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out and then add pieces back in. If your space allows, empty the room of bookshelves, storage ottomans, wicker baskets full of magazines you haven’t had time to read, and whatever else you keep in your living room. Then slowly add pieces back in, first something to sit on, then something to rest a drink on, and finally smaller pieces. What appeals to your eye? What feels relaxing? If you enjoy finally being able to see painted walls, instead of stacked bookcases bursting with paperbacks and old college textbooks that you never really read the first time around, leave it at that. A piece or two of framed art or a small cluster of family photos, and decorating is done.
    Delighted with your new beautiful living room, your next question will be, what do I do with all this stuff? All that furniture you bought to hold things that cluttered up the room could be sold or given away. (And the stuff it was holding? That can go too.)
Bathroom
    Every medicine cabinet tells a story and every bathroom drawer reveals the inhabitants’ truths. The makeup collector with dozens of untouched eye shadows because she mostly wears a bare face. The family prepared for any ailment with four half-filled bottles of the same cough syrup and one empty bottle of ibuprofen. The expired prescription bottles.
    The minimalist bathroom should contain only what you need for everyday life. You can get a once-a-year dramatic makeup look at the makeup counter, and any over-the-counter medicine you don’t use regularly from a late-night drugstore when necessary. You don’t have to be prepared for every scenario that might eventually happen, but you should be prepared for the ones that often do. People get headaches or indigestion, floss regularly, and wear the same mascara, eye shadow, and blush daily. All those one-offs and extras and might-use items can be bought when or if you actually need them.
Bathroom Cabinet Cleanout Plan
    Here’s how to attack the bathroom: Empty the drawers and cupboards in your bathroom. (Onto the floor is fine because this is going to be a quick job.) First, remove anything that is expired, including old cosmetics, and anything that you no longer use, like those teeth-whitening strips that you tried but didn’t like. From your whittled-down collection, reduce even further to just:
Everyday makeup
Over-the-counter medicine you use regularly
Up to one month’s supply of all other toiletries
One container of anything seasonal, like sunscreen
    The other piece of clutter in bathrooms: towels. First, remember that you most likely don’t live in a hotel or a bed and breakfast. This means two things: You can’t leave your wet towel on the floor for housekeeping, and you don’t need to impress guests with wicker baskets full of fluffy bath towels. Your bathroom can be beautiful and still contain what you need for a relaxing bath and to get ready for the day.
Dealing with Towels
    In a minimalist household, everyone should have just one bath towel and a washcloth, and every bathroom should have one set of hand towels. Bathroom towels may come packaged in sets of three sizes, but most of us rarely use all of them with the same frequency. If you have a guest room or have people stay over regularly, have one or two extra sets of towels.
    Within those guidelines, you can even pare down further. For example, if no one in your family uses face-size washcloths, get rid of them. If you have sets of towels but don’t use each piece of the matching set, get rid of what you never use. Bath towels are large and take up a lot of space. They use a lot of energy when you dry them in a dryer. If you frequently visit the beach or pool, and you can’t bear to bring your good towels from home, designate beach towels that can double as guest towels.
    How will you get by with just one bath towel per person? You’ll hang your towel to dry after every use and wash it once or twice a week. Enforce this towel rule on