Stop This Bathroom Clutter Magnet from Stealing Your Time

I know we’re all putting in a lot of work during the Cure this month, but I promise the reward is totally worth it. A clean and organized home doesn’t just look better, it works better, too. When everything is in its place (and has a place), you’ll find that everyday life just feels a little more streamlined.

Something like getting out of the house in the morning takes less time than ever before because you know exactly where everything is. You’re able to dedicate more time to things that matter — like feeling your best and not stressing yourself out rushing to the office.

That example itself is why I think today’s target is maybe the biggest small victory we’ll complete all month long.

Clean and clear out your medicine cabinet or other bathroom storage areas.

First, take everything out of the cabinet(s), sorting as you go and keeping like items together. When the cabinet is empty, give the inside a quick wipe-down with an all-purpose cleaner.

Now comes the purge: Grab a trash bag and something to serve as your temporary, traveling outbox (a tote or grocery bag is great for this). Dig in to your items and try to get rid of as much as you can, remembering that in the bathroom, there’s not a lot of room for “maybes.” Keep what you actively use and let the rest go, using the following simple guidelines from the Eight Step Home Cure.

• You haven’t used in 12 months
• Is past the expiration date
• Is empty or nearly empty
• You don’t need any longer (because you are being honest with yourself and know you aren’t going to use it)

Once you’ve done the sort, place the items you are keeping back into the cabinets, taking care to give the items you use most often the most visible and most easily accessible spots.

Add anything that needs replacing to your shopping list.

Note: Disposing of bathroom products requires some special care. Know what can and what shouldn’t be donated, and never release medications or other hazardous waste into the water supply. Here’s a post with some tips.

Unsurprisingly, the cabinets in bathrooms tend to be one of the biggest clutter magnet trouble spots in many homes (in mine, it’s makeup samples, a mess of hair ties and pins, and pretty packaging I can’t bear to throw away). It helps to remember that your bathroom cabinets aren’t a storage warehouse; they’re there to help you find what you need while you’re using the bathroom to groom yourself for the day or unwind at night.

If you’ve got an unruly bathroom cabinet clutter problem, you can save some of this work for the weekend. But promise me and yourself (and the rest of your fellow Cure’ers in the comments) that you’ll get it done.