How To Declutter Your Bathroom Fast

Is your bathroom starting to feel a bit cluttered and messy? Learn how to declutter your bathroom and keep it clutter-free.

The bathroom is generally the smallest room in your house, yet it probably holds more stuff per square foot than any other room. This makes it easy for the bathroom to quickly feel cluttered and out of control.

By following these tips to reduce the clutter in your bathroom, you’ll be able to turn it into a calm and relaxing space. One where you can’t wait to fill the tub with your favorite bath salts, light a scented candle and enjoy a peaceful soak in the tub.

So let’s get started!

Tips To Declutter Your Bathroom Fast

The nice thing about decluttering your bathroom is that while it most likely holds quite a bit of clutter for its size, its size also makes it quite easy to get rid of the clutter fast.

You generally don’t have to make a lot of tough decisions when you declutter your bathroom. There are usually no sentimental items in there. This makes it fairly easy to decide what should stay and what should go.

With these tips you should be able to clear the clutter within an hour or less, depending on how much clutter you have. You’ll know exactly what items to declutter and we’ll talk about how to keep your bathroom clutter-free.

The First Step to Declutter Your Bathroom

Before you even start clearing the clutter, you want to gather all the tools you’ll need. This will help the decluttering process go much quicker when you have everything you need in front of you.

There are only a few things you’ll need:

• A large trash bag
• A box or basket for the items you’ll keep
• A box for items you’ll donate
• A timer
• Your favoirte playlist

Turning on my favorite music puts me in a work frame of mind and makes the task much more enjoyable!

Set a Timer

When you declutter your bathroom it should not be an all-day project. If you stay focused you really should be able to finish the job within an hour.

Setting the timer on my phone keeps my focus on decluttering while that timer is on. During this time, the goal is to get rid of as much stuff as possible before the timer goes off.

Gather Your Sorting Your Items

While you are decluttering, you are going to sort your items into 3 categories:

• Trash – Everything in this category is going straight into that trash bag.
• Keep – These are the items you love or use and want to keep. As you go through the stuff in the bathroom everything you want to keep will go into this box or basket.
• Donate – These are the things you don’t love or use but are still in good condition and could be used by someone else.

The Best Method for Clearing Clutter From The Bathroom

When you’re ready to start the actual decluttering, you’ll follow a basic 5 step process. I have found this systematic approach works well when you’re struggling with getting started. It allows you to make a lot of progress quickly and you won’t have to stop and think about what to do next. Here are the five steps:

• Clear the counters
• Go through the cabinets and drawers
• The Medicine Cabinet
• Shower and Tub
• Towels and Washcloths

Clearing the Counters

The one thing that makes decluttering the bathroom challenging is that it’s such a small space. This means you don’t have a lot of room to work. This is why I recommend starting by clearing off the counters.

Clearing the counter will give you some working space if you need it. But even more than that, having clear counter-tops is a mental victory. It’s an immediate quick win when you can see this space completely clear and clutter-free.

The Drawers and Cabinets

This is probably where you’ll spend the bulk of your time. Start by tossing everything you possibly can. The more you can get rid of the better. If you don’t use it let it go.

Go through one cabinet or drawer at a time. Remove everything out of that space and onto the counter or floor. Next, start tossing all obvious trash and pay attention to expiration dates. Remember makeup does have an expiration date, make sure anything expired is tossed.

The Medicine Cabinet

By now you’ve been working pretty hard and are ready for another quick win. The medicine cabinet is one of the easiest places in your home to declutter.

It’s all about checking for those expiration dates and tossing those items and then getting rid of anything that doesn’t belong in there.

The Shower & Tub Area

This area shouldn’t take too long. Basically, you’re looking for all those things you don’t generally use or like. You may have a few partially used bottles in here, combine what you can.

Throw out any old worn-out razors and loofahs. Basically, get rid of all the things that have been collecting in there that you don’t regularly use.

Towels and Washcloths

As you go through your towels and washcloths consider donating anything worn or with holes to animal shelters. If you prefer you can also repurpose these items for cleaning rags.

Questions to Help Make Decisions When Decluttering the Bathroom

As you go through each of the items in your bathroom there are a few questions to ask yourself. These questions will help you make decisions as to what items you should keep and what items are clutter.

1. Do I Use This?

If neither you nor anyone else in your family uses an item in your bathroom why are you keeping it? This should really be a no-brainer.

If you don’t use it, let it go. It is just cluttering up your bathroom and creating undue stress in your life.

2. Do I Like This Product

Sometimes there are certain things we use or have used but don’t actually like. I know that I’m very picky about scents and can’t handle anything that is heavily perfumed. If you have things you don’t really love, whether it’s lotions or other toiletries, now is the time to get rid of them.

If it’s a skincare product, do you like the way it feels on your skin? Does it work for your skin type? Does it do what you thought it would do when you purchased it? If not let it go.

Make-up products also tend to fall under this same category. 

3. Is This Product Past its Expiration Date?

Most bathrooms tend to have a lot of expired products in them. I think we all know that medications, both prescribed and over the counter have expiration dates. But remember a lot of beauty and personal care products, such as sunscreen, also have expiration dates.

If the item does not have an expiration date written on the package, it still may have gone bad over time. Check for a bad smell, or a change in color or texture, these are all signs the product is no longer good.

Anything expired or no longer good should be thrown out.

4. Do I Have Multiples of This Product?

It’s surprisingly easy to accumulate many multiples of the same types of products in the bathroom. One of the big ways this happens is free samples. You may also have received a lot of personal care items as gifts or stocked up on personal care sale items.

Now it’s time to ask yourself how many bottles of lotion do you really need? Have you ever actually used those sample products you’ve been holding on to?

Be honest here, everything you keep is going to take up some amount of your time and resources to maintain and care for.

