Day 2: Toiletries {31 Days of Easy Decluttering}

Welcome back to 31 Days of Easy Decluttering! Throughout this series I’m sharing easy decluttering projects that you can complete in 10-15 minutes.  If you do them, then by the end of the month you’ll be enjoying a less cluttered home!

If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, there are links to them all here.

Today’s Easy Decluttering Project

Today we’re decluttering toiletries.  Things like the little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and mouthwash from your last few vacations and business trips.  Or the partially used bottles of hairspray or mousse that you bought and used a few times but didn’t like for whatever reason.

And don’t for get all the toiletries actually in your bathtub or shower.  If you’re not careful, those can multiply while you sleep 🙂  Whether you store your toiletries in your bathroom drawers or under your bathroom sink or in a closet, when you have too many of them they become clutter.

Why declutter toiletries?

• It’s much easier to clean your bathroom if you have less bottles everywhere.
• Bottles fall over when you’re reaching for something.
• You can’t find what you need when you’re in a hurry because toiletries are stored in several places.
• You forget what you have and then spend money on products you don’t need.
• Toiletry clutter can lead to frustration in the morning, and who wants to start your day off annoyed?
• Plus, how can you relax in a bubble bath after a long day, if you’ve got toiletries cluttering up your bathroom?

Having too many toiletry items costs you time and money.

This is one area of your home that will need regular maintenance.  Even the most organized people will find their toiletries become clutter if they don’t stay on top of them with regular decluttering.

So are you ready?  Let’s declutter those toiletries!

Easy Decluttering Steps

Throughout the series, you’ll follow these steps to complete each daily task.  {Don’t forget to take before and after pictures to share too!}

Note: The main purpose of this series is to declutter so don’t get overwhelmed doing too much cleaning.  Once your house is less cluttered it will be easier to clean so you can always come back and do it later!

Also, if you have the time, you can organize the space while you’re doing this step, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much organizing this month.  We’re focused on decluttering!

Purging Tips for Your Toiletries

“What I know for sure is that when you declutter—whether it’s in your home, your head, or your heart—it is astounding what will flow into that space that will enrich you, your life, and your family.”

Peter Walsh

Some people do their deepest thinking in the bathroom, so it can’t hurt to curb the clutter there.

Follow the steps listed above, and use these tips as you purge (step #5) your toiletries:

• Gather all your toiletries in one place (this includes those from all bathtubs/showers as well as any cupboards, drawers, and closets they may be in throughout your house)
• Throw away any products that are expired or old *Note: in some places you can drop off bottles to be cleaned and recycled (e.g. Walmart).
• Throw away (or re-package) any items that are leaking
• Relocate everything that doesn’t belong with your toiletries
• Combine partially used bottles of products that you want to keep using
• Give away items that you have not used in over 6 months (or whatever time period is reasonable to you)
• Donate items that you know you don’t like (e.g. lotions that were gifts but you prefer a different brand/scent).  *Note: shelters are great places to donate unused toiletries.
• Give away products that you no longer need (e.g. leftover baby shampoo that your kids are too big for now)
• After all that, consider how much space you have in your home to keep your toiletries in.  Based on the available space, decide if you still need to purge further.

Here are a few additional notes:

1. Everything has a cost associated with it, even free things!  So decide whether the cost of storing free products is worth it if you’re not using them up regularly (e.g. free samples of face creams or shampoo or body wash that you get in the mail, free dental floss or toothpaste samples you get from your dentist, and all those free bottles from hotels).  If you want to use these items, then store them somewhere that you’ll actually use them and don’t buy new products until you’ve used them up.  Otherwise you never will.
2. If you’re not sure if you’ve used some items recently or not, put them in a basket and mark today’s date on it (just write on a piece of tape or a sticker or even on the label of one of the products).  If you use an item, take it out of the basket and put it back with the rest of your toiletries.  If you haven’t used the items in the basket by a certain date (a month, 3 months, etc.), then give them away.  
3. If you think you still want to keep something but you know you haven’t used it in quite awhile, ask yourself why you haven’t used it.  Did you not like the scent?  Did it not work as well as another product?  Let the answers to these questions guide your decision to keep it or give it away.
4. If you don’t have a lot of space in your bathroom, only keep what you are currently using and store excess toiletries somewhere else.

My Toiletries

We have limited storage space in the bathroom that all 4 of us share, so I primarily store extra toiletries in our linen closet.  I’ve been pretty intentional the last few years about using up hotel bottles and free samples, both as a way of saving money and reducing clutter.  We do stock up on some toiletries when there’s a good sale, and the kids are often given toiletries as gifts so I need to constantly make sure I know what we have.  That way we’re not buying things we don’t need and our linen closet isn’t overrun with bottles.  

Here’s what I did a few years ago for our toiletry storage:

I love using a back of the door organizer so I can see what we have!  This way I don’t forget I have products and buy new ones that I don’t actually need.  And it puts limits on what I can buy until I use up what’s already there. There are lots of versions of shoe pocket organizers, but for toiletries, make sure you buy the vinyl ones so you can wipe the pockets out if something leaks.

I LOVE this system for keeping my toiletries de-cluttered!

Pictures and Links to Inspire You

If you aren’t able to use a back-of-the door organizer for your toiletries, you can use baskets or shoe boxes as well.  

Here’s a great example using plastic shoe boxes under the sink.

I love how this solution maximizes the vertical space in a space that’s often very difficult to use effectively!  And with each container labeled, not only can you find what you’re looking for, but you limit how many products you have in each category.  With the clear boxes you can see when you’re running low on something so you can stock up again.

*Please pin from the original source if you choose to pin this picture.  If you want to pin this post please use the button at the top.  

If You’re On A Roll…

• For ideas on how to organize your toiletries, you’ll find a bunch on my Bathroom Organizing board.  
• You can find more decluttering tips on my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board.  
• And for DIY organizer ideas, take a peek at my DIY Organizers board.  

Good luck with today’s decluttering project!  I’d love to hear how you did, so please leave a comment and use the hashtag #31DaysEasyDecluttering when you share your pictures!

How many toiletry items did you purge?  Any purging tips I missed for toiletries?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing decluttering!