Who or what is being groomed?

As we continue to take care of your bathroom let’s take it a step further. Grooming supplies take up a lot of space and we often have old out dated items lying around.

               Women do you have tons of makeup, creams, lotions etc.? When was the last time you used it? Sure we women sometimes like to change our look and use different colors and that is fine, but if you have makeup you don’t remember when you purchased or when the last time you used it throw it out. Many of us get irritated eyes or even eye infections from using old makeup. Yes even makeup can grow bacteria. If you use old makeup it can even cause rashes or pimples. So go thru all of your cosmetics and get rid of old stuff or products you no longer use. This will cut down on what you have to store leaving more room for what you do use and therefore you can organize it better and cut down on time to searching for just the right thing.

               Men you too have items you have lying around. If you use a trimmer when was the last time you cleaned it? You should brush it out after each use and use rubbing alcohol to clean it off every couple of uses.

               Brushes and combs when was the last time you cleaned them? Many of us have our favorite brush, comb, pick etc. We forget to clean these items. So take a moment to pull out our extra hair out of these items. Gather any makeup brushes as well take these out to the kitchen and place them in the dish washer. (If you have any ball caps that have not been washed you can put them in as well.) Run the dish washer on glasses or sanitizing cycle without soap. It will clean off the sweat, hair products and bacteria that grow on these items. Ball caps will be clean and not lose their shape. (Do not run these items with dishes.) Toothbrushes should be replaced every 3 months, or after getting over an illness to prevent you from reinfecting yourself.

               Now that things are clean and you have decreased the number of items you have to figure out where you would like to place them for a neat and convenient access. Our grooming items can sometimes make a hugh mess in our bathrooms. Sometimes you may wonder who or what was being groomed with hair and dust being around.

               Do you have scissors, tweezers and other metal items used in your bathroom? When was the last time you sanitized them? It is simple to do this, simply take rubbing alcohol to clean these items and since it dries quickly it won’t cause these items to rust.

               Main tip is to get rid of old out dated and unused items, and to clean and sanitize the items we frequently use.

Bathroom Blues

Does your bathroom drive you crazy? It is a room often used but seldom given attention. It is one of the smallest rooms in our homes yet it has hundreds of items in it. Even though it is a chore many of us don’t like, it is a room that honestly needs to be cleaned well and often. Other than the kitchen it should honestly be the cleanest room in our homes. I am suggesting that you once again empty out areas to start fresh and get organized. In a later blog entry I will cover grooming items (i.e. makeup, brushes, combs, toothbrushes, etc.)

               First start in your linen closet (if you have one). Take everything out.  Sort items into categories, i.e. towels, washcloths, cleaning supplies, etc. Now I personally sort my towels into a couple of piles. Hand towels, bath towels, hair towels, and old torn towels. I try to put the best and most often used on top.

               Now that you have everything out and sorted, how many of the items do not belong in the bathroom? We seem to use our bathroom linen closets as a quick stash place when we are rushing around cleaning up. Anything that doesn’t belong put where it does belong. Before putting things away clean the area. Wash off shelves sweep out the bottom. Figure out where you would like things to go. (Yes we are again planning.) You may have kept things on lower shelves before and now you would like them up higher or vice versa. Things you don’t use as much you may choose to place either up higher or on the bottom. Whatever you choose is ok. Do what is best for you and your family. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

               Ok what is below your sink are there things you would like to move to your linen closet? Go ahead and move these items and do the same with items you had in your linen closet you want to put below your sink. (If you have small children keep cleaning supplies out of reach, do the same with soaps, shampoos etc. or put a lock on the cabinet doors.)

               Keep thing near where you use them. Toilet paper kept on the other side of the room does you no good if you are going to the bathroom and the roll is empty. Here again planning is important. Some people don’t like to keep an extra roll out in the open and that is ok. You can find many things to keep them in. Little cabinets meant for rolls of toilet paper, some place them on the plunger handle, (hopefully it is clean) others have decorative baskets or boxes where they put the extra rolls. Whatever you choose is ok. I simply recommend you keep things where it makes sense to you and where you need the items. With a little work and ingenuity we can transform our bathroom into a room that is pleasant to be in.

               Don’t forget while you are organizing to clean. Your shower is sometimes the most disorganized area in the bathroom. Do you have several different types of shampoos, conditioners, soaps etc.? Check to see if you have empty containers if so throw them out. If you keep your shaving items in the shower check for rust. If your blades are rusted throw them out. Can you decrease the number of items in the shower? If so please do so. Once every couple of months you should take down your shower curtain and wash it in the washing machine with ½ cup of bleach. This will kill any mold that may be lurking on it.

               Do you have items on your vanity that just take up space and are not used often? If so put them away. The cups, etc. that are around need to be cleaned. We sometimes forget to do this. Another tip many don’t know is do not keep medications in your bathroom. It is the moistest rooms in your home and can cause your meds to get damp, stick together or even start to dissolve. Most meds should be kept in a cool dry area, so the bathroom is not a good choice.

               The primary goal for today is to place things where you can easily get to them and where you use them. Also clean the areas and items that are most often missed. No sense allowing germs and bacteria to grow and getting yourself or your family sick.

Can I keep this up?

If you have been following me the past 28 days I have been giving tips every day for 28 days straight. I admit there have been a few days that I missed, but I then recover with 2 entries the following day. That is also what this blog entry is all about. There will be days that we don’t do anything, I encourage you to do what you can when you can even if you have only done a few things you are a success. These things don’t have to be just my suggestions or ideas; they can be anything that you may have done to organize yourself and your life. They say it takes 28 days to create a new habit so again if you did not keep up doing something every day, it is ok. Tomorrow is a new day; you always have a new chance to make choices. I encourage you to just keep trying to do something, even if it is only the 5 minuets I challenged you in previous challenges. I am simply trying to give you some ideas that you can do to organize yourself. Everyone has different needs and circumstances, and I do understand this fully.

               When I started this blog I was working a full time job, trying to take care of things at home, assist my daughter in her college search and all the things that go along with getting into college, and doing this blog. My life to say the least was very busy. At work I had to be flexible because things changed frequently sometimes weekly, other times it seemed as though things were changing by the minute. You must be able to forgive yourself if you don’t do everything you want and things don’t turn out the way you thought. As with my life things and circumstances change and you need to be able to change with them. You will learn as you go something’s that work for others may not work for you and vice versa. I am constantly changing how I do things as I realize that a different way will work better. So don’t give up if you try something and it don’t work the way you wanted, just try to look at it to see how it may work. Don’t forget to take time to plan. Sometimes this is a step we often skip to save time and later on down the road realize that what we did does not work, if we would have just taken time to plan we would have seen it wouldn’t work. Trust me on this point I have learned that the hard way about many things and made ten times more work for myself in turn taking way more time than I should have had to take.

               In a nut shell I am trying to encourage you to do what you can when you can, and challenge you along the way. Like I have said before many times. Almost everyone can find 5 minutes per day that they can do a little something to organize themselves and life. Again if you have any comments, questions or even suggestions of ideas or things you would like a topic on let me know. I am always open to new ideas and challenges. You may either leave a comment here or email me at organizingrebel@gmail.com. Either way I welcome your ideas, comments and even constructive criticism. I want to thank all of you for following this journey and look forward to the future as we together get organized.

P.S. I do apologize for the gap in entries, I too get so busy at times that don’t get all of my to do list done. I will be doubling or even tripling up the next couple of days. Then in February as I start a new chapter in my life I will not be posting daily it will be a couple of times a week. Again thank you for going on this journey with me and following my blog.