Do you feel like your bathroom is overflowing with products and you can’t seem to store them properly? Do you feel like it’s impossible to organize under your bathroom sinks because of those awkward pipes? And do those tiny medicine cabinets seem useless for the amount of items you need to store?
Today, in this blog and the video above, I show you how to organize every item you need in the areas under your bathroom vanities and inside your medicine cabinets.
I’m Terry Elisabeth, author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps” where I show you how to organize your spaces according to your personal organizing style so that your spaces can finally stay organized.
If you need help organizing or just love organizing videos, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel!
Now, everything where we live is builder-grade so it’s all very standard which means there are no drawers or shelves but just open space around pipes under the sink. And then there are standard medicine cabinets in the wall. The good thing is, though, that I show you how to organize these spaces!
First, I show you how we organize one of the full baths upstairs. And next, I show you how we organize the half bath or guest bathroom downstairs. For the full bath, we keep all the backup toiletries here in these containers which can be found at Walmart and Big Lots (they are around $5 for a set of three at either store–though the Walmart link price is quite different from what I paid so you won’t want to order online but rather pick it up directly at the store). In these bins, we store items that will replace what is used up in the shower or on top of the vanity or in my nightstand (my nightstand organization post is coming next). I have our products organized by category including face, hair, body, oral care, pads, and cotton products. Bins like this where they are open on one side work for every organizing style. I will explain the organizing styles in a post after my nightstand organization post. I will be using the linen closet to display the six organizing styles including how to store your backup toiletries in your linen closet if you don’t have space in your bathroom.
In the medicine cabinet, on the top shelf we have some first-aid products and medicines along with a sinus-rinsing bottle which is used in conjunction with pH-balancing packets. I store the packets in this bin from the Dollar Tree (I removed the lid) along with preservative-free eye drop singles, and tampons. And another Dollar tree container with the lid removed holds individual flossers, some portable flossers, and floss dispensers. Removing that lid makes all the difference when accessing items you use frequently. This container is probably from the 99 Cents Only Store (it’s simply a drawer divider) and it holds teeth whitening products. And some face masks and other skin care products are stored on a shelf on their own for easy access (you don’t always need a container!)
Now, in the half bath or guest bathroom, I store my hair tools and products. Now, when I didn’t have a guest bathroom to use in the past, these baskets sat on an etagere whether it was installed above the toilet or simply on the bathroom wall if the space above the toilet did not allow for an etagere. So, if you don’t have another bathroom, I highly recommend using any kind of small, shallow shelf you can install on the wall. There are lots of tutorials our there on how to make floating shelves as well and they are very inexpensive to make. So, in one basket I have hair tools and brushes. In another basket, I have nail care products which is handy to have because I can just take this whole basket outside to the patio when I need it. And I actually re-purposed these tiered drawer bins from the freezer which I will explain when I get to my kitchen organization series. In the bottom bin I have ingredients for products I make which you will see in my nightstand organization post. In another bin, I have detoxifying mud bath products. And in another bin, I have empty containers for DIY products. In the very top bin we have a loved one’s items who stays here on occasion which includes some of her personal toiletries. If you have guests over quite often, you can use the entire bin system to store supplies for your guests including toiletries, face cloths and hand towels.
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In the medicine cabinet, on the top shelf, I have a kit where I use the scissors and clips solely for trimming hair and the hair coloring kit for mixing and applying hair masks. Also, on this shelf, I have a rat tail comb, hairspray and heat protectant. On another shelf, I have cornstarch in a jar which I use with a makeup brush stored just beneath it as a dry shampoo. I hold my styling clips and mini topsy-tail in a little acrylic container that was part of a set from Ikea from many years ago. The same containers from the Dollar Tree in the other medicine cabinet hold hair ties, a bun maker, and the brushes that clean the vents in your hairdryer. And the other one holds, mini hair elastics, bobby pins, and mini styling clips. I already showed you my backup and special occasion makeup here on this shelf in my previous post on how to organize makeup.
I have a FREE resource here for you which is my quantities to keep guideline for both toiletries and makeup. In my book, I included a huge chart on my quantities to keep guidelines for the most clutter-causing items and one of them is personal care products. My freebie is a guideline based on how long products typically last so that you know what items to replace as needed, what you can keep a backup of, and what you can even stock up on if the item is on sale and your space permits your items to be stored.
What is the oldest product you have found in your bathroom? Share in the comments below. Don’t forget to grab your FREE quantities to keep guideline for personal care products so that you can keep just what you need and can reasonably use up before it expires. (That way, you can save your money when you’re tempted to buy something you don’t need. Or, because your spaces haven’t been organized, you don’t know what you have and so you buy duplicates). In my next post, I will show you how I organize my nightstand so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell, so you can know the moment it is up and never miss another organizing video. You can also follow me on Instagram for daily organizing tips and follow my healthy habit challenge where I share my journey to establish healthy habits to help me overcome chronic fatigue. Until next time …
Happy Organizing!
Author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps“