How About Some Great Bathroom Time?

What Shape is Your Bathroom in?

If you had unexpected company right now, would you be embarrassed if they asked to use your bathroom? If you had a date, would you be able to get ready lickity split because your bathroom is really organized? Or, if you wanted some quiet bathroom time with a hot bath, a book, and a candle, would you have an attractive spa-like experience? Or would you think "icky pooh." 

Do You Have Any of These Major Bathroom Problems?

1. Too much stuff. How many bottles of shampoo and creme rinse do you really need (and use)? And how many different kinds of lotion tooth paste, and lipstick do you have? Do you use all of the makeup you have? 
2. Too little storage space. If there's very little storage space in the bathroom, most people will not put things away. Of course, there are a few people who ALWAYS put things away. But they're rare.
   And if everything you have in the bathroom is left out, there is even less space for the things you really need to use to get ready for work. That means the morning routine becomes a big hassle, and who needs that extra stress?
3. No clear organizational system that works for all family members. If people don't know where to put things, they tend to set them down on the closest horizontal surface. The bathroom counter becomes loaded with nail clippers, lotion, makeup, curlers, shaving creme, a curling iron, blower dryer, nail polish, aspirin, cold medicine, drinking glasses, reading glasses, and 20 other things. If you're giggling, then I've probably described your counter top. 

Why live with the hassle of an inefficient bathroom? Wouldn't you love to have a less stressful morning and evening routine in a bathroom that is clean and organized? Decluttering and organizing your bathroom will make a big difference. And if you have unexpected company, having a clean bathroom will be a nice bonus.

Three Simple Solutions

1. Do a quick assessment to see how much of the stuff in your bathroom you actually use and use regularly.
   
   We have all purchased shampoo that we don't really like. But because we spent good money on it, we don't want to throw it out and be wasteful. Instead we save the many bottles and jars of things nobody in the family uses with the unconscious hope that we'll like them better another day or will use them when we run out of our favorites.
   
   But five years later the bottle of shampoo that makes your hair sticky and flat is still collecting dust and taking up valuable bathroom real estate. 
   
   It's time to get tough and get rid of everything you don't use. Why not donate it to a local shelter or advertise it as a freebee on your local freecycle.org group.
2. Store excess "off site." If you have a very small bathroom, consider storing the excess in another location like a hall closet or back room. If you have 10 bath towels and wash cloths but only use two, why not keep the other 8 in another place until your house guests arrive and need towels? 
   
   And if you have a year's supply of Kleenex and toilet paper, store that somewhere else in your home. When you stock up on your favorite shampoo with the buy-two-get-one-free sale, store it in your "off site" location too.
   
   Then when you need something, you can go "shopping" in your hall closet or back room.
3. Have a place for everything and get buy-in from the rest of the family to keep it organized. It will be a lot easier to create an organized bathroom once you've gotten rid of all of the excess, so do that step first.
   
   Then assess what your biggest storage and organizational problems are. This step will guide you to solutions. For example, if you have more towels than storage space, consider rolling them up like logs and putting them in a cool wicker basket on the floor. 
   
   Why not hang your blow dryer from a hook and your water mug too? Is there open space above the door and window where a little shelf might work well?
   
   Use dividers and baskets in your drawers and cabinets to group like things. I put all my make-up in a little basket so it's easy to take out of the cabinet and put back - just one motion. That's much easier than putting each item away. 
   
   I also group lotions, and dental stuff, and over-the-counter medicine. In fact, I group everything because if I don't, I won't put things away either. I'm as lazy as the next person.
   My bathroom is the neatest room in my house because I have a great system for organizing it. If you've got a great system too, email me at cheryl@cherylmillerville.com. I love to hear success stories. 

Cheryl Miller is a wellness expert and life coach. She specializes in helping people like you take action to get fit, quit smoking, eat well, live simply, manage stress, get organized, finish big projects and 1,000 other things.  Visit her website at www.cherylmillerville.com and join one or more of the free clubs to help you take action to live a healthy, happy life. Members get free monthly newsletters, invitations to teleclasses and Get it Done Days, and more. Everyone is welcome. If you want a straight shot at getting on top of life, contact Cheryl at cheryl@cherylmillerville.com and ask about her life coaching services.