If anyone knows homes, it's Realtor.com. They have an awesome series on decluttering your home, and I am so honored to be featured in the article all about decluttering bathrooms! The post shares five strategies that will help you downsize your bathroom junk!

1. Gather all bathroom items

“Gather everything [that belongs in the bathroom] from all over the home, inside cars, purses, etc.,” says Caroline Roberts of The Simplified Island. “By gathering the items from all locations, you’ll know exactly how many of something that you have. You may realize you have an abundance of something you rarely use, like Band-Aids, which can save you a trip to the pharmacy in the future.”

2. Divide items into categories

Once you have all of your bathroom stuff in one place, it’s time to start categorizing. There are a few ways to do this, and the method you pick will all depend on how many people you live with and what kinds of things you store in the bathroom.

3. Decide what to keep

It’s time to decide what to keep and what to toss. For many people, this is the hardest part of decluttering.

“Anything that’s expired or hasn’t been used in a year is an automatic discard,” says Roberts. “For the other items that are being kept ‘just in case,’ weigh the cost of storing the item versus the cost of replacing it. This is especially important when space is at a premium.”

If the item is inexpensive and easy to replace, stick to this rule: When in doubt, toss it out.

4. Toss responsibly

Now that you know what stays and what goes, it’s time to start discarding the rejects. But when it comes to tossing medicines or other potentially harmful products, it’s important to do so responsibly.

“Many communities have medication drop events where prescription and nonprescription drugs can be taken,” says Roberts. “Walgreens has kiosks in many stores.”

Do your part in keeping our water supply clean by learning how to get rid of your old medications and cosmetics the right way.

5. Organize your essentials

With all your bathroom clutter out of the picture, it’s time to organize everything you plan on keeping. If you don’t already own them, invest in a few baskets, boxes, jars, and drawer organizers.

“For bathrooms with multiple users, I try to give each person a drawer and then have a communal space for shared items,” says Roberts.

Check out my Favorite Product page to see some of my top organizing bins and baskets!

 

Thank you to Realtor.com and to the author, Larissa Runkle for writing and featuring me in this article!