What’s your favorite room in your home?

Mine is my bathroom. The place where I gear up for the day and unwind in the evening. My greatest transformations take place there daily!

First thing in the morning, I walk in sleepy eyed and groggy but once I’ve emerged I am a totally different person. Freshly showered, moisturized, scented and with my hair styled, I’m ready for my day. It’s the space that sets the foundation for an enjoyable and productive day. That’s why the bathroom is My space.

As soon as I close that door I know I’ll have designated time, just for me. It’s extremely important for me to have time allotted to myself after getting out of bed before tending to my children (hubby leaves for work before the children and I wake). I’ve noticed that on days when I’m head-to-toe ready before my children are awake, I’m more calm, focused, happier and already start my day off with a sense of accomplishment.

I’m not frantically trying to shower and then dress while attempting to wrangle a very busy 5 year old into his school clothes (ask me how I know). Once I have myself ready and set for the day I practically have the patience of a saint. Key word: practically.

My happy place

Bathroom obsession

As I stated earlier the bathroom is my favorite room in the whole house but oddly enough it’s my favorite room in other peoples homes too. I know, a little weird but stay with me. Other peoples bathrooms interest me. It gives me insight into how they gear up and wind down for the day. Do they take respite from a stressful and demanding day or for them is it just a room that houses the toilet, sink and shower?

I even choose hotels and Airbnb stays based on what the bathroom pics look like. A well lit, clean and spacious bathroom will sway my decision to stay over how close the booking is to local attractions and restaurants or whether breakfast is included. If the accommodations just so happen to have a stand alone tub, I’m sold!

It doesn’t have to be the biggest, fanciest bathroom filled with all the latest trends and designs (even though that would be wonderful!!). At a minimum it has to be clean, uncluttered, somewhat organized and has adequate lighting. Think how refreshing it is to walk into a bathroom that looks clean, smells fresh and feels inviting.

Clean it up

Start fresh

The foundation to making your bathroom feel like a private retreat is making sure its clean. That seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised to know how many people don’t take the opportunity to use the entire room as intended because an area is dusty, a bit grimy or cluttered. Just the thought of how long it would take you (in actuality not that long) to clean the dried toothpaste out of the sink and declutter a section of your counter top quickly deters you from spending time on yourself. I’ll be honest, there have been more than a handful of times I’ve skipped a much needed relaxing soak in the tub because I didn’t realize it would only take a few minutes to put away the kids bath toys and give it a quick scrub and rinse.

Make it quick

You don’t have to spend 2 hours doing a deep cleaning either. Clearing away trash and spraying/wiping away visible dirt is sufficient for now. You can always do a deep clean routine on another day. For now focus on the area you’ll need at that moment. If you know you’ll stand at the sink to apply your clay face mask, then quickly spray the sink and counter top, give it a quick wipe and move on to the fun part!

Growing up I was taught to do a whole house clean once a week. Usually it was on Saturdays. All Saturday. With five people in and out of the bathroom all week long, cleaning it took forever and was torture. Do yourself a favor and don’t wait until one day a week to clean your bathroom.

I suggest you do daily or every other day mini cleans. Just a basic multi surface cleaner, mirror spray, spray for mold/mildew and cleaning cloths are all you need. To some, a daily cleaning routine seems like an added nuisance but it’s also apart of your daily self care routine. Always remember, you deserve to be in a clean bathroom.

If you’re struggling with a cleaning schedule check out this easy daily bathroom cleaning routine here. Also here’s a video from one of my favorite youtubers. If you have at least five minutes to spare then I recommend this video by a cleaning expert. These are oldies but goodies that always kept me motivated to stay consistent with my bathroom cleaning routine early on when I started becoming more mindful of my self care journey.

Make room

Start the decluttering process

Next step is too declutter, declutter, declutter! If it’s trash, trash it. Do you have multiple items of the same kind of product? Whittle it down to one or two. Do you hate the way it smells or feels on your skin or hair? Give it away to someone who may like it or toss it. Also, if it doesn’t belong in the bathroom, get it out of there! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found non-bathroom items in the bathroom.

I’ve found sneakers and rocks (thanks, five year old) as well as a pack of drywall screws, a 3 liter water reservoir bag and a putty knife (thanks, husband). Why my most loved ones would use time and energy to carry these odd items to the bathroom with them, I have no idea. All I know is they have to go. I can ask them to remove them or I can do it myself (usually the latter). When there’s more things in the way it creates a physical barrier against the opportunity for time for yourself.

Righty, tidy

Getting organized

Let’s talk about bathroom organization. Are your most used items and products strewn all over the countertop, spilling off the shelves, or getting buried under other things in a drawer? Spending time daily searching for items and constantly trying to find clear areas to use is a waste of time and energy. No wonder most people give up before they even start.

