Earlier this year, when we were living in a hotel, we had a TV for the first time in two years. We rarely turned it on, except for a few days when sidelined with the flu—at which time we managed to catch some episodes of House Hunters on HGTV.
I’m always amused when buyers on such shows complain that a bathroom doesn’t have double sinks or a Jacuzzi tub. As a renter, I’m just happy if it’s clean, the toilet flushes, and hot water comes out of the taps. It’s a special bonus if it’s not covered in garish-colored tiles, or sporting fake wood cabinets.
So anyway, I thought I’d share photos of my minimalist bathroom with you today. Not because it’s particularly special, but because it isn’t particularly ugly—and I know you guys always like pictures. Few of us will ever have the kind of spa-like retreats pictured in design magazines, so I thought it’d be fun to show a real life example. A minimalist bathroom doesn’t have to have marble tile, fancy fixtures, or an orchid on the countertop. By keeping things simple and clutter-free, even a basic bathroom can be serene and soothing.
I know someone will add “sterile”—but hey, it’s a rental! :) We’re forbidden to paint or hang stuff on the walls, so there’s little opportunity for personalization. Looking at these photos, I think a small bowl of flowers on top of the cabinet would look lovely; however, it’s the only work surface in the entire room, and a decorative object would compete with more practical things (like hairbrushes, toothbrushes, etc.) when the space is in use. In my opinion, a bathroom is first and foremost a functional space, so bare it shall likely remain.
Since I’ve been moving around so much, this is my fifth bathroom in less than a year. Here’s a few things I commonly do in my quick and cheap makeovers:
1. Pretty shower curtain. Actually, this is our first place in the past year that didn’t have a glass screen. In this case we replaced a dingy yellow curtain, and it’s amazing how this simple aesthetic change makes me smile every morning. My personal preference is something white or translucent, and PVC-free.
2. Adequate storage. We have a small cabinet to keep things off the floor and sink. Inside, there are two shelves: one for my toiletries, the other for my husband’s.
3. White towels. They’re not visible in the above shots, but they’re there.
4. Little touch of color. I chose an aqua bath rug because I love the color (it also matches my Dr. Bronner’s over there in the tub!). Alternatively, you may choose to add color with your towels or shower curtain.
5. Multi-purpose products. I became accustomed to using soap/shampoo combos while traveling, and love how they prevent a hodgepodge of items from gathering in the bath.
6. Clutter-free surfaces. Keeping things tucked away means more maneuverability in a small space—in other words, no worries about knocking a bottle onto the floor or a toothbrush into the toilet. Clear surfaces are also more hygienic, and easier to clean.
7. Clean, clean, clean. In my opinion, fresh and sparkling trumps fancy and expensive any day. Consider using natural cleansers like baking soda and vinegar—they’re kinder to the environment, and save you from having to buy (and store) a variety of specialty products.
Certainly, my humble bathroom will never grace the pages of a shelter magazine. However, I hope it provides a little inspiration to clear out the clutter, and make the best of what you have!
What are your techniques for keeping clutter out of the bathroom?
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
I like you simple bathroom, hate having toothbrushes, soap etc on display.
We use a plant and a candle as decoration.(both are also great air fresheners) The kids have a couple of colorful toys around the bath too. My bathroom is very similar to this: http://homedesigninterior.com/2009/02/02/minimalist-bathroom-interior-design/
I really like that bathroom, actually. I like the *lack* of storage space, and surfaces. You can’t clutter up a space that isn’t there. :)
I like your idea of keeping things clean. I didn’t know you could use baking soda as a cleaner. will try that next time for sure! I bet your husband helps keeping surfaces clean. Unfortunately, my boyfriend isn’t as helpful and doesn’t care much for neatness and cleanliness. Ugh! so i try to keep everything out of his reach :) one of the main reasons on keeping rooms to a minimalist decor!
Love your pictures!
PAULA
Same here: the less stuff that’s about, the less stuff hubby can leave lying around. I’m constantly making stuff disappear, and it’s rare that he even notices it’s not in our lives anymore. ;)
I have always been the type of person who uses the built-in medicine cabinet for my toiletries, and that includes toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair gel, and floss. It’s out of sight. On top of the commode is body/hand lotion, a box of matches, and some incense sticks. Like you, we’ve been using natural cleaners for years and multi-use products for shampoo/conditioner/soap. The result? Super easy to clean!
