Organizing: The Bathroom

It's about time for some more organizing!  While we did complete a mini makeover on our master bathroom, it remained somewhat cluttered & disorganized behind the cabinets.  Toiletries & products didn't have designated homes, so we began aimlessly throwing things into drawers & cabinets -

and you know how that goes... 

Over time, it evolved into a huge mess:

First, as with every organizational project I tackle, I removed every single item from the bathroom & sorted everything into like piles on our bed (I laid an old sheet down to protect our duvet from any leaking products).  As I sorted, I threw out any expired items or things we don't need or use anymore.  It's amazing to me how we can hold on to certain items, even when it's been ages since we used them last!

After everything was in piles, I gave the entire bathroom a good cleaning,  Next, I started planning where everything would be placed & made a list of some drawer dividers, organizers, & baskets that I would need to purchase.

Also, I always measure all the drawers & cabinets before I head to the store so that I know for certain which baskets/organizers will fit (I even bring a little measuring tape with me to the store, in case measurements are not on the product tag).

So here are the "before" & "after" photos - starting with our vanity:

On Nader's side of the vanity, we had items organized in plastic bins stacked on top of each other underneath the sink.  Which, by the way, were all my things (nothing that he actually used on a daily basis).  Not to mention, the collection of items made no sense & it was always a pain to
pull out the middle & bottom containers:

It's strange how you can become accustomed to keeping certain things in specific areas - even when it doesn't make sense & perpetuates dysfunctional systems.  Sometimes you have to just completely rethink your storage & organization.

So in this case, I decided to start from scratch & I designated this side for Nader's items only.  The door openings are pretty narrow (about 9" wide x 16" tall).
Luckily, I found a metal drawer organizer from Target that fit perfectly:

Next up: my side of the vanity, which was just as unorganized:

Now, this cabinet is home to all of my hot tools, nail polish, & some extra soap:

I decided to store all of my hot tools here since I couldn't fit them all in the storage unit where they were previously located.  This black wire basket from Home Goods fits perfectly.
I love that it has a handle, so I can just slide it out when I need something:

I did have to place a piece of paper into the bottom of the basket so nothing would fall through:

To the right, I have all my nail polish & supplies, which are stored in an acrylic caddy from HG:

Then it was onto the drawer in the middle of the vanity, which had turned into a huge mess.  Of course, it used to be organized - I had even purchased a couple of drawer organizers at some point.
Clearly, they were not working:

Now, this drawer is only storing toiletries that we use daily or on a more regular basis.  I bought 2 acrylic drawer dividers from HG to organize & divide the drawer contents.  Now, everything has a home & it doesn't slide around everywhere - and I was able to reuse the organizers that were originally there for another bedside table project:

Moving on to the first storage unit - you can see it was home to a variety of random things:

This storage unit is now holding all hair & makeup related items:

I found an acrylic organizer to store my makeup which fits perfectly in the open shelf:

 Since I couldn't fit my brushes in the organizer, I popped them in a cute little green dish I found @ HG:

I lowered the top shelf on the inside of the unit to accommodate my velcro rollers & clips.  Since I really only use the largest size rollers, I placed them all in a plastic bin so they would be easy to access.
The rest of the smaller rollers went back in their original packaging:

I placed all of the clips inside of a little zippered pouch I had laying around:

On the next shelf down, I corralled all of my headbands & larger clips into a plastic bin:

The next shelf down is empty for now - and on the bottom shelf, I placed all my hair care products:

Lastly, I implemented an idea I had seen on Pinterest.  I bought 2 adhesive magnetic strips from Lowe's & attached the strips to the inside of the cabinet to hold all those bobby pins & clips:

I placed some Velcro squares on both edges & the middle of the magnetic strips in order to raise the magnets off of the door a bit - which makes it easier to grab the bobby pins.  The Velcro stuck to the door itself, but it would not stay attached to the magnetic strip, so I added a drop of superglue between the magnet & the Velcro:

Then I used a tiny command strip hook to hold a ring of hair ties:

Moving on, here's the before of the second storage unit:

The second storage unit just needed a little purging & reorganizing.  Since I relocated all of my hair care products, I put my scented lotions & extra body sprays there instead.  Extra razors, waxing kit, & sunless tanner went on the bottom shelf:

And lastly, I hung a shoe organizer on the back of the water closet door.  The organizer holds all those lager miscellaneous items that we use less often (like baby powder, rubbing alcohol, sunscreens, aloe, etc).  I like that these items are hidden behind the door, while still easy to access:

 It definitely feels better to have an organized bathroom.  It makes getting ready, finding things, & putting items away so much easier!  

If you're looking for some more organization inspiration, check out my previous projects.

Mel
:)