I need to start using up items and paring down the number of items I actually use. I was recently told that I have a lot of stuff in my bathroom (not pictured) and that was certainly a wake up call.

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I do have a lot of stuff in the bathroom and I can see how it would look overwhelming to someone who was not familiar with my system. I tend to buy things in bulk or stock up when things are on sale and if you remember from my CVS days I would have multiples of various items at a time.

Of course I use up my items and then don’t need to repurchase for months at a time…but in the interim I do need a place to store all the purchases.

My bathroom looks a bit like this one below.

Cluttered bathroom

I do have a similar shelving system over the toilet since we do not have medicine cabinets. My items are neatly organized and I use plastic bins to make things look uniform but when you really think about it….it is a lot of stuff. I did manage to have my counters cleared off and have ONLY the items that I use on a daily basis on there. The problem is that by doing so I needed a place to put all of the other items that I am not using up on a daily basis.

Since there is very little storage space they have to go above the toilet on shelves that are exposed!

I must admit that I have commitment issues when it comes to using items like shower gel and toothpaste. I do not simply use one thing up until it runs out and then switch to a new packet. I normally use one thing for about a  week and then switch to a different one when I clean on the weekends. I actually use TWO shower gels at the same time…one for morning showers and a different scent for night showers!! Don’t judge me!!!!

Part of the reason I switch up so often is that I have sensitive skin and I sometimes find that using one product for too long either doesn’t work effectively or irritates my skin. The other reason is just that I like the variety. Because of this I have a myriad of products in various stages of depletion in my storage bins and I honestly cannot tell you how long it takes to get through one full container of any product.

I will now change my system so that I am using up items completely before moving on to the next one. This will allow me to continue using up items so that I can throw out empty containers and should free up some space in the bathroom so that it does not look so cluttered.