The bathroom is pretty small compared to the other rooms in
your home, but it has lots of hiding places. Clients are often amazed at
the things uncovered in this archaeological clutter dig.
Start by opening up the area under your sink. Take out every item and
put them on the floor of your bathroom. Make sure nothing is on top of
anything else. You want every little thing in full view. I've seen these
items take up every possible space on the floor. One client joked, "I
could open my own drug store." It's easier to make clutter busting decisions when you see things out of their usual environment.
Pick up one item and ask
yourself, "Do I use this?" "Does this make me feel good?" "Does this
make me feel pretty or handsome?" Maybe you don't like a particular skin
cream, but you spent a lot of money on it and regret the loss. Perhaps
you've got six shampoos and can't decide which one you like the best. Whatever the situation, ask yourself of each item
separately, "Do I love and use this now, or can I let it go?"
I
had a client who had a vast amount of tiny containers of different
kinds of skin cream. She shut down at the sight of them. I had her hold
one at a time and then apply it to her skin and smell it. I wanted her
to get out of her overwhelmed thinking mind and focus with her
discriminating working mind. My client picked up the first cream and
opened the lid and took in the scent. She winced. She said, "Nope", and
put it in the trash bag. She found another cream and applied it to her
skin. She liked how it felt on her skin and decided to keep it. She got
rid of about 90% of the skin creams. She realized she had gotten into
the habit of getting many free samples and buying creams on sale and
then tossing them all in the cosmetics warehouse under her sink.
Sometimes clients will find unused makeup that's been there longer than
they can remember. Makeup has expiration dates. It's important to be aware of this for health reasons. Click this to watch an informative video.
Please
repeat this process for every drawer, shelf, and counter space in your
bathroom. Also the items in the shower area. It's going to make you feel good. With each piece of clutter
that goes, you get back some more of your peace of mind. When you're
done, put the things you're keeping back in a way that feels good to
you. And then toss the bag(s) of stuff you're not keeping. Charities
won't take beauty products. But they will take brushes,
hair dryers, mirrors and other similar kinds of items.
Check out your shower curtain. Sometimes they get moldy and go unnoticed. If you discover your shower curtain is moldy, toss it out and get a new one. Your health is one of your greatest assets.
Clutter bust any pictures or prints on the walls. Ask yourself if you enjoy looking at it. Sometimes we assume that just because something is hanging up that we're okay with it. But you might be surprised at your reaction when you ask if you enjoying looking at it today or not.
Also consider your towels and bath mat. Do you like to use them? Do they feel good on your skin? Are they getting ragged? Do they make you feel good when you see them? Remember, the purpose of your things is to support and uplift you. You feel better when you remove what's no longer a part of your life.
Let me know if you want some help via Skype clutter busting your bathroom. I can make it quick and easy. You can reach me at brooks@clutterbusting.com
(This has been an amended clutter busting blog post blast from the past.)