The Bathroom --- Before. So not good.

Photographic evidence of the ecosystem thriving in my toothbrush holder.

All of this is prescribed to Robert.

The sink, it all its cluttered glory.

The undefined space that came to exist after our contractors accidentally destroyed the breakfast nook and we decided it would be better served in making a large bathroom. It seems at the moment to just collect dirty clothes and toys.

Kinda speaks for itself I suspose.

THE BATHROOM

The book gives two major instructions in the section on the bathroom. The first is to pull everything out and the second is to make a list of what purposes the bathroom serves.





Since we only have the one bathroom there are of course some purposes that we all share when it comes to the bathroom:

1. There are the general run of the mill hygiene activities and the major fixtures of the bathroom the toilet, sink, and bathtub



2. It is also where dirty clothes collect



3. It also seems to be where a fair amount of reading takes place. The boys each have their selections in the basket for their man time. I try to slip in an article from the New Yorker whenever possible during a bath.



4. It is likewise where all the toiletries are stored as well as towels and the such and hangers for laundry purposes.



Then there are the individual uses:



5. Robert shaves/trims at the sink



6. Walt sometimes spends a great deal of time admiring himself in the vanity or prowling through my jewelry



7. Emmitt likes a nice nap on the water heater and an occasional poop in the tub.



8. Assuming I do my hair/face, which is a big assumption, it happens in the bathroom



9. It is also the home to my rather substantial perfume collection. I may sometimes fail to act like a lady but I like to smell like one.



10. It also houses my husband's personal pharmacy.





A lot to house in one room for certain. Especially the the long narrow space that is my bathroom.




It did however become much easier once all the out of date cosmetics/lotions/medications. I found a tube of Icy Hot that expired in 2003, we moved here in June 2006. It is not an admission of pride, but rather shame.



The book also gave a formula as to the number of towels we would need. Number of bedrooms x 2 +1. That would be 7. I would have to do laundry everyday. I have no doubt that this woman is a genius in may areas, however I also have no doubt that she does not have children or inside pets. I did scale back, to the tune of chucking 30 wash clothes in the donation pile with I think 5 towels and three hand towels.



Where did all these towels come from? One is sheer accumulation. I do not throw a towel away. Eventually they disintegrate in my hands. The other is inheritance. I get my hoarding of bath towels honest. My grandmother had at least 3 complete sets and lots of spares. I set and several spares ended up in a laundry hamper in my bathroom in July. And there they set, untouched, until last week.



I didn't even know which towels they were. Turns out it was the M monogrammed set. Having always been a bit in love with my last name, and the memories associated with these towels, I admit they are on my shelf. I remember thinking my grandparent's must be doing pretty good if they had monogrammed towels. There were only 4 and 2 hand towels. They simply hide under the beach towels. Maybe next year I will be ready, but not just yet.



I did however do a blitzkrieg on the bathtub toys and the lotions. I also scrubbed the joint down. WALT jumped in, helping scrub the toilet and the bathtub. I hate that there is such a visual difference. It's like damn you could tell that window hadn't been cleaned in 2 years.



I also found the holy grail of missing shoes. One of WALT's crocs had been missing for over a year and there it was, lodged behind the water heater. How it got there will forever remain a mystery, but at least it's back.



I am one good scrub of the door from having the room as spotless as it's gonna get and then I will post after pictures. Since there is another snow day tomorrow the chances are pretty good that its going to happen sooner than later.