Let’s Freshen Up
Alright, friends. I can imagine that you are all waiting on the edge of your seat for a tour of my bathroom. I will leave you in suspense no longer!
First, I’m so encouraged at how many of you took the quiz! Way to go, y’all! And if you haven’t yet, there’s still time! Remember, my system works because it’s suited to my organization style, big bins and macro storage. So some of the things you see in the post will be helpful for you, and some won’t.
Here’s my commitment to you guys: I am going to show you real, lived in spaces. But it’s just a lot of fun to show you the really tidy pictures, too. So I’ve snapped a before picture to show what the space looked like when I walked in to photograph it, and then I’ll share the after photos to show what it looks like reset and tidy. The beautiful part is, it is SO quick to reset. Most of my rooms can be totally reset in 5-10 minutes without cleaning and 30ish minutes if I’m resetting and doing some deep cleaning or reorganizing.
But I want you to know that I’m a real mom of kids, with a husband, and my house is not perfectly tidy all the time. It’s just not the season of life for that, and I’m okay if it never is. We don’t serve our house! Our house serves us. Don’t forget that. But I also want you to know, the systems won’t work if we don’t use them. So as I go through our house for y’all, I’m going to be assessing and sharing if the system works or if I’m making changes. Speaking of systems, that’s what I’ll show you last part of the the post! (Also, this is long and detailed, so feel free to scroll down to the Take Action heading to quickly assess what you can learn and apply. I won’t be offended.)
Now…let’s do this!
This is the space I started with in my home, and honestly, I’d recommend you start here, too. Why?
It’s usually a smaller space, so it’s more manageable to get through.
There are a lot of easy decisions to make about what to part with.
This is where we come several times during the day for a moment of peace.
This is where we start and end our day, aside from the bedroom.
This space in our home was actually creating a lot of anxiety for me. I’d come in to use the rest room and instead of exhaling during my momentary break from the mostly joyful chaos in my home, I was intensely overwhelmed by the stuff I saw in the bathtub, on the floor and on the counter. It created a lot of angst for me. At night, as I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, I was met with the clutter from the day or week and instead of calming down, I’d get so wound up and overwhelmed. In the morning, I’d wake up to use the restroom and instantly be met with the mess. Now, I always have to have a clean toilet, that’s a non negotiable for me, personally. But it would so quickly get cluttered and stay that way until I finally lost my cool and picked it up, cramming things in overstuffed drawers.
So, let’s get started. Here’s the before, what it looked like when I walked in.
Overall, the space was in decent shape. It clearly needed to be straightened up and there were things that needed to be put away, but it wasn’t too bad. I did notice the Get Ready Bin needing to be restructured to keep in neat and tidy and that the left drawer was underutilized.
Now for the after.
Much better. Let’s talk details and systems now.
This is what it looks like under the cabinets. (You saw where the Get Ready Bin goes earlier.) The opaque stacked bins are my feminine products. I put them on the shelf by the toilet and leave them in here when I don’t need them.
Up top in the other cabinet is our Refills & Misc. Bin. It’s so helpful to know exactly where to find the toothpaste or flosser refills! (We actually found 4 tubes of toothpaste and 2 brand new deodorants when we did this room because it was hidden and jumbled. Yikes… That’s a lot of back up toothpaste, ha!)
The bottom left is our Hair Care Bin and it has all of the detanglers and curl cream, as well as the brushes and straightener.
The bottom right is our Haircut Supplies Bin, with our clippers, salon capes, spray bottle and blow dryer. It’s so nice to just pull the bin out and take it outside or to the other bathroom when it’s time for haircuts.
Here’s a closer look at our Get Ready Bin that we use every morning and night. It’s got all the necessities in it! I ended up taking out a few items that we only used once a week or so and moving them to the drawer or another bin. I also added some drawer organizers in the bottom to help stuff stand up.
This is our cleaning bin with everything I need to refill the soap dispenser and clean the sink, toilet, and bathtub. (Well there’s a scrub brush too that goes there but was in the other bathroom when I took this.)
I love our drawer refresh! I purchased some more of the drawer bins so I could add some more functional storage. I also moved the stuff we needed less often to the drawer on the left, since that one is more difficult to access. And yes, there is an empty space! One of my favorite hacks when organizing. Leave a little room in case something new comes. And that’s my bathroom!!
I also thought I’d share the kids bathroom, too, since there’s not much to say about it. They brush their teeth and use the restroom in there and it’s where we shower. Oh and it’s one of the collecting places for dirty clothes since the laundry room is off of it. Again, I’ll show you the before pictures of when I walked in, and the pictures of after I reset the space.
It wasn’t bad! Just some messy tooth paste and clothes that didn’t quite make it to the hamper. Oh, and a dirty mirror, because well…kids and a full length mirror.
Yay! So tidy now. The kids got these new toothbrushes for Christmas this year. And while I don’t love the colors, because they came with a stand, I don’t need toothbrush cups anymore, yay! They are arranged in reverse birth order and have their names hidden on the bottom so I’m never asking them whose tooth brush it is. That was a huge pain point for me.
These aren’t much to look at, but this is all the storage we have in this bathroom. This house was actually fully furnished when we moved in, so all but two of these bins are the owner’s things that we don’t use. But we have a Cleaning and Refills Bin and a TP Refills Bin, as well as our tissues.
If you’ve made it this far, I am so impressed! And I hope that already you feel inspired and have some action points you can take away that will work well for your family and your space.
