Conquer Bathroom Clutter Simply and Effectively

Bathrooms seem to be notorious for becoming cluttered and unkempt. Between small makeup compacts, medicine bottles, hair accessories, razors and the like, it can be quite easy to lose things in the shuffle. Assess your bathroom and its contents and utilize a few simple ideas and you'll find more space and tranquility as a result.

First, take a good look at your medicine cabinets. Ironically, it's probably not a good idea to store medicine in your medicine cabinet, as most bathrooms become hot and humid during showers and baths, and can be detrimental to medication that requires being stored at room temperature. Don't keep medicines past their expiration date, even if you've never opened them or have used them very little. Try storing your medications on a high shelf in your linen closet with a lock-tight lid. This will help lengthen their shelf life as well as keep them out of reach of curious little hands.

The same should be done with old makeup. Generally speaking, most makeup will last about 18-24 months, with the exception of mascara, which lasts about three months, and liquid eyeliner, which lasts about three to six months. Nail polish generally only holds up for about a year, so if you have any older than that, get rid of them. And since many makeup products have animal-based ingredients, it's also important to pay attention to how they smell. If they smell like they've gone bad, they probably have, so toss them. Try using a permanent marker to mark the purchase date on the back of the item, so that way you won't have to try to remember just how long it's been since you purchased something.

If you take a look in your favorite discount store's home organization aisle, you'll find lots of inexpensive storage containers that can easily be utilized in bathroom drawers, under the sink, and for shower and bathtub areas as well. Since bathrooms are full of small things, they can easily be organized in small bins, baskets or boxes.

Eliminate the Chaos of Home Office Clutter

The home office has slowly become the foundation of the modern day household. We pay the bills, organize recipe files and photo albums and develop calendars and schedules on our computers, and some of us make a living from here. With so many different activities happening here, it's easy to see how it can easily become the most disorganized and unkempt area of the home. A clean organized desk and home office can save time, stress and even money if we work from home. So if you're feeling overwhelmed by your messy desk and disorganized office, take a good hard look and see what's overwhelming your order the most.

Mail is probably the biggest contributing factor to our messy desktops. Get in the habit of dealing with your mail on a daily basis. Toss what you can, place those things that need to be shredded into a shredding bin and shred them once per week, and file the rest away properly. This might also be the time to update your filing system and make folders for current years or months.

Another culprit of office clutter is computer storage media such as CDs, DVDs and floppy disks. Take the time to ensure each is properly labeled and placed in a protective file or case. Categorize and alphabetize them for easy access.

If you have an office area that is commonly used by all family members, it can easily become cluttered with glasses, coffee cups, food wrappers and dirty dishes. Since computer equipment can easily be damaged should something spill on it, it's probably wise to impose a rule forbidding eating and drinking while using the computer. This would lessen the clutter at the same time. If you spend a considerable amount of time during the day in your office and your office space is large enough, provide for an area far from the computer and other electronic equipment where food and drink can be set without the fear of ruining equipment should a spill occur.

If you utilize a bulletin board, take the time to make sure all the items posted on it are current. If not, take them down and file away or toss. Make sure your calendar is always displaying the current month so you can see the month's activities and appointments in an easy glance.

Office supplies have a way of easily cluttering up our workspace as well. Take the extra time to clean out and organize desk drawers if necessary and make sure all office supplies have a home other than the top of your desk.

With some forethought, planning and discipline, your home office can become and stay productive, efficient and serene.