When was the last time you took time to clean out your bathroom spaces? I find it is easy to stash many small things in this room without dealing with them. See how you do with this quiz.

1. When was the last time you bought nice, new towels for your bathroom?

2. How many old towels have you saved “just in case you need them”?

3. How many medicines and lotions are expired?

4. How many products have you saved that you replaced with products you like better and still saved the old ones?

5. When was the last time you took inventory of your first aid supplies and tossed items you will never use?

6. When was the last time you changed toothbrushes?

It might be time to do a complete decluttering and organizing of your bathroom to make it a peaceful, easy-to-use space. As I say before any decluttering job, gather a garbage bag, a donate box, and a “put somewhere else” box. Next, set up a work space like a card table to work on.

Start one of two ways. You can either pull out all like things, like all of your linens. Or you can pull out everything from one shelf. Either way, by the end of this project, everything should end up on the table to sort.

Now, begin sorting and putting back only what you use. How many spare towels does one need? A couple of sets that you love could be enough. Animal shelters would be happy to get your donations to use.

Go through your medicines and lotions. For safety and environmental reasons, most of these should not be just thrown in the garbage. The Michigan State Police has a container to dump pills in their building on M-32. It is surprising how quickly expired medicines accumulate.

How about hair products, makeup, hotel shampoos and lotions you haven’t used up but no longer love? Give yourself permission to start fresh and throw out what you no longer use. Otherwise, set aside your favorites you are using and use up these extras first.

First aid supplies can start looking rough and may even lose their effectiveness. Old toothbrushes need to be replaced to be at their best. Go through everything and see if you need to make a list to shop for new items.

Now, as you put back what you use into your spaces, is it time to corral all your items you have loose? Maybe you would like to get some containers to hold all the things that are alike as you put them on your shelves and in drawers.

An organized, decluttered bathroom can make getting ready in the morning and going to bed at night a faster, more productive time.

Doris Puls, of D & O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.