An organized, streamlined bathroom is nicer to spend time in and much easier to keep clean, but it seems to be one of those rooms where things just accumulate over time. This weekend, our plans include a pre-Spring Cleaning project in our bathroom. We want to get it cleared out, cleaned up and organized. Want to join us? Set aside an hour, get the cleaning playlist ready and jump below for the plan:
Weekend Project: 5 Steps to an Organized Bathroom
1. Clear out the old and empty. Toss (or recycle, when possible) used up, empty containers and also any health and beauty products that are past the expiration date. Check the drawers and cabinets and in the bath or shower area. A tip from Real Simple: Many products havea "period after opening" label, a number followed by the letter M. It indicates how many months the item is effective after opening. In general, eye makeup is good for six months, foundation a year, and lipsticks two.
2. Purge the bad towels and washcloths. Some of ours have hit the point of no return, where they just are too worn out to be of good service. We plan to go through the stack with a pair of scissors in hand, cutting up the ones that are past their prime into cleaning cloths - they are great paper-towel alternatives.
3. Apply the six month (or one year, if you are feeling generous) rule to everything else. If there is something taking up precious space in your bathroom that you haven't used in a year, donate it. Examples: the old "spare" hairdryer, a set of rollers, a bottle of scent you just don't like, the shampoo that did not so great things to your hair and, of course, anything broken or in need of repair that you know you wont get around to tackling.
4. Lose the magazines, books, pamphlets that came with products, etc. If you tend to accumulate any reading material in the bathroom, clear it out. Recycle or pass them on.
5. After the big clearout, turn up the music and empty, clean and refill the drawers, cabinets, shelves baskets and bins one by one. Tackle them one at a time, taking everything out, cleaning out the drawer (we like to vacuum them out with a brush attachment first and then clean with a damp sponge). Then replace contents in an organized manner, being sure to add anything you missed during the purge to the "outbox" and moving misplaced items to the correct drawer, cabinet or container.
This job shouldn't take long at all and makes regular cleaning MUCH easier. Good luck with your own bathroom re-org and enjoy the new found space and simplicity!
Photo: Venetian Blinds in the Bathroom from Living Etc.- January 2009. Check out their great galleries of bathroom photos right here.
Comments (21)
Daily Email
Top Tours
- Elizabeth's Vintage Finds Filled Apartment
- Heather's Vintage Granny Chic
- Emily & Jacob's Poetically Photographed Home
- Anne's Rock & Roll Loft
- Lissa's Pepper Pike Home
Top Posts
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
love the sink! where can i find it?
view brunocerous's profile
I had the same thought about the sink! It's great.
view Sassyladie's profile
Yes! Sink info, please!
And, btw, I DO NOT want reading material that's been recycled from someone else's bathroom. Ick.
view PhillyLass's profile
Some how, you must know we are reflooring and painting a bathroom this weekend. That list... it is my list already!
We are thinking of a new sink... that one would be PERFECT for our tiny bath.
view thelittlestmonster's profile
i am wondering about the sink too! i want one.
view smckinney's profile
Regarding #3 - disappointing shampoo can be used to hand-wash stockings and other delicates, and underperforming conditioner works a treat as shave cream on legs.
view FiatLex's profile
Haha, those kinds of floating sinks are all the rage in China :)
We currently have a glass one in our basement, which we found at a random Chinese sink/cabinetry dealer down here in Georgia :D
view chikiyuu's profile
People may already know this, but animal shelters would love to take your old towels and other linens. They are given to each animal daily to provide a soft spot to snuggle. That's where all my towels go that have seen better days.
Also, hotel soaps and other items personal items (including expired items depending on the product) can be donated to homeless shelters and groups that do street outreach. The hotel/travel sized are especially great to hand out to people.
view frenchfry's profile
I, too, am in love with the sink...please, any ideas?
view jcpenney's profile
I'm in love with the orchid. If my husband would cooperate by opening the blinds in the bathroom before he leaves in the morning, I could have one in there, too.
view Brandyjane's profile
Hi to Everyone Who Likes the Sink-
I have the paper copy of the issue (January 09) of Living Etc. that the photo I used for the post is originally from - that sink is described as being available from CP Hart (cphart.co.uk)
view janel's profile
i want this sink to. i looked at the cphart site but i didnt find it there. Where can I order this or something like it?
view itsthehouseshow's profile
I LOVE THE SINK!! Sorry to get so excited but I really do like it. I can't find the same sink, but i found a similar one here: http://www.vintagetub.com/asp/product_detail.asp?item_no=C1325
view Jose A's profile
I found another one that looks an awful lot like it:
http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/La-Toscana-TA-30SX-Tao-Left-Wall-Mount-Bathroom-Sink-White/54576/Cat/1007
view greenish's profile
Yes! I had the same reaction! The sink! The sink! What a wonderful sink!
By the way, I plan to do NOTHING you suggest to my bathroom. For some reason, I find it easy to keep it clean and very minimal. No reading material ... that always reminds me of the possibility of gastrointestinal problems. I like to change the towels every other day.
view AustinSarah2's profile
Great list! Just to let you know, though: At least in California, homeless shelters cannot accept any opened toiletry items.
view Elizabeth B's profile
For the look in the picture that goes with this article, where do you keep all your stuff if there's no medicine cabinet, or under sink storage?
view kittykittymeowmixhead's profile
I just purged my under sink cabinet. I had no idea there was so much stuff! Hair products that just didn't do the trick, expired lotions, makeup I haven't touched in 5 years...ewww. It's enough to fill a whole grocery bag full of trash!
Thanks for the great idea for a weekend project!
view Erin C's profile
I never quite understood reading material in the bathroom...I always thought it was kind of strange. I mean, it's not like you are on the john for 15 minutes!
view Erin Lang Norris/Yellow Canoe's profile
Okay, I admit I'm bad about letting the bottles of "not quite right" stuff pile up. I'd like to reclaim all that space! Problem is, most of them got shoved to the back of the endless cabinet and are way past the expiration date, BUT the bottles are recyclable. Do I toss the whole mess in the trash? Or do I dump out the goop and recycle the bottles? If I dump out the goop, what do I do with it?? Put it in a bag in the trash?
view parhelia's profile
parhelia, I'm guessing if the goop is not just utterly disgusting, dump it down the sink and recycle the bottle. If it is just disgusting...well, I know I would just throw the whole thing out to not have to deal with the disgusting.
view seraph's profile