Thanks for sharing, Francine! You continue to be my inspiration.
More pictures! I love the no-frills bathroom you have here. The shower curtain and rug is a nice touch to personalise the space a little. I get annoyed when they ask for too much in House Hunters as well. I was in the US for 3 months and I was addicted to HGTV.
I would love to have a neat and clear bathroom like this, but unfortunately, I seem to have such terrible luck when renting. All of the places that are available seem to be filled with the stupidest furniture and a complete lack of useful storage. My bathroom currently has an enormous 5 level open shelf, so everything is visible and a bit cluttered looking, with no other storage options for towels, laundry supplies, etc. No room left for a new piece of furniture that is smaller or has cabinet doors.
And could you maybe give up a bit more description of how the shelves are organized? I find that hair and skin care, makeup, nail care, tooth care, medicines, etc. would be difficult to organize on a his and hers single shelf system. Somethings, like medicines or nail trimmers, are for both of us, so where would these go? You are lucky if your toiletry needs are so minimal. I have dispensed with many of the products most women find necessary, like shampoo and make up remover, by using multipurpose products instead, but extremely dry skin means that I need several kinds of moisturizers everyday, which I usually by in large tubs because I go through them quickly. There is no way I could fit all of my creams and oils on a single shelf.
Hi J,
I would buy two wicker baskets – One for your husband’s products and one for your products. The two baskets can neatly contain your goods. You can also have a third smaller basket for ‘unisex’ items. Whatever doesn’t fit into these baskets can go. It’s a great stopping point for accumulation.
With regards to the moisturiser, it sounds like you could possibly be deficient in essential fatty acids? Using several different kinds of moisturisers every day is not particularly normal and it’s not addressing the underlying issue at hand.
Best of luck in your endeavours.
I think the baskets is a good idea. We are looking to move houses in a couple of months, so I will hold off buying anything until I see what the new place has. If it has a cabinet with doors or drawers, then I wouldn’t need them, so here’s hoping!
As for the moisturizer, yes, it is not normal and it is not addressing the underlying issue. But that issue is a lifelong condition with no known cure, so all I can do at the moment is deal with the symptoms. I will look into the fatty acids though, as I am always looking for ways to improve my health and if it helps my skin then I am all for it!
Oh J, I’m so sorry to hear that your skin condition was a lifelong one. Apologies if I came across in a bad way. I do hope you can find some relief with fatty acid supplementation (assuming you were deficient in any).
Good luck house hunting and I hope you find the house you’ve been wanting. :)
Doors and drawers definitely make it a lot easier to keep everything under control. Another way to have uniformity is to purchase some nice looking glass pump containers to store your different moisturisers/oils/creams in. Line them up neatly across the bathroom shelving. When the pump is empty, just re-fill from the bulk tub. You would be able to still have the convenience of having the moisturisers at your disposal without having the unsightly and huge tubs they came in, sitting on your bathroom shelving. You could store them elsewhere (e.g kitchen cupboard).
J- Could you hand a simple white curtain over the front of your 5 shelf unit to at least conceal everything? Just a thought!
I had that shower curtain in my previous apartment & loved it! I’m with you on the minimalist bathroom. The items we have out in the tub include my shampoo, my husbands shampoo/body wash, and a small bottle of unscented Dr Bronner’s. On the back of the toilet is
a box of tissue, and there’s a hand soap pump by the sink. Our minimal extra toiletries are neatly arranged under the sink and in the medicine cabinet.
I would love to replace my shampoo with Dr Bronner’s, but it doesn’t seem to work for my fine, thin hair. Any readers have any suggestions for making it work?
For conditioning, I use a very light leave-in conditioner – saves time and means one less bottle in the shower.
Baking soda and lemon is a killer cleaner! I save the lemon peels after I’ve juiced them and use them as scouting pads with baking soda – smells great!
That is an awesome idea, to use lemon peels with baking soda as a scouring pad! I will be looking for more ways to use lemons, lol!
That should be scouring, not scouting!
@J- a couple of small decorative boxes could conceal most supplies – perhaps mark one as his, one as hers, and one as ours? My shower items are decanted from larger containers, which are stored elsewhere, as the bottles are so large they won’t fit well on the shelf.
I love the pictures! Your minimalist bath is perfect. We use little baskets in our bathroom to keep things clean and out of sight. One for tp, one for towels, and one for toiletries/ medicines.
