Monday Motivation: Organizing The Bathroom

Most of us start our day in the bathroom.  It's not really something we talk about  - it's just part of our day. 

To me, the bathroom is the easiest and quickest room to clean and organize.  Maybe not the most fun room, but definately the easiest and quickest. 

I found this picture of a 1920s bathroom fixture advertistment.  I wonder how many of those green fixtures are still around today?  I couldn't help but notice how today's fixtures copy the lines of those from 90 years ago.  Interesting!

Well, enough reminiscing.  Let's get to work.  During the month of March, we'll be focusing on organizing the bathroom.  This week we'll focus on what areas your bathroom needs work on.  Next week we'll look at the medicine cabinet, followed by cabinets and storage the third week.  The last week of March we'll focus on keeping the bathroom clean and also safety issues.

When organizing your bathroom, there are several areas where you want to focus your attention.  I like to have my clients step back and look at their room from a visitor's eyes (or when selling their home, from their buyer's eyes).  

1.  Does the room appear cluttered?  It could be that there are too many items sitting around.  It could also be that the decor simply has too many patterns and distracts the eye.  If a calm, clean bathroom is what you're after, think about simplifying your curtains, towels, shower curtain, and rugs for a more pleasing  view.

2.  Does the room smell?  Pardon my boldness, but remember, you're looking at the bathroom from a visitor's viewpoint.  Does it smell musty?  Dirty?  Odiferous?  Maybe you need places to hang damp towels so they will dry quicker. Maybe your rugs need to be washed or replaced.  Maybe your sink drain needs to be cleaned.

3.  Listen. . . do you hear dripping or running water?  If so, you may have a leaky toilet or faucet that is costing you money and wasting water.   Usually the repair is  a simple one that can make a big difference.

4.    Are there things in the room that you've never really liked?  I'm not talking about a whole room remodel, but small, individual things that get under your skin.  For years, I was annoyed with an overflowing trashcan in our kids bathroom.  No matter how often I emptied it, it always seemed  to be full.  Then it dawned on me that the "cute" little trashcan was just that - cute and little - too little.  I swapped out that trashcan with a larger one from my guest room and the problem was solved. 

5.  Does the bathroom always seem to be dirty?  We'll cover this during the last week, but it merits some thought right now.  I've found if the bathroom takes too long to clean, then it is less likely to be cleaned.  The less clutter that is sitting on the counters, on the floor, and in the tub/shower the easier it is to clean.  I like cute decor as much as anybody, but bathrooms get a lot of use and need to be cleaned quite often so it pays to declutter as much as possible.

So, as you ponder your bathroom(s) this week, email me if you have any particular areas you would like to see addressed in the upcoming posts.