How to Declutter a Bathroom — 7 Fool-Proof Ways You Can Clear Out Chaos ASAP

With ever-growing skincare routines, trendy Christmas-themed cosmetics, and festive grooming gifts that will likely come your way, your bathroom may soon become chockful of bottles aplenty. While the bathroom is made to be a storage space for all your daily essentials, the downside is that it can quickly go from spa-like to confusingly cluttered.

Now, this is where the knowledge of learning how to declutter room by room comes in. By understanding what to keep, dispose of, and recycle, you can rid your bathroom of litter and maintain a space that's truly zen. But the key to striking this balance is to formulate a thorough plan for proper decluttering that won't need frequent revisiting.

However, instead of leaving all the hard work up to you, we have done our fair share of research to help you through it. From emptying your bathroom cabinets to categorizing its inhabitants and sorting through the hoard, we have collated seven brilliant tips that are sure to come in handy.

1. Empty Everything Out

In conversation with Di Ter Avest, founder of Di Is Organized, she tells us that it's always best to start with a clean slate — and we couldn't agree more.

"Start by clearing out all of the drawers, cabinets, and shelves in your bathroom," she advises. "Follow through by laying everything out so you can see exactly what you have."

Not only will baring the containments of your bathroom bring out items you probably forgot you even had, but it'll also give you a clear idea of what needs to go and what can stay. On your journey to making your bathroom feel less cluttered, there's no better place to begin.

Di Ter Avest

Di Ter Avest is a professional home and lifestyle organizer and the owner of Di is Organized, in Baltimore, MD (USA). Her accountability program and book Organize Yourself Healthy (now available on Amazon and Etsy) help women across the globe to get their lives and homes organized, leading to lower levels of stress and overwhelm. Her expertise has been featured on Forbes, Today, ApartmentTherapy, Real Homes, Livingetc, Home & Gardens, and Kitchn; she has also given workshops at IKEA, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma.

2. Sort Into Categories

Next, Di recommends grouping your bathroom's contained items by type. "For instance, pair them into troops of toiletries, cleaning supplies, makeup, first aid items, and towels," she suggests. "This makes it easier to see duplicates or expired items."

By going through the decluttering process in a step-by-step technique and paying attention to each stage, you'll be able to maintain your bathroom for longer than usual.

Plus, it's another step that will help save space in a small bathroom by optimizing this area for things that are valuable enough to take up precious square footage in this space.

3. Check Expiration Dates

One of the more important problems with cluttered bathrooms, not including aesthetic issues, is the fact that they often hold items that are way past their expiry dates.

"It's important to toss expired products, such as medications, sunscreen, and makeup," notes Di. "Expired items in your bathroom may not be effective or safe to use."

In order to truly start decluttering, it's imperative that you void your bathroom of all cosmetics, skincare, and medicines that have passed their best-before dates. You'll be surprised at the amount of perished products hiding behind your cabinet doors.

4. Be Honest About Use

While decluttering your bathroom, it's easy to get swept up by the sparkly, often wonderfully scented products in your cabinet and retain them for later use. But Di tells us that this is probably the worst decluttering mistake you could make.

She tells us that her rule of thumb for bathroom decluttering is to ask yourself if you've used the item in the last three months. "If your answer is no and it's not a seasonal item, my advice is to consider letting it go," she says.

Honesty is the best policy and applies especially so when you're ridding your bathroom of clutter that's built up over time.

5. Consolidate Duplicates

Bathroom cabinets are notorious for hiding duplicates in plain sight. "If you have multiples of the same item, you should combine them where possible to save space," says Di.

So if you bare your cabinets and find multiple half-filled shampoo bottles or more than a few pairs of semi-full moisturizers, we recommend pouring them into one container.

We found this Mini Funnel Kit on Walmart that's ideal for transferring skincare or perfume to one primary bottle with ease.

6. Decide on Essentials

The turning point in the decluttering process for any living space is when you have to make the decision of what to keep and what to throw. Now, we will admit that this can be particularly difficult to accomplish, especially if you're a sentimental buyer.

"Keep only the products you genuinely use and love," says Di. "Donate unopened, unused items to shelters or charities if they're still within their expiration dates."

Since bathroom storage is generally limited and hard to come by, we recommend being intentional with the products that you'd like to hold back and honest with the ones to let go of.

7. Establish Limits

Last but not least, Di stresses the importance of being rigid with establishing limits to keep your bathroom from becoming quick-to-clutter often and soon.

"Set a rule to prevent clutter from returning, such as one-in, one-out for toiletries or a maximum number of towels," suggests Di. By creating such a limit for yourself, you can keep from going over and restoring your bathroom to a warzone of cosmetics.

This is an important rule to factor in if you feel overwhelmed when decluttering and prefer to avoid this task as much as possible.

Your bathroom is the first space you visit in the morning and the last room you get to before settling in for the night. And since it's an area you spend plenty of time in, we find that it's only at its prime when free from clutter.

Once you adopt a couple of these tips and declutter your bathroom from shelf to counter, you can learn how to organize your bathroom and before you know it, you'll have a spa-like bathroom that's immaculate in both design and ambiance.

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FAQs

How Often Should You Declutter a Bathroom?

When it comes to decluttering a bathroom, as much as we'd love it to be, it's not a one-and-done type of home chore. These tasks need to be regularly tamed but when done right it won't need tending to as often.

Di tells us that you should declutter your bathroom every three to six months, or whenever it starts feeling messy. "Think of it as a seasonal refresh to keep things functional and make your mornings less stressful," she says. "A quick check-in now and then can work wonders!"

How Should Your Purge Toiletries?

According to Di, it's best to start by checking expiration dates and tossing anything that's past its prime. She points out that those little symbols on the packaging (like '12M') tell you how long it's good after opening.

Next, she suggests asking yourself if you've used the product in the last three months. If not, she points out that it's probably time to say goodbye.

"Keep only your must-haves, and donate any unopened items to local shelters," she advises. "Lastly, rinse out empty containers and recycle them — it's an easy way to declutter and be eco-friendly at the same time!"