I have a squirt bottle made for showers that I have my Dr. Bronner’s soap in. It hangs on the shower wall by a hefty suction cup. Keeps it out of the way, but still convenient.
LOVE this! I’ve been using baking soda and vinegar in bathrooms for years. Keeps ’em sparkling without any perfumy smell. (The vinegar smell dissipates as soon as it dries.)
We’re full time travelers so I keep all of my toiletries in the best hanging toiletry bag ever (I ought to know–I bought three others before settling on this one!) which keeps everything out of the way and tidy–not to mention easy to access.
So where did you get the best toiletry bag ever??
Maureen, You definitely have to share your toiletry bag! Hubby and I just got back from a cmaping tip and I was just saying I need a small simple hanging bag for the bathouse!
My bathroom has gone through an evolution in the last six months and looks similar to yours now. I used to have shelves over the toilet that were crammed full of clutter and nearly every inch of my countertop was covered with make-up, brushes, lotion, soap, etc. I began my purge last December and have purged twice more since. Each time I realized I needed/used less stuff than I thought.
Now I have a brush, toothbrush & toothpaste in a silver cup and a small jar for cotton balls and swabs on the countertop. The shelves are long gone. There is nothing on the back of the toilet. Frequently used items are in the medicine cabinet. All other items are stored by category in 3 shoe-box sized plastic bins under the sink. Even the trash bin is tucked away out of sight in the undersink cabinet.
I used to think there wasn’t enough storage in the bathroom, but in reality once all the extraneous stuff I didn’t use was gone, there was plenty of space to neatly organize the stuff I do use and put it away out of sight. I love how tidy and serene my bathroom looks now. It is so easy to keep clean too.
Thank you for writing the book that inspired me to declutter my life!
This reminds me of something I’ve been thinking about recently. I keep wishing every room was more like my bathroom. It never gets messy (I suppose because I never really bring anything into it or take anything out of it). It can be cleaned without needing to move anything or pick anything up and without a combination of hoovers, dusters etc. Every single surface just gets wiped with a wet cloth and a spray of something. Nothing ever gets out of place or looks messy. It never gets cluttered because I’m not the sort of person who impulse buys toiletries. My husband and I share a tiny shower room but it feels one of the most spacious rooms in the house. Our bathrobes hang on the door, our towels over the heated rail, two small baskets of cleaning products and spare new toiletry bottles live on a shelf under the basin. On the basin is a soapdish, on the wall above a tootbrush holder and on a small wire shelf in the shower is: my husband’s shampoo and shower gel, my shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, a pumice stone, our razors and a squeegee for the shower screen. That’s it. That’s all I own or use apart from moisturiser and deodorant that lives in my bedside cabinet. Mecicines and first aid are in a cupboard elsewhere. I never want to buy anything else – I don’t even think about it. I never end up with the ‘just in case’ stuff or ‘I don’t really like it anymore’ stuff or ‘I like it but never really use it stuff’ that plagues other areas of my life.
I suppose this speaks volumes about my behaviour rather than bathrooms per se. I need to behave with my other posessions (clothes etc) as I do with the stuff in the bathroom. It’s funny how I’m effortlessly minimalist with this and naturally a clutterbug with other things.
Does anyone else have the same experience?
I think I have the opposite problem! I have no problem purging everything in my life (clothes, I own 3 books, etc.) except a few bathroom things. I tend not to use much, but the problem for me is having duplicates. When I buy toothpaste, I buy two, because I work 80+ hours a week and it is just easier to reach into the “duplicates bin” than to remember to put it on a list and find the time to shop for it. I have gotten better about this and go through the bin about once a month to see if there is anything I am no longer using. Overall I keep my things to a minimum, but it is difficult to get rid of the “duplicates” bin after moving to a much smaller area of the country, where it is a long drive to get to a store and once you get there, they never offer anything!
I have tried to reconsider the few things I do use to see if I could use a shampoo/conditioner combo, etc. My practical nature prevents this currently because I do not believe in wasting what I have. Once I use up everything and then the duplicates, I want to find these multi-purpose items! What are some of the items everyone else likes and uses? I would like a few ideas to get me started! :)
Love your clean bathroom! My husband & I keep our toiletries in travel cases that we tuck in the sink drawers. It keeps our sink vanity from being covered in clutter and if we have to quickly travel, everything is already packed!
Such a clean, simple and functional bathroom! I love it.
