The kitchen is by far the most popular room in the house, but the bathroom is second in popularity! Today we’re going to wash that bathroom trash right down the drain and create a truly worthy “throne room.”
By now you are familiar with the routine. Get those four boxes ready for use – the ones labeled
1. Trash
2. Save
3. Give away/donate
4. Storage
My goodness, this is such a small room when compared to the kitchen or bedroom. The bathroom is an area with only one purpose. It is the area dedicated to grooming, hygiene, and health. True, the bathroom is also a place for retrospection and achieving a few moments of peace and quiet. It deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Start by removing items – one at a time – from the shelves then the counters and cabinets. Hold them. Are they dingy or just plain dirty? Do you really need that item? There’s the tanning lotion that you used last summer. Remember? It turned you orange. Why are you keeping it? So you paid an extravagant amount of money for it. If you can’t use it, get rid of it. Either put it in the trash or in the give away/donate box if you don’t mind someone else turning orange like you did! Do you really need three hair dryers? What about those dried bottles of finger nail polish? You liked the color and were afraid you would forget the name, weren’t you? Make a list on paper of the ones you liked and toss those bottles. Are your shelves beginning to look better? Good.
Go directly to storage. Yikes, what are q-tips doing covering the bottom of your drawers? Can you neatly replace them in a box? No, you can’t. Don’t go there. Trash them and move along! Can you remember why you bought four bottles of shower gel? Okay, you were at Sam’s. But do you need four bottles of shower gel? Don’t think so. Three must go in the storage box. Use the fourth bottle so you can honestly say that you are saving money. Hey, Aunt Susie might love to have a bottle of the stuff for Christmas! Label that bottle so you will remember at Christmas time. Keep one of everything that you are going to use for the bathroom. The rest must go into one of those boxes. Then there is toilet tissue. Every one needs an ample supply of toilet tissue – but not in plain sight. Please don’t stuff an extra roll up that crocheted doll’s skirt. Get rid of her. She dates directly to the time of the plagues in Europe! Trash or give, but get rid of her. Do keep a small cabinet full of extra toilet tissue so that you or no guest will ever be forced to scream for help from the inter most sanctum
Dig in those drawers. Bits of floss, greasy face tissue, and empty cans of sprays have no place in your bathroom! One good rule to apply at this time is: If the item is covered with dust, trash or give away.
A word about make up: Old cosmetics will contribute to bacterial growth and can pose a danger to health. For safety’s sake, dispose of all old cosmetics. Since health has entered the conversation, check the medicine cabinet. Remove all contents. Throw away expired medicine/products. They’re potentially dangerous! Those medications used in acne treatments and anti-aging treatments are easily oxidized and have a shelf life of about three months. Check them carefully. Another potentially dangerous medicine cabinet item is mascara and liquid eyeliner. Their shelf life is only three or four months, and they are definite contaminates and contribute to eye infections.
Take an honest look at the toilet seat. Please don’t say you have a decoupage seat. That was a favorite of the 70’s! Wood grain reigned in the 80’s, and seashells were the boon of the 90’s. Go straight to the home improvement store and choose white or a neutral shade (cream, beige, taupe) for the new seat. Let the buyer create in his mind’s eye the colors that he prefers.
Speaking of color – does the bathroom itself need a new paint job? If so, this is the time to do that little job. But before leaving the toilet seat, here is one more word of caution. At least for the length of time that your house is on the market, leave the seat down.
Now is the time to begin replacing items. Before you put the item back, think. Am I sure I need this? Where is the best place for it? Step back from your work. You should see clear, open spaces on your vanity and counters. Everything should have a place and be in that place. If you have accomplished this, you have met your goals. The bathroom is no longer cluttered!
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