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Community Corner

Simplify Your Morning Routine: Bathroom Organization Basics

How organizing your bathroom can save your sanity.

A disorganized bathroom can make for a very stressful start to your day (especially if you've already pressed the snooze button three times and only have 15 minutes to get ready and out the door).  A few simple organization tips can transform your bathroom from a dreadfully crammed space, to a serene oasis where you begin your day on the right foot. 


Toss it- Are your drawers overflowing with products?  Is it common to come across a bottle of hairspray from 1999?  Start fresh and rid your bathroom of all products that are more than one year old.  Did you know there is actually a way to tell if your favorite product has expired?  Just look on the back of the product and you will see a picture of a small jar with a number inside followed by a capital M.  This tells you the average lifespan of your product after it has been opened.  It's a good idea to mark the date you opened it on the label so you know when you should throw it away.

Stop being a hoarder- OK, so maybe you're not an actual hoarder in the traditional sense, but it is very common to have tons of bottles in your shower.  If this is you and you have five kinds of shampoos and seven different body washes littering the floor of the shower, start by taking the bottles with the least amount in them and use these until they run out.  Do this until you are down to one bottle of each product and do not, I repeat do not, buy more until this happens.  It's never necessary to have that many bottles in your shower!

Streamline- For things that you use everyday--face lotion, makeup, after shave, etc.--make sure these things are accessible and easy to reach.  If you have just a few things you use every day, consider keeping them on a tray next to the sink and leaving them out.   If you have a lot of stuff (of course you need all three mascaras; it depends on the day's weather which one you will wear!), organize these items in a top drawer or medicine cabinet using drawer dividers or plastic containers ( makes tons of these so it is easy to find some that fit your exact needs).  Remember to group like with like, i.e. all hair care items in one drawer, makeup in another.  This will save time and make putting things away easier too.

Assign new homes- If you have followed the guidelines and pared down the products in your bathroom but are still short on space or just have an absurdly small bathroom to begin with, it's time to give some things a new home.  Lesser used items - suntan lotion, bulk shampoo, even extra hand towels--can be relocated to a closet or storage unit near the bathroom.  Only keep what you use everyday in this precious little space.  That being said, there is an important rule in the organizing world called "store it where you use it."  You must keep this in mind when relocating items.  Don't store extra bathroom items in the kitchen pantry on the other side of your house.  One last thing to keep in mind, always keep extra rolls of toilet paper within reach of your toilet!

Follow these general guidelines and recapture precious minutes in your morning routine!

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