The "Less But Better" Bathroom

Internet, you've failed me. Anyone who can find some statistics on the contents of the average American bathroom cabinet wins serious bonus points. I made the bathroom my second “Less But Better” challenge thinking that surely most of us are buying more than we need (especially women)…but alas, I can’t seem to pinpoint exactly how much more. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong.

Maybe if we think about the vast array of products available just at our grocery stores, we can start to get the picture. There are sticks to keep your armpits smelling pleasant, bottles that promise to make your hair shinier than ever, razors to keep your skin smooth, tubs that swear they’ll make wrinkles disappear, tubes that will whiten your teeth and other tubes that will lengthen your lashes, contact cases, scrubby things, lotions, pigment for eyes, lips, and nails, brushes, clippers, dryers, curlers, PLUS all kinds of remedies you need when you aren't feeling well. In addition to the grocery store, though, there are companies like Avon, Sephora, Birchbox, and more. They all specialize in selling you the latest, greatest stuff to fill your bathroom.

Wow. To me, the one of the most relevant question in evaluating all this stuff has been, "For how long did humans live without this?" For example, OPI didn't start selling nail polish until 1989, so would it make sense to say that I "need" nine different bottles of their stuff? No, certainly not. To be fair, though, cultural norms do affect the things we "need" almost every day. Like before a job interview, I had better at least try to get my hair under control using some kind of product. Maybe the difference is that in the past, people didn't have to own such a wide array of each type of product. I don't imagine my grandma ever had a palate of 17 different eye-shadows that all look basically the same anyway. Right?

After gathering together unneeded bathroom/hygiene/beauty items this week, I was actually a tad disappointed my pile wasn't bigger. Turns out, I don’t actually have a ton of unnecessary products. However, every little bit helps, and my little bathroom cabinet does seem significantly less cluttered after banishing these things for GOOD!

My rules for future bathroom purchases are as follows:

Don’t buy it just because it smells good 

Simple enough…Just don’t do it. This means I should probably plan on never walking in to Bath and Body Works again.

Avoid duplicates 

Sometimes I've got five different bottles of lotion in my bathroom at any given point. Luckily, that's not the case right now, and the only duplicate items I found were two beach towels I never use. I don’t get to the coast much, so why would I ever need three beach towels? One is plenty. This is the case for many other bathroom products as well.

Don’t get too fancy 

Sometimes when I’m at the store, I get this weird notion that I’m a girly girl (when I'm not). I imagine that I’ll actually need to put mousse or a fancy headband in my hair one day, or that I will want to paint my nails pink and wear lipstick (I never do). I've even found that I like my hair just the same with or without conditioner, so I’m getting rid of that as well!

Rely on dual purposes

These are all products whose purpose I can accomplish by some other means. My facewash should take off my make-up. My washcloth should be plenty scrubby. Healthy eating should negate the need for supplements, and small trash bags should be replaced with old grocery bags. Double duty is the way of the minimalist!

Now, getting rid of some of this stuff at the end of the semester is going to be tricky. Haphazard disposal of these products can be detrimental to water quality in particular, so I’ll try to find some donation or safe disposal options in the meantime. Next week, I’ll be taking on home goods to find out how I can reduce my furniture, decorations, and more. Thanks for reading! J