Is your bathroom becoming increasingly cluttered with things you may or may not use? Then it is time to declutter your bathroom so you can create a much more functional space.
Cleaning and organizing your bathroom are good things to do, but unless you go through and actually declutter it, it’ll only be a matter of time before you feel overrun by extra stuff.
Here are several practical ways to declutter your bathroom and five things to get rid of in the process.
Declutter Your Bathroom Challenge
We’re calling this a challenge because the bathroom is one of those spots that holds the most “I don’t want to get rid of this” stuff, and it’s hard to part ways with it.
Products, trinkets, towels, and the like make their way to filling up the countertops, underneath the sink, linen closets, and so on.
Before you know it, you have more stuff than you’ll probably use in a year’s time. Use the tips below to start decluttering your bathroom now.
Gather decluttering (and cleaning) supplies.
For this project, you’ll want to grab a couple of boxes, trash bags, and/or a storage bin or two. The boxes will be used for putting things you want to donate or sell.
Trash bags will be used for – you guessed it – things that need to be thrown away. And the bins are perfect for holding the things that you plan to keep in the bathroom, reorganized of course.
Begin cleaning and decluttering.
This process works the smoothest when you start in one part of the bathroom and work your way around. Be sure to gather everything from each area, leaving nothing behind.
The idea is to work from a nice and cleaned slate. As you work through gathering everything, ask yourself the following questions. These will help you determine which box, bag, or bin to put the item:
- Is this something I currently use?
- Has this product expired?
- Would I use this sooner than later?
- Does this belong here?
- Am I getting the intended use out of this?
Try not to give too much time on each item so you don’t flip into buyer’s remorse or “I think I can/well” attitude. Go with your first thought and quickly place items in the proper pile (donate/sell, keep, toss).
5 Things to Declutter from Your Bathroom
As you’re working your way through the bathroom, there are some items that you can dodge storing in the bathroom, or at least downsizing the amount you have.
Keep in mind the space you have to work with in your home. If you don’t have a linen closet or extra space for storage solutions, that’s okay!
Work with what you have. Use what’s applicable to you, and organize the best you can.
Towels (and washcloths)
Take an inventory of your towels and washcloths to see if you need to downsize, replace, or get rid of any altogether.
Having too many of either one can take up a lot of space that can be used for other items. Some towels and washcloths can be repurposed into cleaning rags.
Cosmetics
A girl’s makeup drawer can harbor lots of unused products. The first items to discard are those that have expired.
Once you’ve gotten rid of those, ask yourself the questions above and sort accordingly. Only keep the things you’re actively using. The same goes for your makeup brushes as well.
Hair & Skincare Products
It can be easy to stock up on hair and skincare products, to the point of them taking up unnecessary space. Go through each one, check the dates, and only keep what you are using.
Some products may not have an expiration date but you can use the smell test. If it smells chemically, then you may want to throw it away.
Appliances
Have one too many curling irons, straighteners, or blow dryers? Narrow down your stash to your go-to appliances and consider donating (or selling) the others.
Truth be told, you can only use one at a time, so opt in for keeping one of each.
Medication
Keeping medication in the bathroom seems like a good idea until they take up too much space or get lost among the other items. Consider cleaning out your medicine stash and keeping it in another area, such as a kitchen cabinet.
Bonus Tips to Declutter Your Bathroom
While you’re downsizing, cleaning, and decluttering, don’t forget to add in a few storage solutions to help keep your items organized.
Another rule of thumb is to store like products together (haircare, body, face care, etc.). There are many plastic bins, tubs, and totes with sections to help keep everything in specific spaces.
Here’s to having an awesomely organized and decluttered bathroom!
More In Decluttering
- 3 Steps to Easily Declutter Any Room
- 5 Storage Solutions to Declutter Your Home
- 5 Things You Can Declutter This Week
I’m a freelance writer with a passion for home organization and home decor! I’ve written extensively about the best ways to make your house truly feel like home.