What are some simple ways to declutter your bathroom and kitchen?

Brandy Gearhart
by Brandy Gearhart
I have a small house with 4 adults living in it. I love to coupon so I have stuff everywhere. What is the easiest way to declutter the bathroom and kitchen?

  13 answers
  • Debbie Debbie on Jul 18, 2017

    i live in a small condo with 3 adults. I always feel better when everything has a place but that is not always possible. I would go through my kitchen and bathroom cabinets, you may find things u haven't used in awhile or things you don't use at all. I would donate kitchen items and decide on bathroom items that u don't use. I would look around the house for boxes or containers that I can use as storage rather than purchase. I use cereal boxes, storage bag boxes to name a few. For me there's nothing like a strong shoe box. I would not make purchase until I did this first. Then I would ask myself do I really need to make a purchase no matter how good the deal is. I have learned through the years that less is more. Good luck and hope I was able to help a little. Debbie O


  • Karen Little Karen Little on Jul 18, 2017

    Hang as much as you can on the wall. I have a very tiny bathroom with a very small vanity. There is only room in it for the two bottles of cleaner (glass and general) and a small bottle of liquid detergent for hand washing. I put command hooks where I could hang my hair dryer, curling iron, etc. If you can put up a little shelf for toothbrushes and toothpaste. The other thing I have used in the past is an "over john" a shelf on legs that provides storage.


  • Emily Emily on Jul 18, 2017

    I have finally decided to divest my many possessions and most of all do not bring anymore things into the house. I have always been good at getting rid of junk mail and newspapers. So I am just going to extend those items. I have lots of room and lots of things. Set your timer of 10 or 15 minutes and rush around tidying up. Stop couponing. there is a limit to how much toothpaste you can use etc. Neaten up constantly. Give the coupons to someone else or leave them at the grocery store. throw the flyers away before you read the coupons.



  • Fiddledd224 Fiddledd224 on Jul 18, 2017

    First you have to get rid of things you really don't need - the best way is to get 3 large bins or trash bags and label them "keep", "donate", and "trash" and dispose/use it as labelled. Everything in the "keep" bins will then need to be sorted based on which room it goes in. The more things that can be stored in boxes, bins, baskets and in drawers will de-clutter greatly.


    A good rule of thumb on buying/acquiring things is that for everything that now comes into the house, you should dispose of one thing.


    Once you get used to having less, you will enjoy not having as much to clean!



    • Brandy Gearhart Brandy Gearhart on Jul 18, 2017

      thank you. I am going to set a day to go through a certain area per week until I get there. The trash bag idea is good.

  • Rosalie Rogers Rosalie Rogers on Jul 18, 2017

    I like to keep my most used items within quick reach so I have a large decorative bowl on my counter and in it I keep my manual can openers, small spatulas, collapsible silicone measuring cups and spoons, etc. All of these are quite colorful and the bowl is plain white. Also next to my stove I have a utensil holder, large stainless steel, which holds my ladles, tongs, slotted spoons, and other longer utensils. These help me keep my counters looking neat.

  • Rosalie Rogers Rosalie Rogers on Jul 18, 2017

    In the bathroom, living with two men, my hubby and my son, I have one big basket sitting out of the way on the floor near the sink that holds anything of theirs that end up sitting on the counter like large mouthwash bottles, cans of shaving cream, shampoos, brushes, and anything that does not fit into their designated drawers. That way everything is visible yet somewhat contained. Hope this helps.

  • AMA Designs & Interiors AMA Designs & Interiors on Jul 18, 2017

    Hi Brandy! Is there anything specific that you are trying to organize? When items don't have "a home" or a designated area, they often get put in piles. I am the most organized person... and even I end up with piles.


    For the bathroom, I share it with my fiance. It's a very small bathroom so i had to be creative with storage. I keep my makeup in a portable/travel box that has different layers. I bring this into the bathroom when I need to get ready. For hair tools (dryers, hair straighters etc) I keep in a basket under the vanity. On the back of the vanity cabinet doors, I got those command-hooks and I hang a mirror that I use to look at the back of my head ;) .. We opted to but a cabinet above the toilet for more storage.. and cabinetry outside of the bathroom for towels and other necessities that need to get stored but aren't accessed everyday.


    For the kitchen, totally depends on what you are trying to store/hide but The Container Store is amazing for organizing any room!

    • See 1 previous
    • AMA Designs & Interiors AMA Designs & Interiors on Jul 18, 2017

      For the bathroom, I'm not sure what your bathroom looks like... but could you get one of those organizers that are hung in the shower from the shower head? It's metal and has a few tiers for different items


      Kitchen.. There are several dish organizers from Bed Bath and Beyond or Overstock. Which may help. For my spices, I had them on a lazy suzan but I found that the spices would spin off and fall in the back of the cabinet and get lost.... so I switched to this instead.. It gets mounted on the inside. Some taller spices won't fit but it does the job! I also use the same thing for vitamins


      https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/rev-a-shelf-4sr-18-cabinet-door-mount-wood-3-shelf-spice-rack/3304617?categoryId=12098


      I hope that helps.. I'm also a designer. For more tips, head on over to my blog --> www.byamadesigns.com

  • Fiddledd224 Fiddledd224 on Jul 19, 2017

    You will feel really good getting rid of stuff you don't need! Instant gratification 😎

  • Karen Karen on Jul 19, 2017

    I'm in the process of putting up Command brand clear bins and another brand of woven metal bins (that came with big suction cups that I've removed) on a patch of narrow wall outside my small pantry. This is going to allow me to get bottles of supplements off my kitchen counter, as well as things such as tall tins of catnip that one of my "girls" likes to knock onto the floor when she wants some! It was a challenge to find something not too wide for the space, but finally did ... both types are about 8.5" across the bottom.


    I'm going to do something similar in my bathroom. Some will go into my shower stall, others I'm going to mount on the 6X4 foot mirror over the sink. Plus I got a long "over the faucet" shelf that will get stuff off the bathroom counter, so I can clean it easier.

  • Kim Kim on Jul 19, 2017

    Can you put all your "overstock" in basement or garage, and only have one of each type of product open at one time in the bathroom and kitchen?

  • Lavonne Lavonne on Jul 19, 2017

    One of the things I did was to save paper boxes from work. They have a lid so I can store things in them and they look neat when stacked up. I also cover them with contact paper to match the decor of the room.

  • B. Enne B. Enne on Aug 10, 2017

    Lots of great ideas!

    I no longer stockpile shampoos etc. I actually donated most of the extras we had, and it felt so freeing. If you must keep couponing, perhaps you could do it for a cause: food bank, Salvation Army, women's shelters etc. You would still get the "rush", and even more so by helping others.

    Going vertical definitely helps. There are organizers to put behind your shower curtain as well as from the shower head.

    One mistake I made was buying too many organizers, and bins. Determine what size, style and number you need before buying, otherwise they become clutter too. Look for square or rectangular with straight sides. Round containers aren't very practical.

    Buy nice looking baskets or whatever type of container, jar, vase you like. That way you decorate at the same time. No need for extra nick nacks, and they serve a purpose.