One of the best things about a major move is the opportunity to declutter. It can take a little time and persistence but the results of a good ole purge are so worth it. Case it point – the bathroom. It’s so easy for counter tops, medicine cabinets or drawers to get overstuffed. Guilty of keeping that half full bottle of nail polish because you might like that color again someday? I’m guilty. Or wanting to try every tonic or serum your favorite beauty blog just wrote about? Guilty. Or only clean out your make-up drawer once a year? Totally guilty. Turns out, according to a recent study 71% of American couples have actually argued over a bathroom-related issue (such as hogging storage space, not tidying up and not replacing toiletries). I actually would think it’s even higher!  I swear the amount of bath products I keep on the counter always seems to spontaneously multiply. So when our move presented a chance at a fresh start, I committed myself to keeping our bathroom clutter-free.

Five easy steps have helped me keep my counters clear for three solid months now so I thought I’d share them with you!

STEP 1: Dump the junk. I started by hucking any and everything in my bathroom that I hadn’t used in awhile. Aka, if it was more than three months old and I hadn’t touched it, it went buh-bye. That random clay mask, I kept telling myself I’d use some Saturday night? See ya. My collection of multiply bath salts for the 3x a year I take a bath? Gone. Random salt spray for my hair that I use…never, eyeshadow I used last holiday season, an overflowing collection of old makeup brushes? All kicked to the curb. And it felt good.

STEP 2: Identify the necessities. It can be so easy to accumulate random bath products. So I’m doing my best to whittle down to what I know we will use everyday. I particularly love unisex products that can do double duty. Sure we all share toothpaste and the like, but it can be harder to find places where bath products overlap. That’s why I was stoked to learn about the newest body lotion from Lubriderm. It can be a hand lotion or a body lotion and is intended to be used by the guys too! One less product to clutter things up? Sold.

STEP 3: Put things in pretty containers. I love decanting. I’m a bit of an addict. My dish soap, shampoo and condition, laundry detergent. I love how pretty containers gives a nice uniform look to everything. I think it gives me a sense of calm in my otherwise chaotic life. Regardless of my deep seeded reasoning, I’m a sucker for beautiful jars. These dark glass jars are by Infinity Jars and I’m in love.

STEP 4: Add some life. The danger with beautifully empty counter space? It’s hard to resist the urge to fill it. Pretty perfume bottles, a new serum, a pretty tray. It seems innocent but accumulation seems to feed on itself. I find the best way to protect yourself is to ill the space in the first place! A nice plant adds some unexpected life to a bathroom and thrives in the steam filled room. It’s also become a personal mission to hunt down pretty bath products. A sleek black toothbrush, pretty smoked-glass tumbler and my favorite diyptique candle add a little upscale touch so that my bathroom can remain a more spa-like space.

STEP 5: Repeat steps 1-4. At least once every 3-4 months.

No matter how hard you try it can be tough to keep bathroom clutter at bay, but with a little discipline, I’m going to be able to keep it this way.

PS: this is the first sneak peeks of our bathroom so I thought I’d share my sources! Counters are White Zeus by Silestone / faucet & sink are Kohler / hardware from School House Electric / tile is by Fireclay Tile / Round mirror by Ikea / bath towel from Anthropologie

This post is in partnership with Lubriderm. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that we’re excited about and that have kept Apartment 34’s doors open.