Tips for Organizing Your Bathroom

The bathroom is the one place in the home that everyone uses at least once a day.  For lots of us, bathrooms can be used so many times in a day by so many people that it can be hard to get or keep it organized.  They contain so many big and small useful items that finding the best home for these things is sometimes difficult.

Here are some tips and products to help you get and keep order in your bathroom:

1.   If you have a vanity, the open space below it can be doubled by using an adjustable under sink shelf.  This is perfect for cleaning supplies but take care with placement on these if you have small children or pets in the house.   

Extra rolls of toilet paper can be stacked here.  Shallow baskets here can also corral the smaller items such as extra toothpaste, floss, etc.

They also make over-the-door hooks for vanity doors to hold a hair dryer or curling iron.

2.  If your vanity also has drawers, you can use a cutlery or office supply drawer organizer to keep these things handy.  These can be found at Bed, Bath and Beyond or office supply stores. 

3.  If you need additional storage space, putting shelves, a cabinet, or a storage tower over the toilet can really make the difference.  Use this new space for your daily use products so they’re handy when needed.  Cleaning supplies kept nearby can make daily cleanups much easier.

4. In the medicine cabinet, besides the option of adjusting shelf height, OXO makes great narrow organizing containers and shelves that I use to help maximize this space.  Check them out at oxo.com.

Medicine cabinets should be used only for your daily use items as well.  Having them handy without having to search for them will really speed up your morning routine

Putting a magnetized strip inside the cabinet door for tweezers and other light metal items puts them front and center when needed.
5.  In the bathtub, there are many heavy duty baskets and nets that go on with suction cups that can straighten this area up.  Bath toys can dry when hung in a net from the walls.

There are also lots of shower organizing caddies available that will give your bath and shower products right where you need them. 

6.  Whenever possible, remove items such as Q-tips or cotton balls from their original packaging and place them in a sealed clear container.  This will ensure they stay sanitary until needed. 

These tips will enable you to find your bathroom items when you need them which will get you out the door in a much better mood. 

For more organizing tips, go to napomichigan.com.

Article Written by Chapter member Cindy Greenleaf.  Find out more about her at NewLeafOrganizingLLC.com

ORGANIZING SMALL SPACES

Do you have a small room or closet that’s stuffed because you think it’s “too small to be organized?” 
Even though organizing small spaces is a challenge, remember that every cubic inch is valuable real estate for you to make organized use of.

There are tricks to getting a small space organized that can make that room or closet really work for you despite its “tight footprint.”

1.  In small spaces, go vertical whenever possible.  Use a tall bookcase or tower with multiple shelves to take advantage of the wall space.  Watch the depth of storage items to ensure space is maximized and the flow is good.  By doing this, you’ll get big bang for the little bit floor space used.   

In the bookcase or tower, place labeled bins, baskets or fabric drawers so everyone knows what’s in them.

2.  Another place for great storage is above the door in that room.  Install a shelf at that height to use for memorabilia storage, stuffed animals, seasonal decorations, etc.

3.  Hooks are a good way to hang items on the wall and use NO floor space.  Labeled tote bags on hooks can hold many types of things.

4.  In small spaces, lazy susan turntables can be a great tool.  On a refrigerator shelf, it can hold condiments.  In a pantry, it can hold canned goods.

5.  Limit the number of items stored in a small space.  For example, only keep two extra rolls of toilet tissue beneath the bathroom vanity with additional overflow rolls stored nearby.

So the next time you open the door to a small room or closet, look at it differently and you’ll be shocked at how much an organized small space can hold.

For more organizing tips visit http://www.napomichigan.com/.

Article submitted by Chapter member Cindy Greenleaf, Chief Organizing Officer of New Leaf Organizing LLC.