Even before deciding the menu for the New Year’s party, it’s worth doing something that brings immediate impact to the new cycle: organizing your home. According to Southern Living, the end of the year is the ideal time to make space, reduce excess, and enter the new year with more lightness — and one of the most overlooked areas in this process is the bathroom.
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While old clothes and the pantry usually make the decluttering list, the bathroom often hides expired products, forgotten items, and objects that no longer serve a purpose.
Southern Living highlights that eliminating these excesses helps reduce daily stress, simplifies routines, and makes the space more functional and pleasant.
Why does organizing the bathroom make such a difference?
The idea is not to get rid of essential or favorite items, but to question the presence of products that take up space without offering benefits. According to Southern Living, freebies that didn’t work, forgotten cosmetics, and expired products only create visual noise and make it harder to use what truly matters.
Organizing the bathroom creates an immediate sense of calm, improves the functionality of the space, and frees up room for the products you actually use every day.
What to throw out of the bathroom before New Year’s
Even though it’s a small space, the bathroom often turns into a true storage area for obsolete items. Southern Living recommends paying special attention to the following:
Never-used items
That toiletry bag received as a freebie, unopened cosmetic samples, old hairbrushes, or products that didn’t work for you should be discarded or donated. Keeping only what you use simplifies your routine and avoids a constant feeling of clutter.
Obsolete styling tools
Hair dryers with worn cords, damaged styling tools, and outdated hair accessories take up space without usefulness. According to Southern Living, if these items are forgotten at the back of a cabinet, they are unlikely to be used again.
Expired medications
The medicine cabinet deserves special attention. Pain relievers, ointments, prescription medications, and even seemingly harmless items like hydrogen peroxide and aloe vera gel lose effectiveness over time. Southern Living warns that expired products can be ineffective or even dangerous.
Old bath and anti-aging products
Lotions, moisturizers, soaps, body washes, and bath bombs degrade due to humidity, light, and air exposure. If you notice ingredient separation or changes in smell or color, it’s a sign the product has passed its ideal use period.
Worn towels and washcloths
Stained, torn, or musty-smelling towels don’t absorb well and compromise hygiene. Southern Living suggests discarding them, donating them to animal shelters, or reusing them as cleaning cloths.
Expired makeup
Even if it looks barely used, makeup has an expiration date. Foundations, mascara, lipsticks, eyeshadows, and blushes that are old can cause irritation and harbor bacteria. Always check the symbol with a number followed by the letter M, which indicates how many months the product lasts after opening.
Expired sunscreen
Sunscreens lose effectiveness over time and when exposed to heat. If the texture or color has changed, or if the expiration date has passed, discard it. Southern Living reinforces that using expired sunscreen can mean insufficient protection against sun rays.
Travel-size hygiene products
Small bottles collected from hotels tend to take up space quickly. Donate what you don’t use and rinse empty containers for recycling.
Old sponges and loofahs
Loofahs and sponges rarely dry completely and become an ideal environment for bacteria. If they are torn, smelly, or stained, they should be discarded. The same applies to makeup sponges used for months.
Rusty or dirty razors
Blades should be replaced regularly. Rust, residue buildup, or ineffective shaving are clear signs that it’s time to replace them.
Worn bath toys
Children’s bath toys with cracks, holes, or signs of mold trap water inside and become difficult to clean. Southern Living recommends discarding any toy that shows deterioration or is no longer used.
Organizing the bathroom before New Year’s, as suggested by Southern Living, is a simple and effective way to start the next cycle with more clarity, practicality, and well-being. Small decisions now prevent stress later and transform the space into a cleaner, more functional, and more pleasant environment for everyday life.
Source: Southern Living. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
