Learn how to use the KonMari method of organizing bathroom komono so you can find everything you need right when you need it!
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New to this series? I’m decluttering my home once and for all using the KonMari method from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up! Today, we’re still working on the fourth category – komono (also known as miscellaneous) – but we’re focusing on bathroom komono!
It’s been a little while since I shared about organizing your living spaces, so I’m really excited to keep plowing ahead! If you’ve been following along and tidying with me, I hope you are as excited as I am about the results you are seeing in your home.
To review quickly, Marie Kondo breaks down the decluttering process into five main categories – clothes, books, paper, komono, and sentimental.
Komono (also called miscellaneous) is a huge category, so I’ve broken it down into more manageable smaller subcategories – living spaces, kitchen, bath, and other.
I referenced both The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as well as the companion book Spark Joy to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Let’s get started with organizing bathroom komono!
The items listed below seemed to fall most logically under bathroom spaces. I tackled them one at a time.
- skincare products
- cosmetics/makeup
- perfumes
- oral hygeine products
- hair products
- hair styling equipment
- medicines
- feminine products
- toilet products
- linens (towels, etc.)
- bedding (sheets, blankets, etc.)
- relaxation items (candles, oils)
The majority of our bathroom komono is located in the recessed medicine cabinets in our downstairs bathroom. I started by pulling everything out.
First, I separated the items into small categories (deodarants, skincare, oral hygeine, medicines, etc.). I spread everything out on my kitchen table so that I was able to see what I had actually been storing.
I went through each category and threw away anything that I didn’t use or love (or as Marie says “sparks joy”). Some of these piles were easier to attack than others (like expired medicines) and sometimes it took me going through each small pile a couple of times until I felt good about it.
We keep other items in our linen closet in the hall next to our bathroom, so I did the same thing with the items in that space. I had accumulated a ton of items back when I was an “extreme couponer” that I simply didn’t use or need. Those got pitched pretty quickly!
After I was done downstairs, I worked on the kid’s linen closet located upstairs in their bathroom. I had organized their bathroom a couple of years ago when we remodeled it, so it wasn’t as bad. It still needed some fine tuning though.
Finally, I tackled the linens and bedding. I don’t tend to keep many sheets or blankets due to space constraints, but I had to really think about towels.
It felt really wasteful to get rid of so many towels and wash clothes, but they were old and definitely didn’t spark any joy whatsoever! 🙂
Now that I’ve gone through the bathroom komono items in my home, here are some tips and tricks that might help you to get started.
Tips & Tricks from the KonMari Method of Organizing Bathroom Komono
1. Subdivide bathroom komono items and tackle each one at a time.
I’ve included a printable below and I’d recommend using it as you go through this process. This will prevent overwhelm and you can tackle each subcategory, one at a time. Since some of these categories are smaller, you can stop and start more easily without feeling like your entire house is in chaos.
2. Pull out ALL the items in your subcategory.
I can’t recommend this enough! It helps so much to be able to see what you actually have. You may think you don’t have a lot, but you’ll be able to see it all in one place and make better decisions about what you should keep.
3. Re-examine your “spark joy” meter.
Many of the items in the komono category may not “spark joy” in the normal sense, but they are necessary. I don’t love owning Ibuprofen, but I do enjoy the results of taking it to relieve a headache. There are many items like this that are helpful and useful, so of course I keep them!
4. Discard expired products immediately.
If any items or medications have expired, then discard them immediately! Let the expiration date be your guide and don’t spend much mental energy on products that are out of date.
5. Examine whether the item is actually needed.
If you are tidying for the first time, it’s likely that your life has changed a lot since you first purchased many of these items. If you are no longer using the item, then let them go. Don’t think about whether you may need it later, evaluate whether you need it (or are using it) now!
This can be a challenge – it was for me! After too much analysis, I finally decided to pitch my glucometer and test strips from when I had gestational diabetes over 5 years ago!
6. Remember that most things can be replaced very easily.
This helped me feel better about discarding my glucometer. If I ever need one again, I have good insurance that would help cover much of the cost and our budget could absorb the rest.
The reality is that most of the items you discard could be replaced very easily, should you ever regret your decision. Even though this is true, I have never regretted discarding my items.
7. Determine a simple storage solution.
I’ll likely share an entire post on some of my favorite storage items, but my advice for now is to keep it simple. I like to store like items together, either in jars or small plastic baskets from Target or Walmart or The Dollar Tree. You can even use things like shoeboxes.
After I have completed this entire process, I’ll probably go back and make the storage areas “look prettier” because I enjoy that part of the process. I know I’ll like my organized linen closet better with a fresh coat of paint or perhaps some removable wallpaper that I’ve been eyeing from Amazon! 😉
8. Label as needed.
Labels may or may not be necessary in your space. Either way, keep it simple.
In our home, we are still working on putting things back in their home, so the labels help. Right now, I use my no frills labelmaker and it does the trick just fine. There are lots of fun options for this if you want to have some fun with it!
9. Get rid of the discarded items as quickly as you can.
Get rid of the discarded items soon! Part of the fun of this decluttering process is the momentum you are building as you see the results of your efforts.
Unless you have some high ticket bathroom komono items that you want to sell for cash, the majority of these discarded items will likely be thrown away. You may choose to donate some things, but don’t waste too much effort on finding homes for all your old lotions or hairbrushes. Give yourself a week at most!
You may feel wasteful doing this, but you don’t want this discarding process to slow down your momentum. And realistically, if you don’t want the items, no one else will want them either! 🙂
Conclusions
As I continue this process, it’s getting easier and easier to let go of items. I’ve already realized that I’m more attached to my belongings than I ever imagined, but I’m getting better and faster as discarding.
I had been holding onto so much stuff from years and years ago and it felt so good to get rid of it all! I had a huge stash of old product when I was a consultant for a skincare company. I had medications from when I had delivered my babies.
Now that I realize how little I actually need, I’m so much more careful about what I actually purchase. I don’t want to add anything back that will quickly become clutter.
The less cluttered my home looks, the more and more motivated I am to continue. You better watch out because I may be a minimalist by the end of this process – haha! 🙂
Let’s Get Started
I hope you’ll stick with me and give this a try because I think you’ll find the results to be worth all the effort. To help you along in the process, I’ve created a short checklist to help you use the KonMari method to organize bathroom komono.
I’m giving you an entire month to work through this process with your komono items in your bathrooms, which should give you enough time to get it done and not completely disrupt your entire home.
Check back next month for the next subcategory within the komono category! We’ll be addressing kitchen items next, so get excited!!
If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it here:
Here are all of the posts in the KonMari Method series:
The KonMari Method: Organizing Clothes
The KonMari Method: Organizing Books
The KonMari Method: Organizing Papers
The KonMari Method: Organizing Komono in Living Spaces
The KonMari Method: Organizing Bathroom Komono (you’re here!)
