Spend (Next to) No Time Today and Save Time for Months to Come

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published Jan 20, 2016

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On your mark, get set, declutter! You can speed your way through this assignment in an hour or less today. (You might even want to try using the timer method again, just for fun, if you are dorky like me.) It shouldn’t take too long and once you cross this self-contained, one-shot task off your list, you’ll have a more pleasant, easy, speedy start to each and every day for months to come. Time invested today: minimal. Upcoming time (and aggravation) saved: a bunch!

Today’s Assignment:

Go through your bathroom and medicine cabinets, cleaning and clearing.

Unsurprisingly, the cabinets in bathrooms tend to be one of the biggest clutter magnet trouble spots in many homes. The good news is that there are some simple guidelines that will help make the decision making process on what can stay and what should go a bit easier.

Here’s the quick effective cleanout process:

First, take everything out of the cabinet and keep like things together, sorting by type of item as you go. Use a good all purpose cleaner to quickly wipe down the interior and shelves.

Now, comes the purge. Have a trash bag and an outbox bag on hand and then dig in while keeping this in mind: your cabinets are not a storage warehouse. You don’t need to keep everything that you MIGHT need someday. Keep what you actively use and let the rest go, using the following simple guidelines from the Eight Step Home Cure.

Dispose of everything that:
• 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!)

Note: Follow proper disposal guidelines for medications. Here’s a post with good info and links.

Once you’ve done the sort, replace the items you are keeping, taking care to give the items you use most often the most visible and/or easily accessible spots.