Own your space
Organizing the home is important to one’s wellbeing. Getting things in order grants people the ability to control their environment, function well, and feel confident about their space. Organizing is effective as it can literally turn one’s space from chaos to calm. With a little determination, motivation, and sweat equity, put these easy ways to organize the bathroom to good use!
Why care about the bathroom?
When it comes to organizing the home, the bathroom is an all-important, frequently used space to prioritize. Because people tend to own a lot of products, and each family member likely uses different ones, things can fall out of order and products can get easily displaced. Thus, organization is key!
Anything to know before starting?
Set organizing goals:
Ask yourself, what is my goal for this room? Do you wish to find things faster, clean more easily, or get ready quicker? Though answers vary, reducing clutter and achieving clever storage are paramount.
Declutter first
Decluttering is the act of removing excess items from an untidy or limited space. It is a necessary part of the organizing process. In older homes, storage is often lacking. To arrange items where space is tight, it’s important to limit what you have by releasing things that no longer serve their purpose. If possible, edit the products you use.
Donate, donate, donate…
Consider donating toiletries that are unused, unopened, and unexpired. These items are likely valuable to shelters or organizations near you. Do consider giving away new doubles of products you do not plan to use, such as deodorant, shaving cream, and body soap. Freshly cleaned excess towels, blankets, and bedding may also be donated. For safety, it’s a sound idea to dispose of expired personal use products and recycle packaging whenever possible.
If you’re fortunate…
If you have a spacious linen closet and large vanity with countertop and storage space in your bathroom, count yourself lucky. Linen closets can hold neatly folded towels, wash cloths, extra toilet paper, soaps and shampoos, bed linens, bathroom cleaning products and more. Make frequently used items the most accessible. Drawers make it easy to group like items together and find and retrieve objects.
Sharing the bathroom? Make the most of drawer space.
Give each family member their own dedicated drawer in which to stash items. Or, if you have the space all to yourself, use drawers wisely to categorize and group like-items together. For example, use one drawer to hold your hairbrushes, another for nail products, and yet another for makeup or shaving kit items. Grouping similarly used items together makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.
What about folks who lack bathroom storage?
Many small bathrooms lack storage. Fixtures like pedestal sinks and mirrors without medicine chests equal zero storage. If this is your case, fear not. All is not lost. One just needs to be a bit clever and think outside the box in terms of storage. Following the decluttering process, here are some great ways to organize tight bathroom spaces:
- Consider adding a bathroom organizing unit. These come in many sizes, styles, and price points. Consider your room size, price range, and storage preferences, such as shelving vs. cabinet features. Find a unit to fit your space and use it to contain towels and other frequently used bathroom items like TP, air fresheners, hand soaps and more.
- Add inexpensive shelves and hooks. Single or stacked shelves can hold neat boxes of frequently used products and even stash items like tissue and toilet paper. Hooks can hold towels, robes, loofas, and more. No wall space for shelves or hooks? Consider using an over the door organizer featuring attached hooks and baskets.
- Dedicate a nearby closet or wall cabinet for bathroom storage. No room in the bathroom? A nearby space can work well. Wall cabinets can be fitted with bathroom organizers such as plastic storage containers and drawer systems. They are quite useful for organizing and storing small items such as hairbands, dental floss, combs and more. On a budget? Use clean food storage containers that you already own instead. Bulky towels? No problem. Neatly fold and stack them in a central location near the bathroom.
- Add storage to the shower. A shower organizer is a wonderful way to add storage to a shower or bathtub space to keep everyday used items at your fingertips. Some suction to the wall or can be attached to the shower top to bottom, no professional inspiration needed. Use them to hold products like bars of soap, shampoos, and conditioners.
- Make the most of countertop space. While you may not be able to add surface space, you can still organize the countertop to make it function effectively. Consider adding a tray to neatly contain and display loose items like soaps and creams in an orderly fashion. Or place a small flat mirror facing up on your countertop and use that to showcase a perfume or cologne collection.
- Add floor baskets. Large baskets are wonderful for storing collections of things. For items you don’t mind seeing, such as neatly folded towels or display magazines, open baskets are great. For items that are aesthetically unpleasing to see, such as rolls of toilet paper or bathroom cleaning supplies, lidded baskets are a better option.
- Give each family member a portable caddy basket. Not all bathroom products need to be stored in the bathroom. In fact, a portable shower caddy allows products to be neatly kept in a bedroom and carried into the bathroom as needed. For superior organization, and to differentiate the caddies, assign each family member their own color.
- Use miscellaneous organizing products to contain things. Use a hamper for dirty clothes, a toilet paper holder for loose rolls, a toothbrush holder for toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a carousel for hairbrushes and hair products. These miscellaneous organizing products can be used in target areas of the bathroom to address specific needs.
- Use pill and medical organizers for meds. For bathrooms short on medicinal storage space, these products are uniquely designed to hold drugs and medical supplies in one place. Features may include safety locks and/or include large capacity space to hold various meds. Other desirable features can include individual pill bottle holders and organizers, and removable dividers for larger items such as a sphygmomanometer. Alternatively, one may use lazy susans or spice rack organizers to arrange meds, however, it’s important to keep medicine safely out of a child’s reach.
So many benefits!
A bathroom that is neat and organized gives people easy access to their things. Not only can they get ready in a flash, but they can also put things away quickly and clean up fast. There are lots of other benefits, too! One is less likely to misplace items or waste time looking for things. An organized bathroom also saves money. It prevents people from buying duplicate items that they already own.
No more excuses!
Note that small bathrooms can be just as neat and organized as larger ones by employing a few of the above tips. With a little cleverness, and without spending a ton of money, folks can set these ideas in motion or discover their own easy ways to organize the bathroom. Above all, a neat and organized bathroom creates a serene environment in which one can function well, allowing people who crave order in this frequently used space to get their day off to a brilliant start!
Getting your house in shape? Interested in bedroom organization? Click here for top tips.
