Tidying the Bathroom

We will start with the bathroom because that is where we all feel most vulnerable. This is the room where the truth really comes out.

The bathroom sink area
Don't you love walking into a good quality hotel bathroom? Isn't it the nicest thing to see a bench with only the soap and a handtowel on it and all other mess out of sight (or not yet created by you)? So why not have that everyday in your own home?

Here's how.

I'm not going to give you a list of things to take away, piece by piece, until you're left with a smaller pile of mess. I see no point in that. What I will say to you is this:
Put everything from your bathroom counter on the floor. Study it. Decide what looks pleasant and what looks nasty. Then decide what you never use, and chuck it out or put it Freecycle.

Then simply place the few things you love back onto the counter and put the things that look a bit nasty or embarrassing or just plain boring into the cupboards and drawers.

Here's what I kept on my bathroom sink when I cleared it yesterday:
-A vase with fake flowers (for that feminine touch)
-my husband's 2 favourite colognes (for that sexy touch)
-the stylish cream and green tooth brush holder
-a pretty square jar holding cotton balls
-my perfume
-some gorgeous body balm

And that's it! I put everything else either away in the cupboard or in the trash.
Now when I walk into the bathroom I see a pristine place to wash and clean myself.

Bathroom cupboards and drawers
The area under and around the bathroom sink is often full of clutter, forgotten items and unused medicines. Get rid of it all. What you should keep is your stash of toilet paper(of course), bathroom cleaning supplies, the beauty products you cannot use every day, things like bath salts and scrubs and fake nails, your hoards of perfume for just in case there is ever a stink plague and you need to cover it, and your medicines.

The best idea is to stock your cupboards in some kind of order. For example: keep the toilet paper next to the bathroom cleaning supplies, and keep your medicines in a drawer all by themselves. This helps for easy access and helps prevent a build up of new clutter when you're rummaging around for things you can't find. And I've heard this rule many times before, and it is so so true: If you haven't used it in a year THROW IT AWAY!! That rainy day is never going to come so just chuck it out and give yourself the piece of mind just knowing that you have 5cm extra space in your bathroom cupboard.

In the drawers you should keep the beauty supplies that you use daily and some medicine. I went for a long time showing off my beauty products to all my visitors. I'd have my Clinique face wash out there and my Clinique toner and all my perfumes and makeup bags cluttering the stage. Now, I've got my everyday makeup in a bag to be pulled out of the drawer in one easy swipe, and it can be returned with the same amount of ease. That's the tip to keeping everything all sparkly and new like a hotel bathroom: when you've used it, put it away! Everything should go back in it's place.

Bathroom clutter
The bathroom is a great place to find clutter of the clothing kind. There may also be newspapers and books there too (ok, I'm guilty).

So here's what to do.

When you've had your shower in the morning or at night, or you've just bathed the kids, look behind you before you turn off the light. Take the clothes hanging over the clothes rail and either put them in the wash or take them to be put away in the bedroom. And if you must read on the toot, make a place for the papers. I have a friend who even has a clothes rail next to her toilet where a magazine can be hung. Or you could put a cute wooden chair in there, as I have, and put a little pile of books on it to amuse yourself. And if you don't have room to do these things, simply take the books back out of the bathroom when you've finished with them. Try to leave the room as you should find it on a good day.


For all other clutter surfaces, such as the side of the bathtub or in the shower or around the toilet, use the method as described above: clear and start fresh, then chuck out what you don't need and store what can be used later under the sink.

Happy Bathing!!