WRITTEN by CHRISTINA TAYLOR
Not long ago, I cleaned out my bathroom and threw out numerous items. I thought I was well on my way to having a minimalist bathroom.
Six months later, tired of seeing items I had decided to keep but have still not used since then, I decided it was time for me to create a more brutal process, and properly minimise my bathroom this time. Here it is:
1. Centralise
Firstly, I checked that all items belonging in the bathroom were located in the bathroom.
2. Categorise
I went through every bathroom item and assigned each a category name, such as:
• bath fun
• dental
• earrings
• general family health
• hair care
• makeup
• personal grooming
• sanitary products
• soap – block
• soap – liquid
I grouped items in the bathtub or on the bathroom floor, by category.
3. Analyse
Now that all bathroom items were organised into categories, I analysed each category to decide which items I actually need. I considered the following:
• am I likely to use this item in the future
• do I love using this item
• have I used this item in the past six months
• how often do I use this item
• is the item past its expiry date
After analysing each item, I decided on one of three groups for it. Here are the three groups that I used:
• definitely keep
• items in this group included items that:
• I love using• I use regularly• I will definitely need and use in the future
• don’t need
• items in this group included items that:
• have expired• I am unlikely to use again in the future• I have not used in the past few years• I no longer like
• maybe
• a couple of items may or may not be needed in the future, depending on what happens during the next six months
Items in the ‘don’t need’ group were placed into an old shoebox for temporary storage.
4. Clean
With all bathroom surfaces and storage areas clear and empty, I thoroughly cleaned these areas.
5. Organise
Each category now consisted only of items that I am likely to need and use. It was now time to start putting items away, in a logical manner. Here is how I organised each bathroom area:
• bathroom sink – items that I use daily, such as deodorant and liquid hand soap
• cabinet – items placed in here included spare dental and hair care products
• top drawer – items that I use regularly, but not every day, such as nail clippers
• bottom drawer – items that I use less often, such as ‘bath fun’ items
• shower cubicle – a flannel (face towel), soap, bottle of shampoo and a razor
• around the bathtub – a box of tissues
• the windowsill – nothing
My partner and I use the same shampoo and soap. We only ever buy a new bottle of shampoo when it is on sale. We no longer buy conditioner; we use moisturising shampoo and if our hair starts to become unmanageable, we use a hair oil product, which requires no water or rinsing. This saves us both water and time.
Occasionally I will pick some fresh flowers from the garden and display these on the windowsill in a small clear kitchen drinking glass.
6. Purge
It was time to decide what to do with the items in my ‘don’t need’ box. As the bathroom is a shared room, firstly I asked my partner to go through these items and let me know if he was happy for me to get rid of them. He agreed they could all go.
I processed these items into two different groups:
• rubbish – any items that were expired or not re-usable, such as already opened hand lotions or used makeup
• donate – any items that were in good condition and can be re-used, such as earrings I have never worn
I placed all rubbish straight into the rubbish bin and put all ‘donate’ items into a dedicated bag, which I will take to my favourite charity store once it is full.
7. Maintaining Control
After approximately two hours, I now have a minimalistic, clean, clutter-free and organised bathroom! All items are easy to find, I can easily see what I have, I look forward to using only items that I love and the bathroom is now quick and easy to keep clean. This is how I plan to maintain control:
• bi-annual review
• I have set a date for six months in the future when I will set aside two hours to repeat the above process
• stop buying block soap
• I absolutely love trying new varieties of block soap, resulting in me collecting enough to last at least the next six months• I will exercise self-control and use up all of these soap varieties before purchasing more• I will choose my favourite three varieties and only buy these in the future
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