My husband’s dermatologist higly recommended he use a certain brand of shampoo and I could not think of any reason I should not use it, too, so we share it. I could use it to wash my body as well but he can’t get his mind around that concept so we have a bottle of body wash in our shower, too. By the sink we keep a soap dispenser that we fill with the same body wash, a small glass for taking my morning medicine, and a box of Kleenex. We do hang our toothbrushes, though, as they never dried out when we tried storing them in the medicine cabinet.
I purchase my shampoo, conditioner, and Dr. Bronner’s in bulk at the coop, so I have three containers that I reuse over and over again. This keeps me from having back-up containers of product, in case I run out. I also use handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues, which is less wasteful, and again, keeps me from having back-up packages around the house. Baking soda is also great for brushing teeth. I use the same container of baking soda for brushing my teeth and cleaning the bathroom – I also get that in bulk from the coop. Other stuff goes behind the mirror, and there’s less and less of that stuff as I find I don’t need it.
p.s. My library just purchased several copies of your book at my request, and I can’t wait to read it!
Just be careful with brushing your teeth with baking soda! It can damage the enamel on your teeth.
Please can we have more pictures on people’s minimilist homes? It is very inspiring and I am sure we would all love it!!
Like several people have commented here, your book has been a real inspiration to me and has brought so many benefits to our daily life. Thank you Francine!
Francine? Could we have a “minimalist’s homes” gallery post? If we could e-mail in a picture or two and you compile them? I think Kat has a great idea here and we could all get inspiration/advice/encouragement from each other!
Absolutely — I’d love that!
If anyone wants to share photos, please email them to me. I’ll also put out a general call for photos for those who don’t follow the Comments.
Brilliant idea. :)
We have 2 bathrooms one for the kids and guest use and one that is mine. the hall bath is very simple. The tub shower combo has glass doors so no need for a curtain and I bought a 3 compartment soap dispenser for the shower that holds shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. It helps keep the shower area free of messy bottle clutter and helps the kids use an appropriate amount of product so reduces waste. There is a hook by the shower to hold the towel. Nothing on the back of the toilet and only a candle and air freshener on the built-in shelf about the toilet. There is no medicine cabinet so the counter near the sink has a cup that holds all of the toothbrushes and toothpaste. A roll of tp sits on the other side of the long counter near the toilet. I have another soap dispenser hanging on the wall near the sink that holds liquid hand soap. A few cleaning supplies are under the sink but the rest of the drawers and cabinets are empty! There are 2 dark colored rugs on the floor and the cat’s litter box since I haven’t found a better place for it yet.
My bathroom has 2 areas and is part of a walk in closet, weird. I rent. The shower toilet area has 1 small rug near the shower, a scale and waste basket behind toilet. A curtain is on the shower as there is no door. Inside I have a razor that hangs on the wall, shampoo and conditioner in small pump top bottles (that I refill from larger ones that live in the linen closet)a bar of soap and a scrub puff. In the sink/closet area I only keep a small amount of make-up, toothbrush, toothpaste and floss, blow dryer, straightener, lotion and a few pieces of jewelry. The other side of the space is my closet.
Not bad for a family of 8 ;-)
Have you done a post on your minimalist makeup/beauty care routine? That would be fun to read.
amen and amen! my bathroom, like the rest of my house is lovingly, cozily (to me) minimal! i place clean and neat above all else. and it’s soooooo easy when there’s no clutter!
i had to stop watching that show because it raised my blood pressure. the perspective buyer… (whiningly says) “oh we’ll have to change out the whole kitchen. i must have granite counter tops.” and the kitchen we are seeing is clean and perfectly fine. spoiled. and notice how they always take the one they can’t really afford?!!!! are we paying to bail them all out now?
blood pressure down since giving up tv. lol.
I redid my bathroom by purging everything including the decor and started over. Instead of the basket filled with soaps and crystals, etc., that sat on the back of the toilet in what I thought was at least an organized presentation, now has only a decorative candle. I tossed the basket. I limit myself to one kind of bath crystals at a time and store it in the med cabinet out of sight. I took down the pics and left one pretty long rectangular italian vineyard scene for the wall and have a pretty ceramic toothbrush holder with matching soap dish. And a clock on the wall above the door. It’s just how I like it; minimal, yet beautiful. I cleaned out all my products after finding I use the same things every day and have just a few items. The only thing I wish I had in the bathroom was a window for fresh air and lower humidity. But my “new” bathroom makes me happy everytime I visit! By the way, it’s not wierd having a clock in the bathroom is it? It just seems practical to me.
