11 tips for a (minimal) clutter free bathroom

Do you wish you could be more clutter-free?  It’s so easy to build up clutter in a home and one of the places where clutter builds up faster than anywhere is the bathroom. Bathrooms can get so full of clutter, so quickly, especially if you have a weakness for buying a zillion products.  If you take a little time and effort to put these tips for a clutter free bathroom in to practice, even the most cluttered bathroom can be given a more minimal, cleaner look.  And just imagine that feeling when you walk in to a clean, clutter free bathroom each morning.  Bliss!

Minimalism probably means different things to different people. To me it means having only what you need and most importantly, living clutter-free, irrespective of whether you have a big or small living space. It’s the opposite of feeling the need to fill every bit of floor space or shelf space, but instead, leaving space to just be there. To me, it also means being pared back with colours – choosing 2 or 3 neutral tones and sticking with those throughout. I’ve been practicing these minimal, clutter free ideas in my bathroom and they have helped me stay (mostly) clutter free.

Here are my top tips for a clutter free bathroom with a minimal look, no matter what size it is, and most of these tips will work no matter how cluttered your bathroom is right now:

Tips for a clutter free bathroom

Colours
Bathrooms tend to look less busy and cleaner if you stick to a couple of neutral tones.  Think lots of bright white mixed with wood or alternatively, monochromes look chic too. Try and buy towels and accessories in the same tones to keep the look consistent.  And an added advantage of a neutral colour scheme is that you won’t tire of it in a hurry.

Get rid of it!
The hard reality of being minimal and clutter-free is getting rid of stuff.  How many conditioners do you have from 1999?  How many products have you got that you’ve used once or twice?  First get rid of everything that you haven’t used for a while.  Next look at what you have left and ask if you really need all this stuff? Once you’ve pared down to as little as possible, look at what is used everyday and that is all that should remain in your bathroom.  The rest can be stored elsewhere.

The rule of ‘one’
My golden rule is to never have more than one of any product – one shampoo, one conditioner, one body lotion, one make-up remover etc.  And I don’t buy a replacement until I have finished the one I have.  In case I try a new brand and don’t like it, well then I have to either use it or throw it away before I buy another.  This takes a little practice because you always think maybe I will use it again but be strict with yourself a few times and it will become a habit. A habit that will save you money in the long run too.

De-clutter bathroom countertops
This is a biggie and my most important tip for a clutter free bathroom.  No matter what else you do, if all your bathroom countertops are jam-packed with stuff, your bathroom will always look cluttered. Hopefully once you’ve gotten rid of the stuff you don’t use, you’ll have much less stuff to deal with.  If you’ve got closed storage, put everything away and just have a couple of things visible on the surfaces.  Also keep decorative items to the minimum. A simple vase or a candle will add a personal touch but that’s all you need.  If you’ve got open cabinets then get yourself some storage boxes and put all your stuff in them.  A row of matching storage boxes will look much cleaner than lots of stuff lying around.

Think high, not low
If your bathroom is small, can you use the height instead of the floor space?  Tall, slim cabinets work well in a tight bathroom.  Alternatively use a ladder shelf or a tall trolley that can hold towels and a few other bits. If you can opt for a shower instead of a bath, do so as showers take less floor space.

Containers
Some toiletries come in ugly packaging and some don’t.  If you love the ones that come in minimal, clean packaging, that’s great.  But often these tend to be expensive.  What I sometimes do is buy them once so I have the beautiful bottle and then refill with other (read: cheaper) creams and lotions.  The other thing I’ve done is bought some opaque white and brown dispensers so I can ditch all the colourful packaging and everything looks so much tidier and more uniform.  So even if it’s on display, it looks clean and clutter free.

Hack it!
Before you look at your bathroom in despair and feel like you have to replace everything, look at what you already have and see if you can hack it.  For e.g. if you have a toilet roll holder in chrome but you’re trying to go for a more monochrome look, can you spray it black?  Or if you have brightly coloured storage boxes and baskets, can they be painted white? Also take a look around your home and see what you can use in your bathroom – do you have cups that can be used as toothbrush holders or clear bottles that can be used as a vase?

Shower curtains
If you can go for a glass shower door, go for it.  But if it has to be a curtain, go for white or a see-through curtain.  And get curtain hooks that compliment the rest of your decor.  It’s paying attention to the little details that will help you achieve a minimal, clutter free bathroom.

Storage baskets
Storage baskets are a godsend! I don’t think you can ever have enough. Use storage baskets to hold stuff like toilet rolls, towels and other bits and pieces that look good on display.  Baskets look good and end up freeing cabinet space.

Hooks
Wall hooks are your friends, especially in small bathrooms.  Instead of having large towel rails go for hooks behind the door or on the walls.  They take up much less space than bulky rails and they look fab too.

Medicines
I don’t know why we all think we have to store medicines in the bathroom.  I’m in this boat too but when I was thinking about it for this post, I couldn’t think of one reason why medicines should be kept in the bathroom.  So if you can move them out, then do it.  That will free up some space, be it in your cupboards or on your surfaces.  But if you absolutely have nowhere else to keep your medicines, get yourself a storage box to put them in.

So these are the things I’ve been doing to keep my bathroom clutter free and looking clean and neat.  To maintain a clutter free bathroom, you really don’t want to add much more than the essentials.  And you need to be disciplined about it!  But once you’ve done it, it will be so worth it. After all, nobody likes bathroom clutter, right?

Do you think you’ll try these tips for a clutter free bathroom?  Do you have any more tips?

Image credits: top image | 1 | 2 – source unknown | 3 | 4 |5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Images 1, 6, 7 and 8 are my bathroom.