In searching around the internet for a solid definition of minimalist living, I found one theme which rang true between them all---bare surfaces. It seems that when we pile up stuff on the counter, we are anti-minimalists :) It makes sense-a bare counter or tabletop looks clean while one full of papers or toys or toothbrushes looks, well, CLUTTERED.
Bathroom counter is what we'll tackle today. If you have more than one bathroom in your home, only focus on 1--we're taking baby steps here! Pick the one that is either used more OR is the one that YOU typically use. Or pick one that doesn't have much out so it doesn't take as long, hee hee.
One word of caution--in order to clean off the top of your bathroom counter (or back of the toilet or whatever flat surface you have) you will need to either do away with items OR re-home them into a drawer or cabinet. This could snowball into needing to clean out the bathroom cabinet or drawers before you can really tackle the countertop. Stay with me, though, because a clean bathroom and empty counter are really a beautiful thing.
Here's our master bathroom. I have never really decorated it and I hate that ginormous builder-grade mirror above the sink, but it works for us. I did clean the bathroom before I took this photo, I will freely admit that. I'm all for "transparency in the blogosphere" but a dirty bathroom is just gross. I have boys, remember?
I don't have much on the counter generally, but all sorts of things end up sitting out. The two baskets were put there because we don't have enough storage--or so I thought. Since I recently purged in our bathroom, there wasn't much to toss or re-home. Here's what I managed to find to throw away:
And here's the lone item that needed re-homing. I can't believe I only found ONE THING!!!
I re-purposed the two baskets to hold extra toilet paper in each bathroom. I decided to leave the hand soap and hand towel on the counter, but everything else was put away in the cabinet. The bathroom cabinet now holds our toiletries, extra towels, my hair dryer, make-up, etc and there is plenty of room for everything.
I just like how it looks now-well, except for that stupid builder grade ginormous mirror. That mirror provides a harsh reality every morning! Did I mention that it's GINORMOUS?
Can you see the basket on the toilet? That holds the TP and on the counter is just the hand soap and a hand towel. The left side of the cabinet holds Brad's stuff and the right side holds mine. We have no towel bars in here, so I have one of those back of the door thingies. Keeps it all neat.
If your bathroom is a small space that doesn't provide much storage, you will have to work a little harder than I did. You might need some shelves installed and then put things in baskets or simply pare down what you own/use. Less is more!!
Day 1 email
Day 2 magazines
Day 3 kitchen tools
Day 4 junk drawer
This is a good one. Looks great! I am out for today because we just finished installing our bathroom, which is TINY, so no room for junk anyhow.
ReplyDeleteYay for tiny spaces!!! They force you to be selective about what goes into them, so you are more minimalist from the get-go!!!!
DeleteMy counters are usually clean (Husband and I are empty nesters) but my medicine cabinet was a wreck. I had FOUR half empty bandaid boxes. They are now condensed into two. That alone made a lot more space for me. I did the junk drawer yesterday and found I had FOUR dog brushes and FOUR dog flea combs. Three sets have now been put in the Goodwill bag. It's a wonderful feeling. No one will notice but me but it has done great things for my spirit! I love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment! Isn't it amazing how we end up with duplicates of things? It happens at our house, too. Good job keeping on top of things!
DeleteLooks great, Dorothy. I have a small bathrooom and only keep the soap dispenser on the counter. No bath towel bar in mine either, but I do have a closet where the towels hang behind the door. I love not having towels that are not visible!
ReplyDelete