It’s the 3rd week in the Drawer Organization blog hop and this week we’re in the bathroom. Of course, neither of the bathrooms in my house have drawers. That’s why this week I’m showing you how to organize the bathroom catchall.
If you live in an older house or a house without a master bathroom, you probably don’t have bathroom drawers. In fact, I’ve never lived in a place with drawers in the bathroom in my adult life. Instead, you find creative ways to add more storage in that tiny room.
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Welcome to the Drawer Organization Blog Hop! For the entire month of April, 12 bloggers will be sharing the process of cleaning and organizing one drawer in our homes each week. To kick off the first week, we’re focusing on bathroom drawers!
My Pinterventures • Intelligent Domestications
DIY Adulation • Domestically Creative • Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Domestic Deadline • Across the Boulevard • The Latina Next Door
Mom Home Guide • Creative Cynchronicity • Olives & Okra
Centsably Creative • Fearlessly Creative Mammas
One way is the basket on top of the toilet. You know what I’m talking about. You put that pretty basket on the tank and fill it with extra toilet paper rolls for convenience. Then the basket empties.
Suddenly, instead of being refilled with toilet paper as intended, other items start getting tossed in. Your husband throws his razor in. The kids toss some chap stick in there. A bottle of body spray finds a home when you’re rushing out the door.
Now that basket has become a catchall for anything and everything. You couldn’t even fit toilet paper in it of you wanted to. It’s overflowing with stuff that actually belongs somewhere else in the home.
Not anymore! Today we’re tackling that basket and bringing it back to its purpose in life.
Step 1
As always, start by removing everything from the basket. If you’re feeling brave, you can simply dump it out on the floor. I was not that brave since I had no idea what would be inside, instead opting to take everything out piece by piece.
Step 2
Next, organize everything into piles of like objects. Toys in one pile, makeup in another, and so on.
Note:
- This is also when you want to toss any obvious trash like empty packaging or loose tissues.
Step 3
Before you put everything away, go through each pile and see if there are any items that need to be tossed or donated. For example, there were expired beauty products in mine that could go and about a thousands key chains I never have or will use. Don’t store these for another 5 years, clear them out now.
Step 4
After you have only the items you want to keep remaining, put them away in their designated homes. I’m incredibly embarrassed at the number of jewelry items in mine. In fact, when I pulled my jewelry box out to put them away, it was still empty from when we moved into our house almost 5 years ago!
Step 5
Lastly, return your basket to the bathroom and immediately fill it with toilet paper (or magazines, hand towels, etc. that it was originally intended to hold).
It’s amazing how long I waited to tackle this project. It seemed so daunting but, in reality, I finished it in about an hour. That includes sorting everything and cleaning the basket.
Now you know how to organize the bathroom catchall and return it to its original purpose. The next step is preventing it from becoming a chaotic mess in the future. Luckily, I have some tips to help you.
- Always keep the basket full. If you see the toilet paper getting low, add a few more rolls. This will help keep you and your family from putting other items inside.
- If you do catch an item in there that doesn’t belong, have the owner of the item put it away immediately. This works especially well for kids and teens who won’t like having their fun interrupted for cleaning. That’s a powerful deterrent.
- Be present. Don’t flit in and out of the bathroom with items that have no place in there. My husband is bad about bring books to the bathroom only to be on is phone anyway. If that’s the case, point it out and have him remove and re-shelve the books.
If you do have drawers in your bathroom, don’t fret. My friends below have you covered with their tips for organizing bathroom drawers. Hop around and see what inspiring ideas they’re sharing!
See where I’m linking up!
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For more bathroom drawer organization ideas, visit the other host blogs below.