My bathroom tends to get messy. I accumulate all kinds of products, nothing has a place, and my bathroom countertops look like a disaster. About a week ago, I’d had it! My countertops were so cluttered that I didn’t want to clean them. I decided I needed to take a couple hours to really clean and organize everything! I hate living in clutter. Clutter is so mentally draining and overwhelming. The best feeling is walking into a nice, neat, clean, and organized space. It’s like a mental detox.
If you’re new to my blog, I’m all about the toxin free lifestyle. I try my best to not use toxic chemicals what so ever in any products I keep in the house. When I chose to spend a couple hours cleaning and organizing, I did it with the intention of going through every product and deciding whether to keep it or not. My end goal was to conveniently store everything in the cabinet under the sink. (Conveniently meaning I don’t want to have to dig for it.) By the end, the only products I wanted on the countertops were soap and a candle.
Where to Start
I started with the mirrored cabinet. I threw away anything that was empty and anything I hadn’t used in the past year, (yes, year. My cabinet was a bunch of junk I’d hoarded and never touched, but was too lazy to go through.) That alone cleared out a lot of room. Then, I went through all of the products in the cabinet. If they had any toxic chemicals I knew I didn’t want to use anymore, I tossed those too.
Since switching to a toxin free makeup routine, I don’t have as many products that I wear every day. The space I’d cleared in the cabinet gave me enough room to put my makeup in there instead. (I was keeping it in a box either on the bathroom floor or the counter.)
Next I moved to the most daunting task…the cabinet under the sink…
Ya’ll, under my sink had turned into a dumping ground for products I don’t use. It was awful! Just piles of stuff! I wish I’d taken a before picture, but I don’t know if I’d even post it because it’s so embarrassing how bad it was.
I started by clearing everything out and completely emptied the space under the sink. Then, I used my Branch Basics All Purpose Cleaner (completely toxin free), and wiped it down. There was a rust stain so I sprinkled a little Branch Basics Oxygen Boost on the stain, sprayed the All Purpose Cleaner on it and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It came right up!
Then I went through products, one by one, to decide whether to keep them or not. I had a bunch of toxic products like hairspray, shampoo, conditioner, mousse, old Listerine bottles, empty self-tanner bottles, which all went in the trash! Anything that I hadn’t used in past year or more went in the trash as well. Broken hair brushes and combs…also trash. Empty feminine products boxes, recycled.
Of all the products I decided to keep, I wiped them down with Branch Basics All Purpose Cleaner. If I’m spending all this time cleaning, I’m not going to put dirty bottles back in the cabinet. Products I don’t use every-day, I put in a bin under the sink. The products in there are things like Velcro Hair Rollers, extra Contact Lens Cases, Glasses Case, Q-Tips, and Cotton Balls. I put all my pads in a zip-lock bag that some of them came in, (I just keep the bag for storage at this point), and tampons in a container some came in as well.
I organized nail polish on a little shelf under the sink (which was in a little basket on the cabinet door), and anything I reach for almost daily, I just set it on the floor of the cabinet. (There’s only a few of those items.)
Once I finished that task, I moved onto the little baskets installed inside the cabinet door.
These baskets were gross! I’m just airing all my nasty laundry here. But I’d keep open bars of soap just sitting in the baskets. When I cleared out the baskets, they were all sticky because of the soap. And I had my self-tanning mitt laying in one of the baskets as well, so it was caked in soap and tanner.
The first thing I did after I took everything out of the baskets was WIPE THEM DOWN! This took forever, but so worth it! Then again, I went through all my products and decided what to toss and keep. Anything with toxic chemicals went in the garbage. This is where I threw out all my super toxic nail polish too. (Anything below 5 free went in the garbage.)
Once I finished cleaning out the baskets, I had enough room to fit everything I had on my countertops! And since they’re right inside the cabinet door, these products are still super convenient to access.
To finish up, I cleaned the countertops and mirrors.
I used my Branch Basics Bathroom Cleaner and Branch Basics Streak Free Cleaner for this. (And no, this is not a sponsored post.) I just love Branch Basics as they’re completely toxin free and you can clean your entire house with the concentrate. It’s way more convenient, eco-friendly, and safe than buying a bunch of different plastic bottles filled with toxic chemicals at the store. Why would I do that when I can buy 1 bottle of the concentrate and refill my spray bottles with the concentrate and water?
So there’s my story of how I spent a Sunday afternoon!
Just a few tips if you hoard toxic products “just in case”, like me.
Just like clothes in your closet, if you haven’t used something in 6 months to a year, get rid of it. You probably won’t use it and if you do, after that amount of time, it’ll probably be expired. Most cosmetic products have a shelf life of around 12 months max. If you do happen to need it again, you should buy a fresh one anyways.
If you’re on a mission to get rid of the toxic chemicals in your life, DO NOT HOLD ON TO PRODUCTS THAT HAVE CHEMICALS YOU DON’T WANT TO USE! By holding onto it, you’ll have an excuse to use it. If you get rid of it, you have an opportunity to replace it with a toxin free version. It also gives you the opportunity to get creative and find an alternative to the product that you already have.
Decluttering is great for the soul. Once I finished cleaning and organizing my bathroom, it felt like a literal weight had come off my shoulders. It’s so relaxing to walk into a clean, organized, decluttered bathroom. If you have any tricks for getting rid of clutter, leave them in the comments! I’d love to hear your methods!
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