Before we officially end the bathroom(s) tour though, I want to leave you with some very specific action items and some product recommendations that I’ve personally found helpful. But please don’t ever buy something just because I put it on here. These suggestions are not magical and will not organize your space for you.
Take Action:
You can easily and immediately get rid of expired, dried out, or unwanted make up or hygiene items.
If you haven’t used the mascara in forever, toss it. Hate the scent of that lotion? Gone. Expired sunscreen? Do yourself a favor and get rid of it. Ask me how I know.
If you keep things just in case, it’ll be harder to access the things you use everyday. If you have space to keep a few items you need on occasion, great! Feel free to keep them if you’d like. But the more you declutter and clear out, the easier it will be to keep the space tidy and orderly and find exactly what you’re looking for.
Get rid of duplicates.
You don’t need 5 sets of fingernail clippers (although I honestly think I have that many right now). Just keep your favorite pair or two.
Two spray bottles? Give the other away on your local Buy Nothing Facebook group or add it to your give away bin. You really only need one if you all get ready in the same bathroom. (Even if the two pack was the better deal.)
Put the items you use most in the most accessible places. It sounds simple, but really assess this.
Try to only have your tooth brush/tooth paste and soap on the counter. Even if you have a massive counter!! The clean counter will be so refreshing and calming as opposed to a messy counter. Clutter really does attract clutter, so any item left out of place on the counter is an invitation for other items to collect there.
Just put it away when you’re done. Right then. Take the extra 2 seconds and put it away. Some of my sweet cohabitants are still learning this principle.
Keep it simple. Part of how our shower and bath tub stay so tidy is we all use the same body wash and the kids and Seth use it for shampoo, too. It’s the Everyone 3 in 1 Soap, and it’s something I feel good about the whole family using. So we don’t have multiple body washes, shampoos and bubble baths. But this is clearly going to depend on your home dynamics. (For instance, Ellie and I do have curly hair, so we can’t use just any old conditioner if we want goo results. But that’s another post entirely.) But as much as I can, I try to keep those type of things simple and streamlined. You can see why I like it here. (And also feel free to check on that site for the products you’re currently using to understand how the ingredients could impact the health of you and your family. But please, only do this if you have capacity currently to go down that road. It can get weighty, overwhelming, and costly (if you aren’t careful). I have to remember all the time that I can’t do all the things at once. Just wanted you to have it as a resource though if it’s something you feel curious about or want to address.)
Pull everything out and intentionally choose what to put back in. I highly recommend that you order bins (if needed) first, so that you don’t have to pull it all out twice or leave it out while you wait to get bins. If you have items left that won’t fit, consider parting with them or storing them in another nearby space in the house. For instance, our clean hand towels are stored in the nearby hall closet because there is no room in the cabinets and I don’t want them by the toilet, ha!
Group items. If you put similar items in a basket or bin together, not only are they easier to find, but your brain now sees it as one item, not 7. I use this principle throughout my house and it’s so helpful.
Helpful & Affordable Products:
A.Walmart’s Mainstays Narrow Utility Storage Bin
These are just the best. I cleaned out every local Walmart when we were doing our house. They work fantastic for smaller cabinets or larger cabinets when you need smaller storage for less items or more focused organization.
The height is great! It’s the perfect Get Ready Bin for us, and perfect for many other uses.
Cons:
The stickers are hit or miss about coming off easily, unfortunately. Sometimes they leave residue.
While they are sturdy, the handle has some give when you lift it by one handle, so I wouldn’t trust it for heavy things.
B. Walmart’s Mainstays Utility Storage Bin
These are fantastic for under large cabinets or in pantry when you just need to group together some large bulk items.
Great height! They are the same height as the narrow ones, but almost twice the width and a few inches deeper.
Cons: See Above.
I don’t personally use these, but I’ve used them in clients bathroom and they worked great for her needs!
There are several options like this on Amazon, these are just the ones I’ve personally used.
The bins aren’t attached to the shelves, so you just have to be a little careful. You essestionally lift them out and put them on the counter while using them. Works great if you don’t have much or any drawer storage but need to organize lots of smaller items.
This set was a different one than I ordered the first time, but I like this one best. The containers didn’t have a lip and they were a little taller, which I liked.
These are FANTASTIC for micro storage in drawers.
E. Target’s Bathroom Organizer Bins
These are great because you don’t see all the items in the bin, in case you prefer that.
They are great for smaller amounts of items.
In theory, the small ones stack on the larger one, but it’s difficult to achieve quickly.
I honestly use these a ton in my kitchen. But they could be useful in a bathroom!
These aren’t as tall, so use them in shorter spaces, like cabinets with shelves.
Obviously there are tons of toothbrush holders out there, but this one is notable for it’s ability to be disassembled and easily cleaned.
It also has drainage holes to keep things from getting gross.
Decluttering and organizing is so personal, y’all. What works for my family may not work for yours. My main objectives may not match yours. In this season of life, my objective is affordable, functional, and easy to maintain. I don’t care so much about the visual or aesthetics if it’s in a drawer or behind a cabinet. If you do care about that, and you have the budget, then by all means, shop your heart out at the container store or Ikea. You decide what works for your home.
Also, If you’re local and would like some in person help, let me know and we can talk through the details. If you aren’t local but would benefit from talking through it with someone and doing a virtual walk through/game plan, I can help you with that, too. Just reach out.
Up Next: The Hall Closet