Keep what you really love, donate unopened products, and then throw out the rest.

10 Things to Declutter From The Bathroom

At this point you have your supplies ready, you know the method you’ll use to work through your bathroom clutter, and are prepared with the questions to ask while decluttering. Now you’re ready to get to work!

To make decluttering your bathroom fast and easy, here’s a list of 10 items to give you a head start.

1. Declutter Your Bathroom Counters.

Keep as many things as possible off of the countertops. Your bathroom will feel so much more relaxing when the counters are clear. Plus clutter-free counters make cleaning 100 times easier.

Store away as much as possible. Limit the items allowed to live on your counters to what you use all the time. This would be things like hand soap or toothbrushes.

Keep only the decor pieces that you honestly love. If you don’t love it — declutter it.

2. Declutter Make-up & Supplies

Pull out all of your make-up and make-up supplies or tools. Start by tossing out all expired products. Then get rid of any products you don’t use, these are things you don’t like the color or feel of.

Next, go through your make-up tools and supplies. If you have any brushes that you don’t use or that are losing the bristles go ahead and toss those now. Keep only what you actually use.

Now, look at other beauty tools such as eyelash curlers, twisters, and beauty sponges or blenders. If they are no longer in good shape or used let them go.

3. Declutter Skin Care Products

I don’t know about you, but this is an area I tend to accumulate a lot of. While I still struggle with buying too many skincare products, I have learned I need to let them go if it does not work for me. The same is true for you!

There is no reason to keep products you don’t use or like. Also, it’s important to remember, that like make-up, skincare products do go bad over time. Make sure to toss any skincare products that are no longer good.

4. Declutter Hair Care Products

Now repeat what you just did with your skincare products when going through your hair care products. If you don’t like it or it does not work for your hair type declutter it.

While you’re decluttering your hair products also go through any hair accessories you have in the bathroom. Do you have hairbands, scrunchies, or hair ties that you no longer wear? Now is the time to declutter those items.

Don’t forget about hairbrushes and combs. If they are not being used there is no reason to keep them.

5. Free Samples and Mini Bottles

There was a time, long ago when I actively sought out all the free sample products I could get. So I know they can take over the bathroom quickly. If you do this stop!

I promise they are not worth it and you know they are all over your bathroom unopened. It’s time to donate all of them!

This also includes those mini bottles leftover from hotels or free with the purchase of the larger item. If it’s something you are actually going to use, do it. Set it out now and commit to using it. Otherwise, get rid of them.

6. Declutter Bathroom Cleaning Supplies

I keep my bathroom cleaning supplies under our bathroom sink because it’s just easier. So every now and again I have to make sure to go through them.

For me, it’s usually just old sponges or toothbrushes that have been collected. But you may want to make sure you don’t have any other cleaning supplies you don’t use.

7. Bathroom Appliances

When you think about it, it’s kind of amazing how many appliances this small space can collect. Everything from blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons, waterpiks, electric toothbrushes, shavers, and foot baths.

So now is the time to decide if you really use those appliances. How many curling irons do you really need?

Go through all of your bathroom appliances, if you have not used them in the last year go ahead and get rid of them now. This is also a good time to throw out any old razors.

8. Medications

Whether it’s prescription or over-the-counter medications, you don’t want to keep them if they are expired. Expired medication can be dangerous.

Gather all medications that are expired or no longer used. You have to be careful here, many medications need to be disposed of properly. Most pharmacies or Fire Departments will take them and dispose of them safely.

9. First-Aid Items

Much like you did with the medications, make sure none of these items are expired. If you have several packages of band-aides try combining them.

10. Towels and Washcloths

Towels and facecloths are another one of those items that can quickly accumulate. While my bathroom does not have the space to actually store my towels in there, you may, either way, it’s a good time to go through them.

Towels do lose their softness over time and get holes or become ratty. These towels should be donated or turned into cleaning rags.

Also, consider how many you actually need. A good rule of thumb is two per person. Declutter what you don’t need.

How to Keep Your Bathroom Clutter-Free

Now that you’ve gone through and cleared out the clutter, how do you keep it clutter-free? Here are some decluttering tips to keep the bathroom clutter-free. 

Keep Surfaces Clear

One of the best things you can do to keep your bathroom clutter-free is to keep the surfaces as clear as possible. After all, nothing makes a room look cluttered quicker than having the room’s flat surfaces covered with stuff.

The truth is clutter attacks clutter, so it’s vital to keep those surfaces clear.

You’ve cleared out your drawers and cabinets of the excess so now you have room to store your everyday items in those spaces. It’s really not much of an inconvenience to open a drawer to access the items you need. The benefit of a clear space is well worth it.

Keep Decor to a Minimum

Because the bathroom is such a small space decor items can easily overwhelm it. Try and limit your decor pieces to items that are also functional. Add a candle and maybe a pretty plant and you’re are good to go.

Invest in Nice Packaging for Your Bathroom Essentials

If storage space requires you to keep certain items out on the counters consider transferring your must-have bathroom supplies into pretty containers.

Invest in some pretty soap dispensers to store your hand soap and hand lotion on the sink. A pretty canister can hold things like q-tips and cotton balls. A small basket with a lid is perfect for storing extra toilet paper. This allows your bathroom to look nice without adding clutter.

By taking the time to make your bathroom look nice you’ll be much less likely to allow clutter to gather in the bathroom.

Declutter as Part of Your regular cleaning routine

Staying on top of the clutter is essential to keeping your bathroom clutter-free. As part of your regular cleaning routine, make sure you add in 5 to 10 minutes each week for decluttering.

Pick one of the 10 areas we just went over to declutter each week. When you stay on top of the clutter it’s easy to declutter your bathroom fast and keep it that way.