Cynthia, the clock isn’t weird at all. We have one on our shower radio and I consult it all the time. My mom has a very small decorative one that sits next to her soap dish, but I like clear surfaces. :-)
I loved our last bathroom. It had no storage, so we had one of those fold-out nylon IKEA boxes on the floor next to the sink with our two toiletries bags in it. Sink, toilet, radiator, tub. The only colour I needed was the towl hanging on the radiator. It was super easy to clean, and just breathed space.
Has anyone else heard of Dr. Wood’s soap? I used it a while ago after using Dr. Bronner’s. It has shea butter in it (and I think its cheaper than Bronner’s) and I could definitely tell the difference. Because of the shea butter I didn’t have to use conditioner and used less moisturizer. Unfortunately I’ve now moved to a new state and they don’t sell it at any of the stores I go to so I might end up buying it online.
Dr. Woods is sold alongside Dr. Bronners in many of the health stores in my area. They look so similar and have so many of the same ingredients, I’m surprised it isn’t more popular. I’ve only used it once though and I mixed with Dr. Bronners when they were both running low. Can’t say I’m displeased with the results. Now that I think of it, I have yet to find any need to use lotion after bathing since using it.
Francine, we have the exact same sink in our current apartment here in DC! Fancy that :)
Thanks for sharing, + I agree ~ the more streamlined + functional the bathroom, the better. (And also, less to clean!)
I was at a dear friend’s apartment recently, and was awed by the number of products, bottles and THINGS in their tiny bathroom! It reminded me of why I embrace the idea of ‘enough’. One shampoo, one razor, one cleanser. Just enough.
Well your minimalist bathroom. I like it.
We don’t have the most minimal bathroom in the world – too many different kinds of sunscreen, his and hers products, etc. – but I have one item that I’ve used twice daily for the past three years and I just love it. There’s no built-in toothbrush holder in our current apartment, so I use a Smiley toothbrush holder which is suctioned to the mirror. http://www.smileytoothbrushholder.com/index.html
The smiley face can be removed from the suction cup for use as a travel cover.
I thought I recognized the bottle of Dr. Bronner’s! I prefer his bar soap for showering, but use the liquid for other things.
When we moved in to our current apartment my first reaction was how small the bathroom and the kitchen was. How could they possibly fit all my things?! They didn’t of course so I tried to find ways to store even more stuff. We put up shelves in the bathroom put hangers on the door but it still wasn’t enough. Then one day someone asked me when our apartment was built and naturally curious as I am I had to find out. It turns out it was built in the late fourties for crowded city families, and the condition to get your hands on one of these apartments was a minimum of three children(!) Puzzled by this knowledge I started questioning what had changed over the last decades. Why is it that something that was spacious for a big family in the late fourties had become small for a family of 3 only 60something years later? They had everything they needed to get by, right? And so the purging began. Now only a year later I find both the kitchen (especially the kitchen) and the bathroom to have TOO MUCH storing. Funny how things change. Thanks for a great post!
I have a tiny bathroom and have the working toiletries on a shelf beside the sink;toothbrush-paste-floss plus deodorant, shampoo and conditioner. A small container for tools. Replacements and less “sightly” items, or those not in daily use, are stored in a hollow stool. One towel rail and one towel out at a time. Clean and streamlined. I don’t have decorative objects in my bathroom as I don’t like cleaning around clutter but I do have a cheerful gingham curtain which is no trouble; chuck in the washer, quick iron and back up there and daisy-fresh. I’m really working to reduce the “stock” of toiletries to the bare minimum, too. Isn’t overbuying these an almost universal problem?! ;) Love your simple shower curtain, Francine, it’s my sort of style, too.
wow.. nice post
In my current apartment best part is we have separate bathroom, toilet and sink. Things require for each area gets divided and it does not look cluttered at all. We keep each area with minimum possible supplies like sink has only toothpaste + 2 toothbrushes + hand wash liquid in pump; bathroom has 2 smallest possible shampoo bottles + soap, toilet has cleaning liquid + brush. So one shelf in bathroom & toilet each is more than enough.
I could achieve minimalism by taking inspiration from Miss Minimalist’s posts…
Keep writing … Keep inspiring
Hello there!
