By Bed Threads Interiors 14.10.2025

The Only 10 Items You Really Need in Your Bathroom

It's time to detox, declutter and invest in items you actually need.

When you reach a certain point in life, there's a particular joy and pride that comes with choosing fewer yet higher-quality home wares over the latest trending thing on TikTok.

After all, less is often more, especially when it comes to simplifying your day-to-day life and creating a calming space, and your bathroom – often the smallest room in the home – is no exception.

Looking to consciously cut out the clutter? When it comes to the bathroom, these are the only 10 items you should have – both in the interest of serving yourself and impressing your guests.

1. Towels

Is it time to upgrade your towels? Most likely, yes. They're a staple of any bathroom, but the traditional ultra-fluffy style of bath towel comes with some downsides, as they can be slow to dry, quick to breed bacteria and tend to be on the bulky side.

Upgrading to 100% cotton terry towels will vastly improve the situation – they're plush to the touch, naturally quick-drying, and ours feature two-ply yarns to minimise shedding. Hang a fresh hand towel by the basin and store the rest elsewhere, either in the bathroom itself or, ideally, in a separate room with your bath towels and face towels.

2. Hand wash

This is one essential that is guaranteed to impress your guests, but most importantly, will revolutionise every trip to the bathroom you make during your time at home. Ensuring your basin is permanently stocked with nice, non-toxic hand wash is a sign you've got your life together (even if you haven't).

3. Deodorant

No matter your type of choice, deodorant is a bathroom must. Looking to embrace a more low-tox life and switch to one of the natural variety? There are some great options out there that get the job done and look just as luxe on your bathroom shelf.

4. Good lighting

Renters, put your hands up if the lighting in your bathroom bothers you. Your hands are up, aren't they? Either it's too dim or way too fluorescent.

Improve the mood and the functionality by installing vanity lighting, as well as adding a battery-operated or rechargeable lamp for mood lighting when you want to bliss out with a relaxing bath.

5. Body wash

Your daily shower ritual will be vastly more rejuvenating with the help of a refreshing – and visually pleasing – body wash. That's just a fact. Place it beside your shampoo and conditioner and work it into your daily routine.

6. Haircare kit

If you're someone who somehow collects half-used bottles of shampoo and conditioner without meaning to, commit right now to, you know, just stop (said with love!). Waste not, want not – leave each bottle in your shower until you get through them all, and invest in a fresh set of haircare products for future you.

7. Oral care kit

Has your toothbrush seen better days? Now is the perfect time to overhaul your oral care inventory. In addition to a fresh toothbrush (that should be replaced every three to six months), consider adding an Ayurvedic tongue cleaner and a tube or two of luxury Italian toothpaste to your arsenal.

Keep everything tidy in a glass somewhere well-ventilated to help each item dry off between uses, and be sure to wash that glass regularly.

8. Room fragrance

With all the cleansing and detoxing that goes on in the bathroom, it's a thoughtful touch to provide your guests (and yourself) with a room spray, candle, diffuser or a box of matches to keep everything smelling bright, fresh and inviting. Just saying.

9. Skincare kit

Skincare might truly be one of life's greatest self-care rituals, but it can also be daunting when there are so many products that can go into a routine (and consequently clutter up your precious bathroom counter space). To streamline things, we recommend stashing your lesser-used items in beauty bags that you can hide away, while keeping the prettily packaged core items that you reach for frequently on display in an elegant marble tray or a stylish tub for a clutter-free vanity.

10. Rubbish bin

Now, this might seem like a boring, practical item to spend as little thinking time on as possible, but the right rubbish bin can really take a bathroom from fine to next-level grown-up. Choose something inconspicuous that will fit in an alcove and out of the way.