Don’t complicate things

Organization doesn’t have to been complicated, expensive or Pinterest perfect. Easy and efficient are the main priorities. It would be so fun to go out and buy different drawer units and compartments, bins, and shelving to motivate yourself to getting more organized but I would advise against it. I highly recommend first scouting your home for storage and organization solutions. What do you already own or have on hand that can be of better use in your bathroom?

At one point in time I became so frustrated with my chaotic counter top that I took an empty rectangular tissue box and threw all my face products and makeup into it and placed it on the counter. Was it pretty? No. Did the bathroom counter look instantly better? Yes. This macro organizing worked so well that I repeated it in my bathroom closet.

The closet was very narrow and very deep with warped wonky shelves. No bottle ever stood upright so everything rolled all over. For that I used empty shoe boxes that were destined for the recycle bin. I even used the lids to corral extra toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste and floss in one and combs, brushes and hair accessories in another. When those cardboard containers succumbed to wear, tear and water damage I then upgraded to wire bins as well as soft sided collapsible bins from the dollar store. After a year or two of that, I needed to upgrade again to sturdier bins so I purchased plastic storage baskets from a local retailer.

My point is, I started slow and inexpensive and expanded when I needed to. Just figure out the easiest and cheapest way to organize for now. You can always reconfigure and upgrade later on.

Keep it close

Also, try as best as possible to keep items close to where they are used most. This didn’t really dawn on me until one of my children complained about walking to the opposite side of the bathroom to get a roll of toilet paper. She asked “Why don’t you just put the paper closer to the toilet so I can get it faster?” Wow, out of the mouths of babes.

Try not to be so into neatly corralling and squirreling away items that you forget that organizing also needs to be convenient. Is the priority to keep it out of the way or well within reach? Let the answer to that be your deciding factor. You’re less likely to use items if you have to spend the extra time to go get them and bring them back to where you intend to use them.

Light and bright

Having adequate lighting

Next is lighting. If the only lighting you have in your bathroom is one dim, flickering florescent bulb, giving off major serial killer basement dungeon vibes, please change it. I know, extra dramatic but I’ll admit that thought has flashed across my mind more than once before. I’ve been in some very poorly lit bathrooms and they’ve reminded me of middle of nowhere, deserted highway rest stops. I’ll also admit I watch way too many horror movies. Still, you don’t want to give your brain the impression of “I don’t want to be in here.” Changing to better lighting can be an instant mood boost. You’ve heard the phrase Drab and dreary right? Well then change it to bright and cheery!

With so many lighting fixture and bulb designs, options are nearly limitless. Whether you’re someone who likes cool based lighting or warm based, you can set the mood of your bathroom to your desired preference. My favorite is dimmable lighting. Turning it up or down as needed. I am also a big fan of individually controlled lighting over each area. A bathroom that has overhead fixtures to illuminate the entire bathroom, has vanity lighting to just illuminate the sink area and a separate switch to control the fixture over the shower stall would be ideal. If these fixtures can’t be controlled by dimmer switches, then consider installing bulbs with different watts.

Final touches

Decorate and accessorize

Now that your bathroom is clean, decluttered, organized and well lit, it’s time for the fun part. Decorations and accessories! Decorating your space with items that are beautiful to look at, evoke a warm and cozy feeling or just bring you joy is always a good idea. It helps give the room personality, bringing it to life.

Accessories are the jewelry of a room so keep in mind to not go overboard when adding them or else you’ll have to start the decluttering process over again. They can also be functional. Plush absorbent towels, fluffy floor mats and beautiful woven laundry hampers aren’t just luxurious accessories, they’re also functional. No matter what you decide to add, make sure it resonates with you and fits your style.

If you have the means to purchase new items, go for it! If at this season in life, you can not, don’t despair. Shop your home for items you can use or upcycle to fit your vision. You can also scout out garage sales, your local goodwill, discount outlets and the clearance section at your favorite stores to score great items at mere fractions of the original cost. And don’t forget about freebies from family, friends or even the side of the road. Throughout the years I’ve always found great pieces out on the curb that were completely transformed with a little elbow grease and a couple coats of paint.

Create a routine

Be intentional with your time

You are well on your way to having a bathroom that offers peace and calm. Now you can start to build your daily self care routine. Taking a few minutes here and there to ease your mind, pamper your body and lift your spirits does a world of good.

Making your bathroom into your daily haven may not happen overnight but small steps bring you closer to a space you’ll love and appreciate spending time in. Start out small with one area or add one accessory and see how little changes make a big impact on the way you feel.

These were just some of my suggestions to give yourself a well deserved space that energizes and rejuvenates you. By keeping your bathroom clean, uncluttered, well lit and decorated with tasteful elements you set the tone for peace and relaxation.

Do you have daily bathroom routines that set you up for a productive day and help wind you down for a peaceful evening? I’m curious to know what self care habits you incorporate. Comment below to let me know!