Step 1: The Great Medicine Cabinet Clear-Out
This is the moment where real change begins. The single most effective way to understand what’s in a small space is to empty it completely. Not just the items in the front, but everything, all the way to the back corners. This “blank slate” approach prevents you from just shuffling clutter around and allows you to be truly intentional about what you put back in.
Find your clean, flat workspace—the countertop with a towel or the kitchen table—and begin. Take every single item out of the medicine cabinet and place it on your work surface. Group items loosely as you go; all the pill bottles together, all the bandages in a pile, all the skincare items clustered nearby. This initial grouping will make the next step of sorting much faster.
As you pull things out, you’ll likely be surprised by what you find. A prescription from two years ago, a travel-sized bottle from a long-forgotten vacation, three nearly-empty tubes of the same ointment. This is normal! Simply place each item on your work surface without judgment. The goal right now is just to empty the space.
Once the cabinet is completely empty, it’s time for a deep clean. Use your all-purpose cleaner and cloth to wipe down every surface: the shelves, the inside of the door, the cabinet walls. Dust and residue can build up over time, and cleaning the space thoroughly gives you a truly fresh start. It’s a powerful psychological step that signals you’re creating a new, clean, and orderly system.
Take a moment to appreciate the empty, clean cabinet. It’s a space of pure potential. Before you rush to fill it, stand back and look at the physical space you have to work with. Notice the height between shelves. Is there wasted vertical space? Is the cabinet deep or shallow? This is when you should grab your measuring tape if you haven’t already. Write down the dimensions in your notebook. Knowing that a shelf is 4 inches deep and 6 inches tall will be crucial when you start thinking about containers later. For now, with your clean and empty cabinet ready, it’s time to turn your attention to the pile of items on your counter and begin the decision-making process.
