How to Pare Down and Pack Up Before a Bathroom Remodel
Preparing for a bathroom remodel can be quite a time investment. Vetting and selecting a design-and-build team can be a huge task on its own. Choosing bathroom fixtures, fittings, finishes and colors might also take many hours.
Once the date of the demolition has been set, I recommend scheduling a little more time to pare down bathroom supplies and pack remaining items in an organized fashion. Once the remodel is finished, you can move only items you truly want and need into your new space. Read on to learn how to prepare for a tidy and uncluttered new bathroom.
I suggest starting the process early, especially if you are remodeling a large primary bathroom. You might be surprised by how much you have stashed away at the backs of drawers and cabinets.
Before you start, consider collecting products and tools used on a daily basis for bathing, hairstyling, teeth cleaning, nail care, shaving and skincare. Include frequently used makeup, eye care products and a few cleaning products. Corral items into a basket or other container and relocate them to use elsewhere.
Purge and Pack by Category
To start, consider collecting some sturdy boxes and packing paper for breakable items. I suggest working on one category at a time to avoid a jumbled mess. Cover your floor with a clean sheet or tarp. Remove all items in one category from drawers and cabinets and lay them out on the floor. Think about paring down items that are worn out, expired or no longer used. Pack the items you decide to keep in a box, taking care to wrap breakables in packing paper.
Clearly label the contents on the outside of each carton. Decide on a good place to store the boxes during the renovation, such as a garage or basement. It is not necessary to pack them with the same care as you would when moving.
Next up: deciding what to keep and what to toss in each category.
Cosmetics. Many of my clients store large quantities of unused makeup under bathroom sinks or at the backs of drawers. Because cosmetics can be quite expensive, they may be difficult to part with. However, makeup has a shelf life and cannot be saved indefinitely. I recommend tossing anything that has expired.
After you pare down, there may be quite a lot of makeup left. Consider using up what you already own before purchasing new beauty products in the future.
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Hair tools and products. Remove all hairstyling tools, such as combs, brushes, hair dryers, curling irons, flat irons, hot rollers and hair accessories. Consider culling your supply of brushes and combs if you own more than you need. Throw away any broken tools and consider donating any unused items that are in good condition.
Many of my clients hold on to partially full bottles of haircare products that they never use, which may end up cluttering the shower or taking up space under the sink. Often they do not meet people’s needs, but guilt over the expense keeps them there.
Haircare products also have a shelf life. Consider tossing hair spray, shampoo, conditioner and hair gel that are more than a few years old. Again, consider finishing partially used products before purchasing new ones. Having many half-empty containers of shampoo and conditioner will distract from the beauty of your new shower. You can help avoid clutter by tossing any products you know you will never use.
Small hotel beauty products and free samples of cosmetics. Often I uncover an overabundance of free samples and small containers of hotel beauty products when decluttering clients’ bathrooms. It may be tempting to stockpile free products, but keep in mind that they take up valuable real estate in bathroom storage. In addition, these products may be past their prime or expired.
If you have a large supply of small beauty products, consider paring down or using them up during the remodel. Save a few in your travel bag or guest room, and consider donating the rest to a local homeless shelter. Toss any that have expired.
Over-the-counter and prescription medicines. Remove all prescription and over-the-counter drugs from your medicine cabinet. Consider consolidating multiple opened containers of the same medicine, such as ibuprofen. Check carefully to make sure the medication is the same drug, dosage and expiration date.
Examine the expiration dates on all medicines. There is some disagreement on the effectiveness of drugs after their expiration date. However, according to the Food and Drug Administration, expired medicine can be less effective or even dangerous due to a change in chemical composition or a decrease in strength. Certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth, and subpotent antibiotics can fail to treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance. Check with your pharmacist or local law enforcement agency to find a location to dispose of unused medications.
If there is not a drug take-back program in your area, the FDA recommends flushing any medications that contain opioids down the toilet because of their potential for abuse. Remove other medications from their package, mix with dirt or kitty litter, and seal in a plastic bag. Take off all identifying information from the prescription containers and place everything in the trash.
Bathroom towels. If you do not have a linen closet in your home, you might store your bath towels in your bathroom. If they’re worn, frayed or faded, you might consider replacing them. You most likely will not want to hang worn-out towels in your brand-new bathroom.
You could check with a local animal shelter about donating used bath towels. Another option might be to cut up the towels and use them as cleaning rags.
Cleaning products. It’s a good idea to remove any large containers of bleach or floor cleaner and store them in another part of your house. When the bathroom is completed, you might want to keep a small container of an all-purpose cleaner and a few microfiber cloths under the bathroom sink to clean water marks and toothbrush splatters from the countertop and mirror. Avoid clutter in your new bathroom by storing other cleaning products elsewhere.
Once you have purged toiletries and packed remaining items in a systematic fashion, it should be painless to organize your new space. Also, keeping your bathroom tidy might be easier moving forward.