bathroom expire, so be sure to check dates as you are reviewing. Go through each drawer one at a time and put items into the corresponding box.

A couple of additional tips for removal of unwanted items:

• • Place expired drugs in a separate container. These can be dropped off at any police station for safe disposal. They should NOT go into the garbage.
  • Keep in mind that most shelters will gladly talk half-used hygiene items from the bathroom like shampoos, soaps, lotions and travel items. Collect these together in one bin.

Step 2: Scrub Scrub Scrub
Estimated Time: 30 Minutes

The best time to clean the bathroom is when all drawers and cabinets are empty! Take the time to clean these out. We like Murhpy’s oil and warm water. Once you are done, give all interior spaces a good dry, or leave them to air dry for 30 minutes. Cleaning the area is a big part of feeling like you have really touched every surface, and it will add to your satisfaction after completing the job hundredfold.

Step 3: Organize
Estimated Time: 30 Minutes

As you place items back in the bathroom, organize them with attention to how much volume you now have in each category. Question whether things were placed in the best place that makes the most sense. Reserve easily accessible areas for items you use most.

Here are some great organizing products that we frequently recommend. Remember: purchase organizing products only after you have first done the work. That way, you know what you truly need and avoid spending money unnecessarily.

• • • If you have a lack of drawer space, consider purchasing a few drawer towers for small cosmetics and other similar items. We like these ones from Sterilite.
    • Drawer dividers (or just small cardboard boxes with the lids removed) are great in a bathroom. We love these ones in bamboo.
    • We love turntables for out-of-reach cupboards.
    • If you have a lack of drawer space but lots of cabinet space, pull out drawers are easy to install and make a huge difference.
    • Clear, acrylic desk drawer organizers are great for bathrooms.
    • Have you noticed how much we like drawers for organizing? Here are some other ideas for maximizing drawer space for organizing in the rest of the home.

   

• Happy Organizing!