Spruce up your bathroom in fresh ways to ensure a more relaxing start and end to your day.Just a few small changes can transform even the most cluttered bathroom into a place where you feel invigorated in the morning and can unwind before bed.
1. Pamper yourself.
Find ways to engage your senses throughout your morning or evening routine. Even the smallest change can have large revitalizing effects.
Take a cue from the day spas—fill an unbreakable carafe with cold water and thin cucumber slices, and enjoy a refreshing glass after a steamy shower or bath. If you prefer something sweet, try oranges with a bit of agave nectar or honey.
Handpick your products for sensorial value. Try an energizing shower gel or soothing body lotion, and go for a supersoft, cushy bathrobe.
To give your bathroom an inviting scent, without overwhelming the small space, keep Glade® Sense & Spray® Automatic Freshener near the inside of the bathroom entrance. Its smart technology releases a concentrated burst of fresh fragrance when it detects motion—so it works when you need it and conserves when you don’t.
2. Declutter!
Throw out expired prescriptions, outdated cosmetics and other unneeded products. If you haven’t used it in a year, you probably don’t need it.
Once you’ve cleared everything out, clean and reorganize the insides of the drawers and cabinets, grouping like things together. Try reconfiguring the area below your sink with a turntable or lazy Susan. This will help maximize space and give you easier access to all your products, which is especially helpful with taller bottles.
Keep small items from going astray. Hair accessories, nail polish, brushes and combs will all be easily accessible in see-through plastic containers, like Ziploc® Brand Containers with the Smart Snap™ Seal. Try using old kitchen utensil trays in bathroom drawers for makeup or hair supplies, and ice cube trays to catch earrings and rings.
3. Keep it clean.
Put some time aside to wipe down surfaces and take care of the little fixes you’ve been putting off, like changing the shower curtain and unclogging the drain (see side bar).
When possible, make it easier for yourself with products that do most of the work for you, like Scrubbing Bubbles® Mega Shower Foamer, which works on contact to penetrate soap scum and grime so that scrubbing becomes virtually obsolete.
4. Make minor adjustments.
Spiff up your space with small changes that lend a more luxurious feel.
Take advantage of department store sales to get new, fluffy towels. Purchase the best quality you can, in a new color, so when you step out of the shower or bath, you’ll feel pampered by soft linens—much like you would at a spa.
Rethink your accents for aesthetics and function. End-of-summer yard sales and flea markets are great places to find fun, inexpensive accessories, like soap dishes, cabinet knobs and mirrors. Vintage teacups, tea tins, even empty candleholders, are perfect for holding cotton balls, swabs and hairpins.
5. Rediscover your walls.
A quick and inexpensive way to transform a space is to give it a fresh coat of paint. Choose soothing, neutral colors for a more inviting feel. Don’t want to commit to a whole paint job? Use wall decals or stencil a pattern on one or more of the walls. It will look like wallpaper, but won’t peel under the steam.
If you have a free wall above the toilet, hang a large graphic picture or poster to give the illusion of a separate space.
6. Turn the lights low.
Bright light is great for the morning, but a dim glow is better to end the day. Dimmer switches are generally inexpensive, easy to install and available at most hardware stores. You might be surprised what a difference it makes when you can easily control how much light you want, and when you want it.