Go Organize: Conquer Clutter in 3 Simple Steps (16 page)

After the entryway or living room, the bathroom is the second most important room to keep clean and organized. Bathrooms are busy little rooms where we keep a lot of useful things. Family members use the room often during the day, and guests will most likely see this room during their visit. It's the room where most of us start our days.

The bathroom can also be a sanctuary — the one place you can lock the door, turn up some music, and be alone. You can relax in a warm bath and read, or cry without anyone hearing you. (And as a parent, if you turn the music up loud enough, you can't hear the kids fighting.) An organized bathroom will add to the peace and serenity you can find in this personal space.

SEARCHLIGHT

Take a good look around the bathroom and look for what you like about the room and what you don't like. Write it in your notebook. What is the wattage you feel when you are in this room (see page 15)? Is this a room where you can relax and enjoy a warm shower or soak in a bubble bath? It won't be relaxing if your wattage is under a 7.

 


1. What do you like about this room?
   

 


2. What don't you like in this room? Identify needs by asking yourself the following questions:
   

    
   

   1. Are things organized so they are convenient to use?
      

    
   

   2. Is the countertop a clutter magnet?
      

    
   

   3. Is there a place to hang towels?
      

    
   

   4. Are tub toys out of the tub between bath times?
      

    
   

   5. Is makeup contained? Are the cosmetics out-dated?
      

    
   

   6. Do you need more room for storage?
      

    
   

   7. Are medications stored in this room? Is this the best and safest place to keep them?
      

    
   

If your bathroom is very tiny, it may seem impossible to find room for all the things that belong there, especially if there is no storage space in the room. But large bathrooms can also have storage issues. If every shelf and drawer is overflowing, it's much harder to find what you need. Take photos of the room and the interior of the cupboards in it.

Now that you have looked at this room and decided what you like and don't like about it, you can move on to using the Spotlight to set goals to improve the bathroom.

Do you ever have mornings like Paula? As she was rushing to get ready for the day, she realized she had run out of toothpaste and had forgotten to put it on her grocery list. Someone had borrowed her hair dryer and hadn't put it back, so she had to spend precious moments trying to find it. She spent several minutes searching for a specific lipstick color she wanted to wear because she couldn't find the tube. Her eyeliner was dried out, and she tossed it back into the assortment of used up and usable makeup. The trash can wasn't convenient, so she simply tossed used tissues on the counter. She felt frustrated and harried before even leaving the house.

SPOTLIGHT

Now that you have written down the problems you saw in this room, write down the goals you want to accomplish. As you complete each one, check it off. Here are some examples of goals you could set for this room:

 


1. Solve storage problems by using every available space in the room. You can hang a shoe organizer on the back of the door for small items, place items under the sink, install shelves or free-standing racks above the toilet, and place a plastic cart with drawers on the floor if there is space.
   

 


2. Keep the countertop free of clutter.
   

 


3. Install hooks or use a free-standing hat rack to hang towels.
   

 


4. Use containers for cosmetics, towels, and toiletries.
   

 


5. Assign places to store everything where it will be easy for all family members to return items after use.
   

 


6. Guests will be able to use this room without you needing to do anything except get them a clean hand towel — no apologizes needed.
   

If you need to purchase any containers or shelves, measure the space in the drawers, under the sink, and in any other cupboard and decide what you will be using the containers for before setting off to buy them.

GREEN LIGHT

With your goals determined and written down and with your mind

focused on what you want this room to be like, it is time to use the Green Light to take action. There are a few ideal times to work on this room: either before anyone else is up in the morning, after everyone has left for the day, or while the children are napping. Set your timer for one hour and see how much you can get done. If you need to work in smaller amounts of time, that is fine. If, after one hour, you need more time, either set your timer again and keep on organizing or reach a good stopping point and schedule a date in the future to finish organizing the room. Soon it will look just how you want it to.

As always, start working from the inside out. As you take things out of the cupboards and drawers, things will look chaotic, but they will look and function better when you are finished.

I suggest you work in this order:

 


1. drawers
   

 


2. cupboards
   

 


3. under the sink
   

 


4. medicine cabinet
   

 


5. other shelves and storage spaces
   

 


6. countertop
   

 


7. shower and bathtub
   

Gather your tool kit (see page 22) and your four containers (see page 35). Wear comfy clothes and keep a snack and drink handy.

Drawers

Take everything out one drawer at a time. Wipe out each drawer with a damp cloth. Start with the top drawer and work your way down to the bottom one.

In one drawer (or more than one drawer if they are small and you have the space), put your cosmetics, dividing them between containers for makeup and skin care products. Use containers to keep things from sliding around and becoming a jumbled mess. This will also give you more space. To keep the containers in place, attach them in the drawers with wide, double-stick tape.

As you put your cosmetics into the containers inside each drawer, limit the number of products you keep. Donate those unused samples you think you will use “someday” but never have. Or write a goal to use them within the week and if you don't, then donate them and you can check off another goal. Keep only the cosmetics you use on a regular basis in the premium spaces (see page 24). Cotton balls, cotton swabs, etc., can be placed in their own decorative containers and kept on the countertop, in a drawer, or in a cupboard.

As you place your makeup in containers, make sure the makeup is usable and you actually wear it. Some guidelines for the shelf life of makeup are: First, if it smells or has a distinct unusual odor, throw it away! Second, if you can't remember when you purchased it, throw it away. Natural cosmetics do not last as long as those with extra preservatives in them. You want to replace your makeup because of germs and bacteria. Most likely, you'll get bored with your makeup before it expires, so a good rule to follow is to toss the color if you stop wearing it for a few months.

If you keep hair ribbons, elastics, barrettes, and other hair accessories in the bathroom, contain likes together in different containers. If the ribbons get tangled together consider hanging them from a swing-out hanger or on mug hooks attached to the wall.

Perfumes, lotions, deodorant, hair brushes, and combs all need to have their own containers. Curling irons/flat irons, and hair dryers either need to be hung on a hook or placed in a drawer. Be sure to wind up the cords to save space and prevent tangles (it also looks nicer).

Toothpaste, dental floss, and mouthwash can be stored together in the same area. If you never use the sample-size oral care items you receive from your dentist's office, don't accept the samples at your future visits. However, these sample sizes are nice for travel. If you use them for travel, don't put them in your premium space, put them with your travel items, which should be kept in a different cupboard or shelf, or in your luggage.

Tip:
If you share a drawer with someone, the only way to successfully do this is to have separate containers for each person.

Men also need containers for deodorants, brushes, combs, shaving creams, gels, lotions, after-shave, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss.

Cupboards

Take everything out of the cupboards one shelf at a time and wipe off each shelf. Organize the shelves the same way you do the drawers. Place like items together on the shelves, such as extra shampoo, personal items, bubble bath, soaps, tissues, or hair accessories. If the items are small, keep them together by placing them in containers.

Towels that are stored in cupboards can be stacked by type. Label the shelf with the size of towel that goes in that spot (bath towel, hand towel, or washcloth). See Chapter 8 for more information on storing bath linens.