The bathroom: it’s one of the most used rooms in the home and yet, for many of us, it’s also one of the least organised. I admit to being pretty guilty of this. When you walk in the room it looks fine; fairly neat, not too many things lying out, everything seems to have its place. Until you open a cabinet door and are met with a hoard of random products packed in there like Tetris blocks, and the second you try to take something out, it all comes falling out onto your feet.  If this situation sounds familiar, your bathroom is probably in need of some organisation.

Organisation is something that any bathroom could benefit from, but it’s particularly useful for those of us with small bathrooms that are lacking in decent storage. So if you fancy having a bathroom so organised that Martha Stewart would be envious, read on for our top tips!

Step 1: Empty it Out

First things first: to get everything organised, the easiest way to do it is to start with a clean canvas, so to speak. So start by emptying everything out. Cabinets, drawers, shower caddies, the lot.

Step 2: Deep Clean

While everything is emptied out, now’s a great time to get into those nooks and crannies and give everything a good clean. Give your shower caddy a polish, wipe down your cupboards and get inside those dusty drawers.

Step 3: Declutter

Now we’ve got the boring bits out of the way, here’s the fun part (if you’re addicted to decluttering, like I am). You see that giant pile of stuff you just moved out of the bathroom? Time to go through it and get rid of a few things. Whoever you are, however organised you claim to be, you probably have something in that pile that doesn’t need to be there. A few things that most of us could stand to get rid of:

• Expired products. Yes, shampoos and conditioners can and do expire. If you’re not sure when you bought it, it’s probably time to get rid of it.
• Products you don’t use. Be realistic here: are you really going to use that bath oil set your mother-in-law bought you for Christmas 3 years ago? Really? Give it away, or toss it!
• Expired medications. Though, as a side note, you shouldn’t actually be storing your medications in the bathroom anyway, but that’s a whole other blog post!
• The 50 cans of Lynx deodorant that your partner inexplicably has but never uses. This one might just be me…
• Old towels. I know some people are adamant that they must keep their bathroom towels until they’re literally threadbare but, I promise you, you will not miss that hand towel your dog chewed a hole through a few years ago. Throw. It. Away.

Step 4: Categorise and Organise

Next, it’s time to get things organised. Separate what you have left by product type, then by how often it gets used. Separate the stuff you use on a daily basis e.g. shower gel, toothpaste etc. from the stuff you only use on occasion e.g. the 50 bath bombs that you impulse-bought in the sales (again, this might be just me. What was all that about decluttering?)

Step 5: Put it All Away

Now that you’ve got everything clean and you’re not hoarding pointless objects anymore (bath bombs notwithstanding), it’s time to put everything away again. But don’t just start shoving things in the cabinet at random (I mean, you can, but it would kind of defeat the point). Create a system that makes sense for you.

All that stuff that you use every day? Keep it at arm’s reach and store it where you need it. Pop your shower products into your shower caddy. If you don’t own one already, I’d suggest picking one up. I promise, it’s more functional than balancing everything precariously on the side of the bath. Pick up a nice toothbrush holder to store your dental essentials and you’re all set.

Everything else? Put it all back into drawers and cabinets in an organised fashion. Keep everything separated by type i.e. put your hair products together, your cleansers together etc. It can be hard to keep things organised in drawers and cabinets; you start with good intentions but, somehow, it always seems to end as a cluttered mess of products falling out onto the floor.  

For drawers, acrylic trays can work wonders at keepings things organised. Alternatively, depending on the size of your drawers, you could repurpose a kitchen cutlery tray. As odd as it sounds, they’re great for storing your smaller bits and pieces, like cotton pads and razors.

If you have a shelved cupboard, small plastic baskets are great for keeping things organised. Pro-tip: choose baskets with handles so you can take it out, rummage around for what you need, then pop it straight back in; no muss, no fuss.

So that was our 5 step journey to an organised bathroom. Do you have any tips for keeping your bathroom organised? Let us know in the comments!