Day 24

I love to look at photos of beautiful bathrooms.  They are always so neat and clean and pristine!  I am a clean freak and these photos show shiny, sparkling chrome and tile – love it!  I also love to look at rolled towels and beautiful glass apothecary jars in clean cabinets and shelves.  The one thing though is that most likely no person has every used this space!  Especially not my husband!  I think I dream of the untouched space and want to have a room like that that only I can use!

I have visions of beautiful bathrooms and hope one day I can design my own!  We have lived in 7 homes since we have been married.  I have had many different sizes of bathrooms.  Some with a ton of storage and some that I didn’t want to store anything in (no matter how much paint and shelf liner, the cabinets still grossed me out!).  I found that the more storage I had the more I stored in them!

I think where most people go wrong in the organization of the bathroom is product remorse.  You have bought soaps, make up, hair care products, face products and medicines that didn’t quite work the way you thought.  You hold onto them because they weren’t cheap and you feel guilty having spent money on it.  The, “maybe one day I will give it another try” bottles line up in your cabinets and drawers and start to take over.  You now have no room for towels, a hair dryer or anything else that is normally stored in the bathroom.

Today is the day to let it go.  Storing an item will not bring back money for it.  If you really feel bad, see if a local shelter could use the unused portions.  This can make you feel a little less guilty for the money you spent.  Clear out to just what you need and try to limit the back ups to one.  I like to have one shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and such on hand.  When one runs out I have a back up and have time to put it on my list before I am stuck washing my hair with dish soap (just kidding).

Getting the bathroom in tip top shape is easy if you pair down to what you use.  I would say need, but that word is hard for some.  I may “need” it one day plays in their head.  So get down to what you use instead.  I mean really use.  Not the foot scrubber you used once.  The things you are really using on a daily or weekly basis.

Things to think about in organizing your bathroom:

• Towels – How often do you do laundry?  How many days will you use one before you change?  For some, no matter how green they want to be, they want a new towel everyday.  For some, it is one a week.  I can’t tell you what is right for you, but I can tell you to have enough to get you through the week.  No more than that!
• Products – As I mentioned before, one you are using and one for back up.  That is enough.  This applies for soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc.
• Make up – I have written a few posts on make up organizing.  See them here:

Unburying Your Make Up Treasures

Make Over Your Make Up

• Toilet paper – Ok…what is the deal with the jumbo Costco toilet paper storage.  I understand the savings, but I where do you keep it?  I like the toilet paper holders that you keep next to the toilet.  They may not be the most decorative (although you can find nice ones) but there is nothing worse than being left with no toilet paper to spare!  A basket next to the toilet with a few extra rolls is nice, too.   If  you are a Costco fanatic, find a place to keep the jumbo extras and keep a few backups close by!

Like any organizing project, you need to figure out what you really need, figure out where you need it to be to be efficient, and have an easy way to put it back where it belongs.  Your bathroom will be a place of rejuvenation with good organization.  Your bathroom will also be a place of efficiency to get you out the door quickly with good organization.    Love on your bathroom and make it a place you like to spend time in!