The bathroom is one room people don’t generally think of spending a lot of time in. They’re in and they’re out, moving on with their day. However, bathrooms get incredibly messy despite the short amount of time that’s spent inside of them. Cabinets get cluttered and bottles, cans, and various accessories build up overnight.

Doing a little organizing in the bathroom frees up space and makes the bathroom easier to use for all members of the family. Having things at hand where you need them saves time, and it saves a lot of dripping wet trips across the room to get what you should have had right beside the shower.

Under the Sink

The space under the bathroom sink tends to become a pile of bottles and hair accessories. Many of the bottles are half-full, some are expired, and many of them will never be used again. Take some steps to clean up under the sink first.

Start by pulling everything out and throwing away anything expired, dried up, or that has just gotten grungy and can’t be washed. Then wipe out the inside of the cabinet. I recommend you line the cabinet with drawer lining paper or even with wallpaper.

You can find lining paper at any hardware store. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns so you can pick something that matches the bathroom, or just pick something you like.

This paper is coated to make it easy to wipe up spills and messes. It really helps.

Next, measure the inside of your under the sink cabinet. Is there enough room to add a shelf or a small shelf to one side? often these cabinets are tall and there’s lost space at the top. Adding a small shelf will prevent things from being piled and jumbled on top of one another.

You can get shelves at any hardware store or general merchandise store. A small coated wire shelf will be easy to clean in the event of spills.

You can also get small baskets and bins to go under the sink to help organize your bottles and accessories by what they’re used for.

Put your items back under the cabinet. Hopefully you have a lot more space now. Store the things you use frequently near the front of the cabinet. If you have your first aid supplies under the sink, make sure you can get to them easily.

The Top of the Counter

Organize on top of your bathroom counter as well. Get a container to hold your toothbrushes. Have a soap dish or soap dispenser for your soap. You may also want a small container to hold your combs and brushes.

Getting everything into its own small container lets you arrange things quickly and easily on the counter top. It also makes cleaning easier. Simply move the containers off your counter, wipe it down, and replace the containers.

Towels and Washcloths

Towels and washcloths are always in demand in the bathroom, and the situations for storing them vary widely depending on how your bathroom is set up.

If you’re lucky enough to have a linen closet in or near the bathroom, store towels and washcloths neatly in the closet. Hooks on the wall in the bathroom can be used for several towels to be on standby beside the tub. You can find decorative hooks and rings at the hardware store. Try alternating the colors of your towels – for instance, a white towel then blue and then another white and another blue. Another idea is to have different shades of the same color. So go from a very dark chocolate brown to a light shade, then a tan, then a white.

These color combinations give a nice effect while keeping your towels stored neatly.

Inside the Tub or Shower

Inside of your tub may become cluttered with things. If your tub or shower doesn’t have any built in shelves, take a trip to the store and pick a unit. You can find storage units that fit in the corner of a shower, that suction onto the side of the tub, and that hang over the shower. Pick something that will work for your bathroom and use it. Collect up all the bottles that went on the side of your tub and put them into the storage unit you, soap supplies, got.

This will keep things much neater and directly at hand where you need them.

Enjoy your cleaner, neater bathroom. Take a few minutes each day to pick up anything left on the floor and to wipe down the counter. You’ll love just how neat it looks and how easy it is to take care of a well-organized bathroom.