How to Declutter a Bathroom

Struggling for space in your bathroom? We’ve got 22 decluttering tips for your bathroom, so you can clear some space and get it looking neat, tidy and organised again.

Bathrooms are often the most compact room in your house, so it can be easy to lose control of clutter. There’s just so much to keep track of, from your showering essentials like shampoo and shower gel to all those spare loo rolls.

But there’s no better feeling than having everything in order, especially if you’re working with a fairly small bathroom. If it’s time for a declutter, then consider some of our top tips for getting your bathroom organised and presentable again.

Contents

1. Decluttering Approaches

2. Removal Tips

3. Space-Saving Options

Clear up some space with our 22 decluttering tips:

1. Don’t take it all on at once

The quickest way to lose steam when you’re thinking about how to declutter the bathroom is to try and tackle the whole room at once. While it may not be a massive space, there are so many different areas that it’s best to go section-by-section. For example, you could handle the sink area, then your toilet/toilet roll situation, then the shower, and so on.

2. Don’t be afraid to throw things out

While organisation is the ultimate aim for decluttering, it’s also the prime time to reconsider your relationship with those half-empty products you never use. Or any dated decor you haven’t changed up in years!

We can be a little sentimental when it comes to clutter, but if it’s broken, doesn’t get used, empty (for items like toothpaste and makeup) or otherwise not useful, then it’s probably destined for the bin. You’ll save so much space just by removing everything you don’t use from the bathroom!

3. …But also consider gifting/donating!

Of course, some things may be in great condition but just not suitable for you. Maybe a towel you just don’t like the feel of, or items for a skincare routine that doesn’t fit in your morning schedule. In these cases, consider reaching out to family and friends to see if anyone could benefit from your unwanted items.

4. Help everything find its home

Despite our best efforts, sometimes things can migrate through your home and end up in places they’re really not suited to. While it might not be as blatant as a frying pan in the bathroom, small things can end up getting lost in transit.

Maybe your kitchen scissors have been left on the sink counter after cutting off the tags for new towels. And have piles of dirty clothes been actually making their way to the laundry basket, or are they still lurking on the floor by the shower?

Of course, these things don’t need to be thrown out or given away, but they also shouldn’t be organised in the bathroom. Moving them out to the appropriate rooms can make getting on with decluttering a lot easier, because now you’re only dealing with actual bathroom clutter.

5. Work when you can

It might sound obvious, but it’s important to seriously assess how much time you have to declutter each day. A free weekend might be a good opportunity to get it all done in long decluttering sessions. But finding time throughout the week can be more realistic and less stressful overall.

Even if you only have fifteen minutes every evening, set yourself a timer for those fifteen minutes and focus on a specific area you want to clear. Making sure your timing plans are realistic is a solid way to set yourself up for decluttering success, especially in busy households.

6. Check on your towel usage

They might not be the typical suspects for accumulating clutter, but just take a moment while you’re decluttering the bathroom to assess how many towels you actually need to keep on display. Generally, a lot more than you need manage to sneak their way in. 

Sort out any that need washing or replacing, and see if there’s anywhere else to store spare towels, such as a cabinet or airing cupboard.

7. Find a space for your duckboard

Leaving your duckboard out even when you’re not using it can leave your bathroom floor looking a little cluttered. Try to find a snug spot to store it in while not in use, close to the shower or bath while not crowding the space.

8. Go through the cabinets

Bathroom cabinets can easily accumulate so many items, from medicine to makeup and even cleaning products. Take it one cabinet at a time, and group everything you find by its type - all the hair bobbles with the hair brushes and clips, for example. Then, you can sort through what you need and store similar items with each other.

In particular, make sure you go through your medicine cabinet. There’s no need to hold onto old or expired medication, and this might be a good time to refresh your medicine supplies. But only get what you’re likely to need!

9. Clear off your sink

So much happens at the sink, so you can end up with a lot of stray items hanging around. Just think: brushing your teeth, applying cosmetics or skin care, washing your hands, putting on jewellery… It’s no surprise some things get left by the sink!

