In my last blog post, I shared where you should start decluttering: THE KITCHEN. So if your kitchen (and the rest of your house) is a disaster, probably best that you start there.
However, if you are currently working on your kitchen or have finished it and want to know where to go next, you've landed on the right page.
It's time to declutter the bathroom.
Let's hop to it!
REMINDER: The biggest two hurtles of decluttering are getting started and then making enough progress, fast enough that you can actually see some positive change and therefore, keep up the momentum.
With these two issues in mind, let's talk about why you should make stop number two in your bathroom.
Most importantly, just having a specific room that's where you start after finishing the kitchen, will make continuing to declutter so much easier. Whether you've got mountains of clutter everywhere, some mild disorganization, just moved to a new house, or want to do some deep cleaning, try to get into the habit of always starting in the kitchen and then moving straight to the closest bathroom, then the 2nd closest bathroom, etc. That way you don't have to think about where to go next. You just start in the kitchen, then do the bathrooms. Simple. Easy. Done.
Okay, but why are bathrooms next?
1. We have to go to the bathroom multiple times a day. If your way to the toilet, sink, or shower/tub is blocked by clutter, then you've got a lot of hassle throughout the day just to relieve and clean yourself. Ain't nobody got time for that!
2. Let's talk about sanitation, shall we? A sticky, wet, disgusting bathroom is not a fun place to be. You could even make yourself sick by touching the wrong thing and then brushing your teeth or washing your face. Declutter it so you can clean it. THEN move on to other rooms in the house. You'll thank you.
3. Energy is vital to you, your relationships, and your continued decluttering. As mentioned in point one, if you can't get to everything in your bathroom easily, it will be a hassle and a waste of time. And not only that, you will also be wasting energy. It's enough work just to pause what you're doing and walk to the bathroom. If you have to move all kinds of things just to get to the toilet, find your deodorant, or wash your hands, you'll want to do nothing afterwards! If you can't even pee without causing yourself stress, you won't have the energy to declutter (or do anything else for that matter). And if you live with other people, everyone else will be stressed every time they need to use the bathroom too. No one will want to shower, look nice, brush their teeth, or help you clean the bathroom or anywhere else. So to save your energy and mood as well as everyone else's by prioritizing your bathroom second.
As you may have noticed, reasons 1-3 were the same for the kitchen and the bathroom. They are both highly used rooms and can get pretty disgusting if cluttered. Now let's look at a unique reason why the bathroom should be early in the declutter process...
4. The bathroom is usually the easiest room in the house to declutter. As noted earlier, a big hurtle with decluttering can be making enough progress fast enough, that you can actually see some positive change and therefore, keep up the momentum. The bathroom is one of the easiest rooms in the house to declutter because it is just simply smaller and therefore, holds less than other rooms. Also things in the bathroom tend to have less sentimental value so decluttering there can be easier.
Plus once you're done, seeing the beautifully transformed space is easy because from the door of the bathroom looking in, you usually can't see any other clutter, whereas if you decluttered the same amount of stuff in the garage, you may not be able to fully appreciate the transformation because there would still be clutter all around you.
The goal then, is to fully declutter each bathroom so you can see and appreciate your accomplishment. Because once you see how simple, beautiful, and functional your bathroom has become, you'll have the motivation to work hard on the next space you choose.
Although starting with the kitchen first and then working on the bathrooms next may be a great rule of thumb, it may not be the best place for you to start depending on your circumstances. Don't take this advice as fact if you're gut is telling you another space is WAY more important right now (like a cluttered hall/walkway or on top of your bed). If you don't know where to start though, starting in the kitchen and then moving to the bathrooms is better than starting nowhere.
Feel overwhelmed by your home or bathroom?
Contact me today for one-on-one declutter coaching.
Read the entire series:
2. Where to Declutter Next: The Bathroom (this post!)
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