5 Bathroom Blunders You Didn’t Know You Were Making
And What You Can do About Them
I think it’s safe to say everyone’s morning and evening routine starts and ends in the bathroom. I’ve organized hundreds of bathrooms over the years, and here are the five most common mistakes I see in nearly all of them.
1. Storing perfume on the bathroom counter - I’ve done this for years, and now know better. Heat, humidity, and light break degrade fragrances. Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry is $615 retail so I’m not making that mistake again!
Solution - Store in your closet, bedroom, or a bathroom drawer.
2. Flushing the toilet with the lid up - Think about sneezing without covering your mouth. Your toilet does that when you flush without putting the lid down. Now think about everything you store there, like your toothbrush, hairbrush, towels, etc. The toilet sneeze ends up on all those things.
Solution - Make a conscious habit of lowering the lid before flushing and keeping it down. Plus it just looks better anyway.
3. Not changing your hand towels and washcloths daily - You’re drying your hands with the same towel you use to dry your face. A 2014 study revealed that coliform bacteria was found on 89 percent of towels, and just over 25 percent of towels showed traces of E.coli.
Solution - Use paper towels to dry your hands and use your hand towel to dry your face. Change your hand towel and washcloth daily. There are disposable facial towels, but I like saving the environment and expenses and using cotton washcloths and towels. Try the beautiful options of paper towels for your powder baths.
4. Not changing your bath towels often enough - Bath towels hanging around a moist environment are a breeding ground for bacteria. Every time you touch your bath towel, you spread the germs on your hands to the towel. This is even worse if you share your towel with another person.
Solution: There seems to be a large commodity of bath towels in our clients’ homes with a low demand. So how many bath towels does each family member need? Reusing your bath towel should be fine for up to three times. Given that, we recommend three bath towels per family member. Wash all towels separately from underwear and other items and in hot water.
5. Keeping products beyond the expiration dates -
Medications - Per the FDA “Certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth and sub-potent antibiotics can fail to treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance. Once the expiration date has passed there is no guarantee that the medicine will be safe and effective. If your medicine has expired, do not use it.”
Skincare - Not all skincare products have an expiration date. Instead, you’ll see a symbol with an open top usually with the numbers 6, 12, or 18. That means the product will no longer be effective from when it was opened.
Makeup - Depending on the product, opened makeup can have a shelf life of anywhere from 3 months to 2 years. Recommendations vary by manufacturer.
Solution -
For products that don’t have an expiration date but need to be used within a specified time of opening, put a sticker with the expiration month and year. You can find these on Amazon.
Routinely (a minimum of every six months) check for expired items. This also helps keep clutter to a minimum saving valuable bathroom real estate space.
Conclusion
I don’t know if this will help you look forward to your morning routine, but maybe you won’t dread it as much!
Jolene Monaco, CPO,® is a board-certified professional organizer. She is a professional member of NAPO - National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals and a former board member of NAPO-DFW. She holds an inactive real estate license in the State of Texas and is currently on the affiliate committee of MetroTex Association of Realtors. Before becoming a professional organizer, Jolene worked for 28 years in domestic and international aerospace sales and jet engine maintenance operations.