I bought that soap dispenser on the left years ago. I loved that thing.
But it simply didn’t work in my kids’ bathroom. I have to encourage them to care (at all, even a tiny bit) about using soap, so they were never going to let me know it needed refilling.
And at a glance, I can’t tell it needs refilling.
And a glance is all it’s going to get in that bathroom.
So as I cleaned in there recently, I made the Big Girl Declutterer decision to get rid of that beloved-but-totally-impractical-for-that-bathroom dispenser.
Yay me.
And then I started writing this post.
And the image of the ugly-and-recently-broken soap dispenser at my own sink came to mind. I realized I could have used this way prettier one in my own bathroom.
Or in the guest bathroom where we’ve proven we can handle an opaque dispenser.
So I feel the regret of getting rid of something I really liked and could totally have used if I’d just held onto it long enough to one day realize I had a perfect place for it at the exact same time I remembered I had it.
OK. Now that I say it that way, I see the improbability of all that. The improbability of it NOT sitting in some random place for months (or years) on end. Taking up space. Taking up mental energy.
It was a decluttering mistake, but I survived.
And, I went to amazon, and spent less than $11 and 3 minutes to find and order (affiliate link alert) one I love just as much. I’ve decided that the free physical and mental space in my home/brain is worth eleven bucks. Especially since I’d probably have ordered it anyway while that one sat forgotten in a cabinet somewhere.
Example of Nony’s Excessive Need to Clarify All Things: When I went to find the one I ordered, the price had gone up significantly, like three whole dollars, AND no longer had free shipping. So I linked to another one that was more comparable in price to what I paid. But who knows how long it will be that price.
This is a very surreal moment.
The moment when the “read newer post” space is blank. I have been reading your blog backwards for six months and I’m finally current. Now I feel like you are an actual person I can talk to in real time and not like a cyber historical figure. I’m excited to start reading your current posts 🙂 your blog is great…recently what hit me the most was your comments about piddly cleaning. A lightbulb went off in my head when I read that. That’s what I’ve wasted so much energy doing over the years…piddly cleaning. It’s time to commit and recommit to non negotiable habits and resist the urge to piddle around. Thanks for the tip!
I have a glass soap dispenser from Mrs. Meyers that I LOVE! You can see through it, and it’s a good reminder for kids to “wash up” – if your kids won’t knock it off the counter 😉 . Link is below. (Not sure if it’s appropriate to include links in comments, so I will understand if not) 🙂 🙂
http://www.mrsmeyers.com/glass-hand-soap-bottle/
I have been looking for a glass soap dispenser. Thanks for posting
the link!
I started a decluttering journey 30 years ago, and it took me through four kids, homeschooling and the eventual length of my entire marriage because I got divorced, so I just have to say you will one day have every item categorized in your brain and your living spaces to match. Its almost unbelievable to think you might not have that organization yet but I do remember thinking -back in the days- if I threw out a used thread of dental floss I was ahead. Sad to wonder why it was laying around, but we know why!
Bathroom declutter idea.
Recycle the floral vases in which flowers are delivered. Place your bathroom toilet cleaning brush
Into the vase after flowers are pitched out and the vase is cleaned. Now the brush can reside and hide
On the floor, next to the toilet in a nice container.
Another idea for a clear container is Target makes several clearish collections. This one comes in sea glass colors and I love the look so much! Not that you were looking for ideas, but had to share what we use!http://m.target.com/p/threshold-oil-can-bath-coordinates/-/A-15386661
I’m glad to know mine aren’t the only kids who “forget” to let me know when their soap dispensers are empty. Transparent, opaque, it doesn’t matter: they just don’t tell me. I realized this when my 15-year-old son’s hair started looking greasy all the time, and he seemed smellier than usual — teenage boys never quite smell fresh, do they? Turns out the shampoo and body wash dispensers in his shower had been empty for a week, but did he mention it? No! I’ve had to start checking these things every couple of days now. It was that, or spray the boy down with Febreze every morning.
Oh my word. EVERYthing you said here made way too much sense to me!!! Love my boys, but . . .
Yep! Caught my daughter spraying herself with Glade once.
Hilarious!
Yep! De cluttered something that would have made my dining room better and it only took a week to realize it. But, as you said, I lived through it. Thank you!
YAY! On the living through it…
My suggestion doesn’t always work… and it may never work for you, but if there is a ‘do I HAVE to get rid of it’ object, I will quickly tour my house with it in my hand (Rule: I can’t put it down unless it’s going to live there) and have often found things that I didn’t realize I didn’t really love until I had something in my hand that I did. I think it helps with the emotional perspective of having something that actually brings you joy every time you see it in your hand and comparing it to those weird-ball-things-that-are-majorly-gross-’cause-I-haven’t-cleaned-them-since-I-bought-them which was…. what year did we move?
When my son was about 4.5 I hid about bunch of toddler toys for about 6 months. He never asked for any of them, so one day I donated them. The NEXT morning he was going nuts looking for one of them! I took him to preschool and made it to the donation center by 9:15. I was informed that any toys like that were gone because there were women that come in EVERY MORNING at 9am and fill the bags with those types of toys (they are only $1 / bag.) I was crushed (and in shock that they sell toys that cheap…they could have easily sold them for $1-$2 each at a yard sale!) He was absolutely crushed his toy was lost. Thank goodness I found a replacement on Amazon and hid it in the back of his closet. I felt terrible. It doesn’t happen too much, but when it does it is so upsetting. I am a bit paranoid now. Of course, now he is 9 and I have a bunch of old toys and books hidden in our spare room.
you empty the bathroom garbage every time you clean the bathroom, even if it isn’t full, right? So…refill the soap every time you clean the bathroom- even if it isn’t empty. Only takes a few seconds.
I feel your pain. I lost a dresser to a fervent purge when I first got the decluttering bug a few years ago. 🙁 My mother-in-law moved in with us and I painstakingly refurbished an old dresser. When she moved out I didn’t see a need for it until it was to late. I’m still learning (and struggling) with this whole decluttering, minimizing thing. It’s a process and takes practice of mind set. I have learned to evaluate a little better and not go crazy. And speaking of soap dispensers, I fought with myself over a pretty one I had in bathroom that matched everything but was breakable and hard for my preschooler to use. So I bought a 98 cent foaming Spiderman dispenser, and they sat there side by side for months until I realized it was ridiculous so I tossed the pretty one and Spidey may not compliment my decor, but he makes my son smile and happy to wash his hands. And that’s all I need.
My boys still have Christmas soap in June. I guess I need a NEON SIGN for my soap dispenser!