Organize Your Bathroom, Inside Out

Why organize your bathroom? Because the #1 complaint I hear from clients about their bathrooms is that "THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SPACE!"

While this is occasionally true, most often it's not the lack of space, but the lack of intention for the bathroom space that they have.

"How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on". ~Zall's Second Law

Other than the living room or family room, the bathroom is the most-shared space in the home. Bathrooms are multi-functional spaces, so in order to organize bathrooms, they need to function in harmony with all of the family members.

So, why organize your bathroom? First of all, everyone has to use it (several times a day, usually for extended periods of time), it becomes a storage area for each person's personal hygiene products, and it is also a space where people do a lot of thinking or reading while getting ready to present themselves to the world each day.

Like organizing the bedroom, you may feel overwhelmed when thinking about how to organize a bathroom. This is because the bathroom has become a multi-purpose room instead of a sacred space. What's the difference? A sacred space has had intentions defined for the purpose of the space, while a multi-purpose room lacks definition and clarity, and as a result, lacks organization. The key is to get all of the family together to define the intentions they want for the space (how it's used and what is stored in it).

For most adults, the bathroom has three main uses:

• going to the bathroom (which may or may not be accompanied by thinking or reading)
• showering or bathing
• personal hygiene activities such as shaving, putting on makeup, and styling hair

All other activities and objects act as distraction, avoidance, or clutter.

Have you ever entered an organized bathroom (such as in a nice home or hotel) and felt immediately peaceful and calm? It was most likely because there were not many distractions and it was not cluttered. This change in feeling and mental state by a change in your immediate environment is called a "state change".

How good would it feel if you could experience a state change every time you entered YOUR bathroom? Maybe the bathroom can be more than just a place in which you take care of physical needs such as going to the bathroom. It could also be a place where your mind and spirit become relaxed and rejuvenated (such as relaxing in the a warm bubble bath with scented candles and music).

Before you move on to the step-by-step guide to declutter, clean, and simplify your bathroom, take a few moments with the family to define your intentions to organize your bathroom. What does the bathroom represent to each person? What would each person like to experience? Put your intentions in the present tense as if you are already experiencing them.

Some Example Intentions for the Bathroom:

• My bathroom is my quiet retreat where I can relax and take care of my physical body and feel clean and presentable to the world when I'm done.


• The bathroom is an organized and efficient place where I have plenty of time to get ready in the morning while feeling stress-free.


• The bathroom is my refuge from the world where I have time to read something inspiring each morning, can get ready quickly and easily, and where I can take an hour every week for a long, relaxing bubble bath with candles and music.

Now write your own intentions for your bathroom and allow them to guide your actions as you move through the next steps.

Back-to-Basics 3-Step Approach to Organize Your Bathroom:

1) Declutter Bathroom. Learn how to get rid of the junk, clutter, the distractions, and whatever is unnecessary to accomplish your intentions.

2) Clean Bathroom. Learn how to deep clean your bathroom with natural cleaning products and know that you can breathe easy in your space

3) Simplify Bathroom. Learn how to accomplish your intentions by only having what is important for you in your bathroom