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Learning how to declutter your bathroom is a great place to start when deciding to free your home from excessive stuff.
Without adequate storage solutions and adapting the space to suit you and your family, the bathroom can easily become clutter filled and a pain to keep clean.
A bathroom needs to be clean and functional to fulfil its purpose. But it should also be a place you can relax in after a stressful day.
If it is full of stuff and you have to give it a good scrub before you use it though, it is actually the opposite. Rather than providing you that stress free escape, it is causing you stress.
The key to overcoming this issue is thinking practically. The bathroom by its very nature is damp and if not cleaned regularly, unhygienic.
Rather than spending more time cleaning, create a space that requires minimal maintenance so that you can enjoy it and not see it as a chore that constantly needs doing.
Here’s how to declutter your bathroom.
Table of Contents
Remove all your shampoo bottles and shower gels from the edge of the bath etc.
Storing these bottles on a flat surface creates a breeding ground for grime. As the water runs off the bottles after use, it has nowhere to go so pools around the bottom.
This leads to that slimy build up which needs constant wiping. It also means that your cleaning routine takes twice as long as you have to move and clean around multiple bottles of product.
A tray that you attach to the shower is a great solution or you could use a corner shelf.
I have this corner shelf and I love it because it requires no drilling, the adhesive is strong and it has withstood over 2 years of showers and the tray itself is flat so the bottles don’t fall over like they do on wire stands. It also has holes for the water to drain away and is aluminium so looks sleeker than cheap, plastic alternatives.
Keeping the bottles up off the sides has shaved masses of time of my cleaning routine and makes the space look tidier too.
Gather up all your bathing products from around the house – I’m talking all of them.
Have an unopened gift set from last Christmas in a cupboard somewhere? Or maybe you bought some bath bombs and they’re in your dressing table. Bring them all to the bathroom or chances are you will forget you even have them.
After rounding up all my toiletries, I found I had months and months’ worth of shower gels and bubble baths – meaning I wouldn’t need to buy any for a while. Having them in the bathroom where they will actually get some use reduces wastage and allows you to see what you have before buying new.
Be honest with yourself as you go through your stash. Will you actually use it? If not consider passing on to a family member who will. Or perhaps donate to your local food bank or woman’s refuge.
When you are happy with the level of products you’re keeping, only leave out one of each until you finish it and store the rest away in a cupboard or a drawer.
Otherwise, you’ll wind up having multiple half-empty bottles out which adds to the clutter.
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We have an under-sink cupboard and a small 3-drawer storage unit.
Before overhauling the space I kept bottles of product in the cupboard but they would constantly get knocked over when looking for something specific and quickly become messy.
It also meant that I was wasting the height space in the cupboard too so maximising the storage available.
I bought several of these plastic storage units and removed the top drawer from two (which I added to the same drawers I use in the kitchen under-sink cupboard).
This meant I was using the vertical space in the cupboard and containerising the bottles which helps keep them tidy.
• Drawer 1 – spare bath and shower products such as shampoo and shower gels.
• Drawer 2 – spare toothbrush heads, toothpaste, floss etc. Packs of razors and feminine products.
• Drawer 3 – All my husband’s grooming products, aftershave, deodorants, hair trimmer etc
• Drawer 4 – Cotton buds, nail clippers, tweezers etc and anything that doesn’t fit in the other drawers.
This leaves me with some space to the side and back of the drawers, which I fill with spare toilet rolls – I used to keep these on the back of the cistern but it just creates visual clutter. It is much better to store these things out of sight in my opinion – another less thing to clean around too!
• Drawer 1 – flannels and my husband’s contact lenses (he uses dailies and buys them in bulk)
• Drawer 2 – my daughter’s bath toys – I put them in the sink after use to dry off and then put them away once dry.
• Drawer 3 – my daughter’s bath products – baby bath, shampoo and bath oil for her eczema.
We also have a small shelf above the sink where our toothbrushes, mouthwash, hand wash and hand cream live. As well as the aforementioned shower rack.
I try to keep the surfaces clear so they are easy to wipe down – sometimes the clutter accumulates but as everything has a home, it’s easy to tidy away quickly.
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What does your current storage situation look like and how are you using it?
Think about what you currently keep in your bathroom and is it logically the best place to keep it.
Some people use their bathroom cabinet to store medicines etc but perhaps this would be better stored in a box in a high cupboard in the kitchen where the kids cannot reach it?
Can your makeup and hair tools be relocated to your bedroom?
Can towels be stored in the linen cupboard and taken out as required?
Everyone’s storage system will look different and should complement you and your family, and how you use the space.
It doesn’t have to be extremely minimalist if that isn’t going to work for you. The key is to remove as much suits you.
You might find that you are storing stuff in there that you never use, simply because you always have done.
Take a step back and ask yourself, is this working for me?
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Look at your bathroom and really look at it.
Cleaning out your toiletries has probably made a massive difference but is there anything else that constantly looks messy?
Perhaps it is the kid’s bath toys strewn everywhere – a scoop like this with a hook stuck to the tiles is a great solution for storing bath toys.
Maybe it is as simple as having nowhere to put your razor? A hook on your shower screen is the perfect solution.
Do you find damp towels or bathrobes are stuffed on the towel rack and not drying properly? A simple hook on the back of the bathroom door can sort that out.
These small, daily inconveniences can have a massive impact on us and cause unnecessary stress when often a simple solution is staring us straight in the face.
Next time you find yourself huffing and sorting out a particular nuisance in the bathroom, ask yourself ‘Is there a better way of doing this?’
Once you have decluttered and reorganised your bathroom, it is time to enjoy it!
Your cleaning routine will take much less time and tidying up will be a breeze!
You might also enjoy…5 Bathroom Cleaning Hacks to Make Cleaning the Bathroom a Breeze