I am lucky too not to have ugly tile ;) My bathroom is white inside as well and I have opted out of taking showers. The reason is that the tub I have is one of those long, clawfoot creatures that has more or less a ‘shower ring’ around it. I used to need two curtains for it so that it would go all the way around and not get water everywhere. Water STILL managed to get everywhere. The wall the tub is up against is water damaged; I have to hang something over it, and my cream-coloured throw blanket does the trick! Besides, the other apartments I lived in were only shower stalls and I LOVE taking baths, using salts and oils to soothe my stresses away. Most of my things are also in the medicine cabinet and like most of you guys I use multi purpose cleaners and Br. Bronner’s soap (Eucalyptus is such a clean scent!) and vinegar…it feels good not needing makeup and hair products of every kind imaginable. It makes travelling less of a hassle.
Francine..I was thinking the same thing as well. Many buyers on “House Hunters” forego some of the simplest and nicest homes because they aren’t huge or loaded with extra items and luxuries. People tend to forget that after a while, a gigantic shower, jacuzzi bath and other add-ons are just something else that needs to be cleaned and/or maintained. IMO, it detracts from the serenity of the space.
My wife and I have separate baths, and in mine I have only a simple painting hanging on the wall. Nothing on the back of the toilet and no extra clutter. It makes for a relaxing bath or shower.
@ “J”..Would you consider hanging a tailored, yet simple curtain over your bathroom shelf? I lived in an apartment years ago with a fixture likfe this and a curtain did wonders and hid my items.
One refillable bottle of liquid ‘soap’ which serves as soap/shampoo/foam bath/body wash.
One toothbrush.
One tube of toothpaste.
One towel – stand on the end of it and it’s a bathmat too :)
Personally, I love it. Its exactly the way a bathroom should look. :)
i’m pretty much like wendy, but i have a husband and kid, so there are other tooth brushes and towels.
Dh is way more fancy pants than I — he wanted a bathmat (found a used one in our packed stuff that a friend left behind), and he also uses several more products and wants them in easy reach (even if he doesn’t use them all the time). Kinda makes me bats, because all we have is an open shelf. LOL Well, we have a very small “linen closet” and I would rather put things not generally in use all the time up there, but whatever. he’s not as minimalist as I am. What can I say? LOL
but clean is everything.
Can I ask where you found that lovely shower curtain? I’m in the market for something simple and fresh to replace our old, dingy brown curtain.
In defense of House Hunters, these people are shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a place they plan to live in for a couple of years. With such a big investment, they have a right to be picky.
But if you want to see the truly outrageous, watch Say Yes to the Dress on TLC. $5000 for a dress you only plan to wear once? You know how many flights to Asia I can go for that amount of money?
House Hunters – let me give you a little background. The buyers have already gone under contract on the house and are looking at a few others just to show the audience what is available. First, HGTV contacts the local real estate association for a few contact names. They call the office and ask if anyone has an available client and homes that would meet their criteria. Next, they film and finally it is shown on tv. Same is true for most HGTV programs. They film and it is all set up for the camera. They use local freinds, relatives and such to say ‘ewwww’ to the house, go in and re-do it, and have the same people ‘ohhhh’ and ‘awwww’ over it for the camera. It is all a set up. They use cheap materials as well. As for House Hunters, I know – I worked in a real estate office where we were contacted and refused. They used another office, the couple found their home (which they were under contract already) and the properties not chosen were homes that had been on the market by other realtors in their office. To add insult to injury, once the home was purchased, the owners had it less than a year when fire almost gutted the place. I see many of the homes from my town seen on HGTV have been short saled, foreclosed or the owners flipped and went belly-up. I live in a tourist town and we have seen them all and frankly, when we here HGTV is coming, we run the other way!
This is my all-in-one shampoo, body wash, and face cleanser:
http://www.paulaschoice.com/product/all-over-hair-body-shampoo/body-hair-care
I use it for laundry when I’m traveling too.
One bottle instead of 3 is great! (But I also need conditioner – though it doubles as shave lotion!)
I also love Paula’s Choice!!! I use almost everything she makes, which doesn’t necessarily make my bathroom more simple, but I love it all and try to limit myself to just the things I love the most that really work for me. I have never thought of using the All Over Hair and Body wash for laundry- interesting idea. I have used it to wash the dogs though :)
Our technique for keeping the bathroom clutter-free is that there isn’t room in there to put anything. We do have a sort of closet with shelves only but I’m short so we don’t keep anything on the top 3 shelves, and it’s very narrow.
