Today's mission is to declutter your bathroom drawers, removing all clutter and leaving behind only the items you regularly and normally use.
This mission is designed to be done while working on the Bathroom Organization Challenge here on the site, which is part of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge.
Obviously if you don't have any bathroom drawers (my bathrooms are actually so small I don't have any!) this isn't the mission for you. However, we'll continue to declutter bathroom cabinets, shelves and closets tomorrow, so you could begin that today.
If you do have drawers in your bathroom though I'm sure you know how with constant use, and rushed mornings and evenings, these drawers get messy and cluttered.
Today's the day to tackle this problem.
Because drawers are so small I suggest that you completely empty one bathroom drawer at a time, and then evaluate all of the items that were in that drawer.
Think about whether you use the items within that drawer regularly, or if the stuff in there is broken, or too old to use anymore (such as expired cosmetics and toiletries or expired medication), or if they should really be stored elsewhere in your home.
Make each item you've pulled from the drawer earn it's way back into it. Don't just keep things for the sake of
keeping them.
Make sure to put away items elsewhere that don't belong in the drawers, and also to throw away trash and donate anything you don't want, but that someone else could use.
While the drawers are empty this is also an opportune time to quickly clean out the dust and debris from them, perhaps even vacuuming them quickly, or relining them if you choose to do this.
Once you've gone through each drawer in your bathroom, decluttering contents, then and only then do I suggest you do the next step, which is to organize the items left.
The reason I suggest waiting to organized until all the drawers are decluttered is that you may find, through the process of rooting through all the drawers, that some items you've got in one drawer, and then another, really should be grouped together instead of being separated.
Below I've showcased quite a few before and after photos from other readers who've already done this Declutter 365 mission, and had great results, to get you inspired to do it yourself. Then, at the end of the article I've also provided a link to the article on the site with tips about how to organize your bathroom drawers with drawer organizers!
Top photo courtesy of a reader, Kari, and the collage before and after image courtesy of a reader, Karen
Before & After Photos Showing Decluttered Bathroom Drawers
Quite a few readers who've done this Declutter 365 mission have sent in photos showing their results. As you can see, they look great. The photos above are from a reader, Kari.
The photos above are from a reader, Brandy, who decluttered 5 different drawers, plus several baskets on the side of the sink. She said, "I did this mission the other day because my bathroom NEEDED this challenge!" She continued, explaining about the first photo, "Here are my shelves/baskets on the side of the sink. I took one down and now only need 1!"
Here's a before and after from Cris. She said of the first photo, "A bathroom drawer. Before and after. There were 48 (!) pens and pencils in there!" Then, in the after photo you can see she's removed everything that didn't belong in the bathroom, making it easier to use the drawer for the intended purposes from now on!
Are You Ready To Declutter Your Bathroom Drawers Now?
The photo above is from a reader, Robin, who took on this mission. She said, "I downsized a tackle box, 2 make up bags and random make up I found and purged enough that it now fits in a small drawer next to my mirror! There were some tears but I did it. :)"
Great job Robin! Now it's the turn of everyone else reading this! Are you ready?
Plus, once you've decluttered you'll be ready to organize what you've got left. I've written an article with lots of bathroom drawer organizer ideas and solutions you can use, so come check it out!
Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!
Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.
The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!
Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.
Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.
In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.
If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!
Get This Bathroom Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home
Right now you're decluttering your bathroom, and there's a lot of stuff to declutter in this space.
I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.
In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!
I've been working on my closet for two days. My problem is I'd start the bathroom as a whole. Do every area, drawers, closet, cabinet, tub, vanity etc. I'd get overwhelmed and take too long, never finish, get frustrated, and have an argument with my husband because he either was stepping over things or couldn't use the room. I'd read a few articles so far so I started one subject. Organize my cosmetics. That was three shelves in my closet. It took me three days. I'm handicapped so things in my world are slightly different. I asked myself; was it old, would I buy it today, is it sealed, can it be donated, shared, given sold or trash. I filled up the trash can, have two small boxes for my friend, my husband could shower and sit in the living room. He's happy, I'm able to keep making progress and will do so. Here's to another shelf! Great ideas, great reading. Even started a notebook. Work it, work it good!
Couldn't believe the amount I found in the bathroom drawers by: Bev
I am on the 6th day of cleaning and clearing out 3 bathroom drawers. As I have a couple of skin conditions, I have a lot of tubes of old medication that have accumulated simply because one former dermatologist had told me that sometimes the older expired medications sometimes work really well on small patches.
I have emptied out a full grocery bag of expired medications that are going back to the pharmacy--here in Canada pharmacies will take your expired medication for proper disposal. I have also emptied out two full grocery bags of mini-shampoo bottles, lotions, soaps, etc that I save when we go to hotels. Then I started on old full size sun-screens, lotions, and makeup. That one surprised me because I only wear makeup about once a year and I still filled a bag. Some of the stuff was from over 30 years ago, before I was married. I also discovered my curling iron that I haven't used in close to 30 years. It also went in the garbage.
I still can't believe it all fit in the three drawers. I also discovered that the bags I would stuff in the drawer (to line the garbage bin) had fallen behind the drawer -- there were probably about 20 of them. Also, unfortunately I discovered a leak so my hubby is working on that before the drawers are put back in.
Thank you, Taylor. I worked through the kitchen organization, took a break for a month or more while I worked on taxes and am now getting back into it. The whole concept of 15 minutes at a time is wonderful.
Bev.
response to Bev by: Taylor
Bev, it sounds like you're doing great! I'm so proud of what you accomplished, and thanks so much for telling me!