So make sure you give your sink area some specific attention while decluttering, and don’t fall into the trap of keeping more items than you need around the sink when reorganising. Anything that you don’t use daily can be stored in a cabinet or drawer, keeping the sink area neat and tidy.

10. Cut down on decor

Having a beautifully designed bathroom doesn’t have to be at odds with having a decluttered bathroom. But it might be time to give your decor a bit of a refresh, and a more minimalist style might help to give your bathroom a less cluttered look. Often, less is more when it comes to interior design!

11. Remove your toilet mat

Another simple way to declutter your floorspace is to take out your toilet mat. These are a little outdated for bathroom decor now, so you can go for a more modern and sleek overall look by just removing your toilet mat entirely.

12. Try out a bathroom mirror cabinet

Instead of having either a standing mirror or wall-hung mirror and a cabinet, combine them into one with a space-saving bathroom mirror cabinet! Depending on your current mirror setup, you could be saving valuable wall, floor or counter space.

13. …Or upgrade to Bluetooth!

If you want to take the space-saving capabilities of a mirror cabinet to another level, then try out one with Bluetooth capabilities. Now, there’s no need to move a Bluetooth speaker into the bathroom every time you want to rock out to tunes while getting ready, keeping your counter space free and uncluttered.

14. Put up some shelves

An easy way for clutter to build up is having a lack of storage space. Solve that problem with some bathroom shelving, and just make sure you’re organising each shelf. Try to keep similar items together, and intersperse just a few decorations if you have room!

15. Consider a caddy

Similarly, if you’re struggling to find a place for your shower-based toiletries to stay in, a shower caddy might be perfect for you. These can be added to your shower wall without much fuss and are great for keeping your shampoo, shower gel and other shower-related items tidy.

16. Or splash out on a shower niche

There is also the more dedicated shower space solution: a shower niche. While it’s slightly more of an investment and requires more advanced installation than putting up a shower caddy, it’s nevertheless a sleek and useful bathroom design feature. You’re giving yourself more space to organise your toiletries, adding an extra layer to your bathroom decluttering.

17. Heating and towel storage

Keeping your towels on a normal radiator, while being a common practice, can also look a little unwieldy. Make the most of your radiator space while also keeping your bathroom looking orderly with a heated towel rail. You don’t have to compromise on the heat, and you’ll get some sophisticated towel storage as well.

18. Or try out a mirror radiator

But if towel storage isn’t an issue for you, then another possibility for decluttering your bathroom could be installing a combined mirror and radiator. Making the most of your wall space will give your bathroom an overall neater look, and removes the need for a standalone mirror.

19. Organisers for your sink

A simple and popular way to declutter your sink, or the surrounding countertop, is to use a toothbrush holder/organiser. These don’t have to just be for toothbrushes, either! You could also keep toothpicks, floss, toothpaste, combs and/or hairbrushes in the organiser, along with anything else you often use by the sink.

20. Make room for loo rolls!

We’ve discussed a few storage ideas that could be suitable for spare toilet rolls, but why not solve the problem at its source? There are plenty of toilet roll holders that incorporate a holder for extra loo roll, so you can free up more of your bathroom storage.

21. Organise your drawers

Drawers are a brilliant way to sort out your clutter, whether in the bathroom or anywhere else in the house, but you can take it further. With drawer organisers, you can make sure that if skincare is on the left and medicine is on the right, it stays that way. The next time you open the drawer, everything will still be perfectly organised (barring human intervention, of course!).

22. Try a wall mounted soap dispenser

Ditch the bar soap and tray for a more modern choice with a wall mounted soap dispenser. As well as saving basin and/or countertop space, these dedicated dispensers can work so much better with your bathroom aesthetic. No matter what brand of hand soap you buy, the dispenser will keep the same cohesive style!

Ready to start decluttering?

Taking on bathroom clutter can feel like a huge task, even with it being a room that’s usually smaller than the others in your house. But there’s so many ways to keep it manageable and organised, so that you don’t have to do a big declutter too regularly.

For example, to help your bathroom stay neat and tidy, consider checking out some of our bathroom storage accessories. Give everything a place of its own in the bathroom and you’ll turn decluttering into a quick and easy job!