May - 5S Bathroom

Bathroom cabinets are a place I tend to build up clutter. I start stockpiling soap, random bath gifts and those mini shampoo and lotions from the hotel. When it comes down to it, how much of it do you use?  Plus the bathroom counters can get cluttered quickly. 

1.Sort - take everything out of cabinets and drawers. 

Throw away old toothpaste missing caps, expired medicines, old nail files and dried out makeup.  

Organize like items together. 

- Are you really going to use all those mini soaps and samples?

I put all my samples and mini toiletries together to create a visitor stash for the spare bathroom. Anything extra and unopened can be donated. 

- evaluate your makeup and hair accessories.  Do you use all of the colors and styles, or is some of it outdated. Makeup has a shelf life. It is suggested you only use eye pencils and mascara for 3 months. Everything else is about a year. If you are not using it up in that time, you probably don't need it. 

Stick to the motto of "use it or lose it."

- do you use all the appliances (razors, hair prep, etc)?

2. Scrub - wipe down the drawers and cabinets with a little baking soda and water. That will cut down odors and should not react with chemicals you have stored there. 

3.  Set - put together bins of items you use daily. 

Like items (haircare, travel. Etc) should be with like items. 

I have one bin for my morning routine (moisturizer, deodorant, brush) and one for night (face wash, moisturizers, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss).  I have a separate bin/organizer for makeup.

In the medicine cabinet, put together kits for specific needs (first aid, cold, pain, stomach). 

Other kits can be created for specific purposes, like nail care, shaving, feminine hygiene, cleaning. 

I also pack travel kits with duplicates and/or smaller versions of my daily use items so I am ready to pack quickly. 

These do not need to be as accessible as daily items, but organized in a way that you can find them.  

Your bathroom counter can remain uncluttered, if you use your storage wisely. If you do not have room in the bathroom cabinets for some of the extra kits that I do not use daily (nailcare, travel bags), consider using hallway or closet storage.  Extra consumables (soap, shampoo, toothpaste) can also be stored in the hallway or even garage.  I try to put my daily bins under the sink, still accessible, but tucked out of sight. 

4.  Standardize - visual cues for your consumables

You should always have a minimum amount of toilet paper within reach of every toilet. My mother still likes to tell the story about the time my guest bathroom ran out of toilet paper. 

Now, when I pull the second to last roll out, I refill the cabinet with another four rolls. Not everyone in my family is that diligent, so I could mark those last two rolls, to remind them. I could also make a weekly toilet paper check part of my bathroom cleaning process (Sustainment). 

Similar minimums should be identified for soap, shampoo and other things you do not want to runout of. 

5.  Sustain - re-evaluate what you are actually using every 3months. Replace your mascara and eyeliner at the same time. 

Make sure counter clutter is reduced when you clean your bathroom.  This is my regularly reminder to get back on track.