As far as the bathroom itself, there’s a toilet and sink and a tub-shower combination. (I wish we just had a shower because I hate to clean the tub.) The sink is jammed right next to the toilet so there isn’t any room for a vanity.
There is a small space behind the faucets of the sink where we might keep something, but we can’t–and we can’t keep anything on the toilet tank either–because of TAR
(cat). Tar enjoys looking at herself in the medicine cabinet mirror (at least I guess that’s what she’s doing).
She jumps on the toilet seat lid (which we always keep closed) then jumps on top of the toilet tank, and saunters over to stand in the little space behind the sink faucets while she looks in the mirror. She knocks anything off that is in her way.
That is so funny about your cat! Cats can be very bossy and want their own way for sure!
Looks good! I am not very good with the clutter free surface part. I have a simple bathroom but I tend to use the shelves I have for the daily items that I need. I really need to get rid of everything I don’t use anymore. But very nice bathroom, looks very clean and simple.
All I care about is hot & cold running water and a toilet, sink and shower that works consistently. If I can be picky a bathtub would be lovely; I’ve lived with an oversized stall shower for nearly 11 years now and I do miss being able to take a bath whenever I want :/
Reading this post and all the comments makes me realize that it is time for another bathroom cabinet cleanup! I have way too much stuff still, and only use a small fraction of it!
Bernice
As go your days, so goes your life
I pared down my bathroom stuff enormously when I went ‘poo-free–that is, I stopped using shampoo (three different kinds, rotating, plus a couple of conditioners) about 18 months ago. I have curly hair, and I rinse and massage my head every day with warm water. Some days I use a leave-in conditioner, some days not. I was very skeptical, but even my hairdresser can’t believe the results. My hair has never looked better! No icky smell, which I was worried about, and beautiful curls. The frizz is gone!
I also decided to stop believing all the magazine ads (even the ones with actresses I love) that promise I’ll look younger if I use their stuff. I now use organic jojoba oil to clean whatever needs cleaning, plus Aveeno lotion if I need it, and non-chemical sunscreen for sun days. I’m 53, and stopping all the little tubes and bottles hasn’t seemed to add any visible years. No perfumes, but I use a Tom’s lemongrass deodorant that smells wonderful. I’ve had cancer, so no aluminum-based antiperspirants for me any more. I still use some make-up–mineral-based powder,plus lip gloss, mascara, and eyebrows, which never came back after the chemo. All put together, those things take up a fraction of the space of the old regime. And it makes traveling so much easier!
I don’t know how going without shampoo works for straight hair, but several other curly-heads I know have tried it, with similar happy results.
Just lovely….
Hi, I really enjoy shampoo/shower gel combos as well, but the last one I used while on vacation wasn’t great for my hair, so I was wondering if that ever happens to you?
Wow, I just love that bathroom photo! I know you don’t live there anymore, but it is just so inspiring! Unfortunately, I share our tiny apartment bathroom with a non-minimalist husband and three children and we all need different toothpastes! And a multitude of other bothersome counter clutter. And over the toilet clutter. And shower clutter. Lol. As a wife, I should feel like I am in charge of getting the minimalist look I want, but I really have no choice over OPC…
I love the “no-frills-look” of your bathroom.
Personally, I love colors too much to adopt an “all-white-deco”. My tiny bathroom is white and blue and the only thing that is on display (everything else is hidden in a hang closet) is a beautiful stone.! I’d like to send a picture… if it is OK with you ?
I take this opportunity to thank you, Francine, for your books The Joy of Less and Miss Minimalist: they are both very inspirational and I keep coming back to them.
I love your pictures and ideas and keep paring down. We have 2 bathrooms, one for company and one for us. We have learned that not “stocking up” is a great space saver. Buy 4 rolls of toilet paper, it lasts a month. Buy 2 boxes of tissue. 1 tube of toothpaste. A bar of soap lasts a month. I don’t want my kids to have to deal with 80 rolls of toilet paper or bottles of hand soap.
I have been cleaning a relative’s cabinets. Coupons back to 1998. Take out menus with coupons that expire in 2004. Tablecloths that don’t fit any tables. Sheets that don’t fit any of the beds. I shredded big boxes of papers. If I stayed here longer, the house would be neater and emptier.