Home Organizing Challenge: The Bathroom

This week for our Home Organization Challenge the focus was all about getting the bathrooms in order. I have a main bathroom on the second floor of my home and a guest bathroom on the main floor.  However, with the guest bathroom in the early stages of a makeover, I focused mostly on the main bathroom.

The main bathroom is also due for a makeover, so the idea was to create a clean slate, clear all clutter and to stick with the basics. The issues in the main bathroom included iron stains in the sink and bathtub due to the water, and there was no place to hang bath towels for four people.

I found that lemon and baking soda was a big help to remove the iron stains. I sprinkled baking soda in the sink and bathtub, cut a large lemon and rubbed the lemon onto the baking soda while squeezing some of the juice onto the stains. I then let the lemon juice and baking soda paste sit for an hour and then continued to rub using a toothbrush and green scoring pad. To finish things off I raised the sink and wiped dry.

As for the bath towels, I originally tried placing an over the door hook rack on the main door to the bathroom, but I had difficulties closing the door. I was then able to find another style rack that worked on the other bathroom door. As simple as it may be, this new rack has made a world of difference for having somewhere to hang our towels. We did have hooks on the walls, but because of where the studs are, these hooks had anchors and eventually came out of the dry wall.

I also added a few things to the list of to-dos for the bathroom.

• Change shower curtain liner
• Scrub or replace shower mat
• Wash bathmat (I have 100% cotton bathmats and I find it super easy to clean)

The Logic Behind The Method

The reason for approaching this challenge in the way I have been is to allow for the busiest areas of most homes to be targeted first. This week our focus will be on the basement because it is where many of us store our seasonal clothing and other seasonal items. As we get further along with our organizing we will also need storage space for those additional keep items.

The basement for some of us is also an added living space, finished or unfinished. It can provide a wonderful space for family and creative activities. If you live in a colder climate like I do, the basement is a haven for lots of crafty indoor activities. It can also be home to a fun children's playroom, home gym or a family gaming room (just to name a few ideas).

This part of the challenge has been allotted a two-week period that will be broken-up into Part I and Part II. The reason I have done this, is because I have a full basement that has way too many things for one week. As far as activities go, my basement is currently home to my craft studio, my husband's studio, a library area, workout equipment and some storage. So as you can see, it would be impossible to cover the entire task in just one week. Therefore, this week the focus is on sorting items and identifying what will be needed to have the space function as desired. If you do not have a basement, what about tackling your attic, storage closet or other storage area.

Week 4 - Basement (Part I)

To Do List:

• Sort and purge items into four categories; keep, donate, trash and other room
• Identify areas for specific task
• Identify needed storage requirements
• Dispose of trash and take away donations
• Start organizing the space by section or based on the specific task you have identified
• Clean and wipe as you work through each section
• Take stock of what needs to be repaired or replaced

With these simple steps we should be ready for the final clean up and organization of the basement. If you are past this point, perhaps you can join us for the Basement (Part II).

Here are the previous weeks:

Week 1 - The Kitchen
Week 2 - The Living Room

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Sorry! Due to a number of unexpected events that resulted in a very long day yesterday at a silk screening workshop, this post did not get posted as planned. I hope however that you have enjoyed week 3 of our Home Organization Challenge and that it will inspire you to get organized.