How to Organize Your Bathroom Cabinet
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Nothing puts a damper on a busy day quite like a disorganized bathroom. Messy, cluttered cabinets make it difficult to find what you need, which can make you frustrated before you even get out the door! That’s why we connected with Lisa Jacobs, founder and CEO of Imagine It Done, a professional organizing service based in New York. We called on her expert advice for how to organize your bathroom cabinet, as well as her input on bathroom storage solutions that truly work.
“Keeping cabinets organized makes morning and evening routines more efficient, keeps products visible and easy to find, and helps prevent overbuying or letting items expire unnoticed,” Lisa says. “It also maximizes available storage, making every inch of space work harder.”
Reorganizing can be intimidating, but we’re here to make it easier with bathroom organization ideas you can immediately put to work. Keep reading for step-by-step guidance on how to make the most of your bathroom storage space, both in the vanity and under the sink, along with recommended products that can help you take your powder room from chaotic to clean and orderly.
How to Organize Your Bathroom Vanity
1. Clean the Surfaces
You can’t create the organized bathroom cabinets of your dreams with dirty shelves and drawers! So, first, remove everything from the inside of the vanity, and wipe down the surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner.
2. Audit Your Products
Now that you have everything laid out in front of you, it’s time to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. “Edit what you have by discarding expired, dried-out, damaged, or unused products,” Lisa says.
3. Group Similar Items
Take the products you’ve kept and separate them by function. For example, group first aid items together; skincare products together; cleaning products together; and so on. This will make it easier to see what you have and when it’s time to replenish.
5. Assess Your Storage Needs
If your vanity is large enough, consider using organizers like bins, trays, and storage boxes to keep things tidy. Take note of your vanity and cabinet measurements before shopping, and look for items that will easily nest inside with the door or drawers closed.
6. Strategize Your Organization
Once you have your products and organizers ready, it’s time to strategically place them inside the vanity. Make a mental note of what items you use the most—you’ll want to make sure they’re front, center, and easy to reach.
How to Organize Your Under-Sink Cabinets
1. Follow Steps 1–4 Above to Start Organizing
To get your lower bathroom cabinets in order, complete steps 1-4 above to clean your cabinets, group your products, and assess your organization needs.
2. Assess the Available Space
Under-cabinet storage space is unique, and dimensions can range from shallow to deep, short to tall, and everything in between—not to mention any awkward plumbing or large pipes involved. Take down these measurements so you purchase organizers that will fit.
3. Add Necessary Functionality
You don’t have to stick with the shelves that are built into your bathroom setup. Work around plumbing with narrow bins; use turntables and stackable drawers to maximize space; make narrow cabinets more functional with tiered trays. “Organizing lower bathroom cabinets is all about making deep, awkward spaces more functional,” Lisa says.
4. Find a Layout That Works
The way you organize depends on your available space, but the basic requirements stay the same: Make sure your most-used items are front and center. “Placement should be based primarily on how frequently each product is used,” Lisa shares. “Everyday essentials should be kept within easy reach, while back stock can be stored in less accessible areas.” Explore different ways of laying out your organizers so you’re using the space efficiently and effectively.
5. Keep It Going!
Every time you reach into your artfully organized bathroom cabinet, take a second to appreciate what you’ve done—and make an effort to keep it that way! Put things back in their rightful place after you’ve used them, and make a habit of tidying up and reorganizing regularly. You’ve got this!
Top Recommended Bathroom Organization Tools
01
The Home Edit by iDesign Lazy Susan
The Container Store
$6.99
This is one of Lisa’s personal favorites! The pros from The Home Edit designed this turntable to accommodate everything from spices in the kitchen to cosmetics in the bathroom. Place it inside your cabinets, give it a spin, and you won’t need to awkwardly reach behind other items to find what you want.
02
ClearSpace Clear Plastic Storage Bins
Amazon
$39.99
If you have deep cabinets, these clear plastic storage bins will be the heroes of your organization scheme. Pack each one with like items—cleaning products can go in one, hair styling products and brushes can go in another, and so forth. When you need something from the back, just slide the front bins out for easy access.
03
Luxe Acrylic Drawer Organizer Set
The Container Store
$17.49
These small, rectangular trays are perfect for shallow vanity drawers, and can easily pull double-duty in the office, bedroom, or kitchen. “You can see everything you need and change and reorganize with pieces as needed,” comments one of many 5-star reviewers.
04
2-Tier Acrylic Tower
The Container Store
$34.99
Are your bathroom cabinets so tall that you have to pile everything on top of each other to maximize the available storage space? This two-tier tower solves that problem by creating a shelf where there wasn’t one before. It’s made from high-quality acrylic that will hold up over time.
05
STORi Stackable Drawer Organizer
Amazon
$26.99
These drawers make it simple to streamline the way you store your makeup, nail polish, and other small bathroom items. They nestle securely on top of one another for easy stacking, or you can place them side by side with baskets on top if you have a wider cabinet space. It comes as a set of four, so you can order multiples if you want to customize your storage further.
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Amy Gordon
Amy Gordon is a freelance writer and editor who splits her time between New York, NY and Vieques, PR. When she’s not at her desk, you’ll probably find her on a plane with her nose in a book, in the Caribbean snorkeling through coral reefs, or on the couch watching true crime TV. Learn more and read her work at www.amygordonmedia.com.
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