As every guest who ever uses your bathroom is secretly aware, your cabinet is an overwhelming mess of old prescriptions, nearly-empty hygiene product containers and stray razors. Every time you clean the cabinet out, it morphs back to its revolting form within weeks. But some organizational structure can break the cycle.

Girl with the Red Balloon shares her foolproof plan for keeping her cabinet straight. She recommends:

* Throw a lot of stuff out. Expired prescriptions, sample bottles and outmoded products that you’d never actually use need to go. Don’t treat the cabinet as a halfway house to the garbage dump — just get rid of junk you’re finished with.

* Get a shower caddy and keep your shower stuff there. You’ll eliminate the tedious step of reaching into the cabinet to get stuff you’ll use in the shower and will be less likely to forget about things you abandon in the dark recesses of the cabinet.

* Compartmentalize the cabinet. Keep strict regulations on what’s allowed on each shelf. If there’s not enough room for something you need to jam in there, make room by eliminating something you don’t need.

Maintaining a clutter-free bathroom [Girl with the Red Balloon]

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