Monday Motivation: Organizing Bathroom Cabinets and Drawers

In most bathrooms that I've helped organize and stage, storage has been a problem.  It seems that many bathrooms are built without thought to where one should store one's "jams and jellies" (as Candice Olsen calls them). 

In addition to lack of storage, most of us hoard keep too many supplies in our bathrooms.  What are we to do?  Get creative!

I've had to get very creative in our current home when it comes to storing our necessities.  In our main bathroom, we don't have drawers, shelves, or medicine cabinets. 

To keep our counters easy to clean, I like to keep most items tucked away.  Here's where I keep our toothbrushes, toothpaste, dixie cups, and jewelry cleaner.  For directions on how to make a canning jar soap dispenser, check this blog post.

The jar of jewelry cleaner fits perfectly in the left drawer, a small stack up cups in the right drawer, and toobrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss in the bottom drawer.  My meds are currently in a ceramic pot so that I will remember to take them when I brush my teeth.  If I had small children around the house, I'd keep them someplace safter. 

As far as linens go, I'm using several different pieces to hold everything.  First, I use my old childhood dresser to hold sheets and towels.  The top drawer holds toilet paper, a heating pad, and extra soap.  As there are no towel bars, I use a quilt rack to hold towels.  This one was made in 1984 by someone in shop class who's initials are J.S.

The dresser does double duty, too.  The section of wall behind the dresser is missing drywall and the dresser holds a piece of cardboard in place.  One day we'll get around to remodeling this bath and install board and batten with real trim and baseboards.

I keep a basket underneath the chair to hold extra hand towels.

For all of my "jams and jellies"  I use the only full size cabinet in the bathroom.  I've used a selection of baskets, wire shelves, plastic boxes, and zippered make-up bags.  The plaid bag holds the supplies I use everyday.  The nice thing about it is that I just add a few things to it and it's ready to travel.

Underneath the basket it sits in is extra lotions, conditioners, and hair goop that I use whenever humidity gets the upper hand on my hair and skin.  My manicure supplies are in a handy zippered bag.  The basket on the right holds my blow dryer, curling iron, and flat iron. (my hair is hight maintenance)  Below that basket is a small basket of extra make-up and my jar of coconut oil that I use as a face and body lotion.  Behind everything is extra supplies that I stock up on when they go on sale like feminine products, hair dye, and cotton balls/Q tips. 

So now that I showed you my bathroom storage, it's time for you to work on your own.  If you've read my blog for awhile, you'll be familiar with the process. 

1.  Remove everything from the cabinet or drawer.  Wipe out the cabinet/drawer and line with contact paper if desired.

2.  Toss everything that is expired or unusable.

3.  Sort items according to type.  Example:  hair products, face products, first aid products.
 
4.  You may find that you have several duplicates.  A lot of people tend to not finish up products before they open a new one.  Consolidate the duplicates and promise yourself to finish up a product before breaking out the new replacement.

5.  Now that you know what you have and will use, put items into containers to keep them organized and easy to find.  Shop your house first to see if you have containers you're not using in other areas.  There's no need to spend money if you don't need to.  Square and rectangle containers are the best as they use space more efficiently.  If you need storage for small items, use a drawer unit to sit inside the cabinet.
 
6.  Store items you don't use often or only seasonally in the back of the cabinet or in an out of the way closet.  Keep your most often used items near the front of the cabinet.  Before storing paper products under your sink, make sure you don't have any leaks.  Paper plus water equals mess!!
 

My friend, Amanda, has a great idea for organizing bathroom drawers.  She's a professional organizer and does amazing work.  I know you'll find her web site very helpful.  Please stop by her blog and tell her I said hello!