These practical and easy ideas for bathroom vanity organization will help speed up your morning routines. No more scrambling around for those items you can’t find!
In the 8 houses I’ve previously lived in, I’ve discovered organizing the bathroom cabinets can be tricky. Here are some creative ideas to get the best storage space out of even the smallest spaces.
1. Choose a bathroom cabinet with smart storage space.
The main bathroom in our last home was very small with limited space for a vanity. (You can see the before and after transformation in this makeover post). We chose a vanity that had a clever drawer for small items storage, and the larger cabinet space was a great place for bathroom products.
2. Install a shelf above the sink to hold small bathroom items.
A medicine cabinet recessed into the wall is a great storage space for small bathroom items. However, another alternative to that is a shelf hung below the mirror.
You can use pretty containers to store items, and they are handy to reach.
3. Create a “beauty station” outside the bathroom
After dropping one too many make-up brushes in the toilet, I finally set up a vanity station in what I referred to as “The Walk In Closet” (in our former home).
4. Make the most out of larger bathroom cabinets
Perhaps lacking a bit in style, I find our current bathroom cabinets absolute luxury for its storage potential.
Normal daily use had made it cluttered and messy, so this week’s organization challenge motivated me to spend a little time getting it back in order again.
I started by first giving the place a really good clean. (It doesn’t always look like that above picture!;)).
Then, I moved on to the nitty gritty details.
5. Use drawers for Makeup & makeup brush Storage
The drawer on the top left is a handy place to put my make-up.
I emptied it all out, lined the drawer with pretty paper, and organized the items “like with like”.
Rather than purchase new drawer organizers, I re purposed boxes I already had. Clear plastic boxes (from “Ferrero Rocher” chocolates) hold the items for “lips” and “make-up brushes”. A white box from another product I have holds items for “eyes” and “face”. Now that they are organized this way, it is so much easier to find the exact item I need.
(If you are looking for specific bathroom vanity organizers, I’ve included a list of shoppable items from Amazon at the bottom of this post.)
6. Use lazy susans and plastic containers for under the sink storage
The storage under the sink is always tricky for me. It’s such a large space that things seem to disappear in the dark cavern under there. I’ll buy something new thinking I’m all out, only to discover 3 months later I already had some under the sink!
I took it all out and went on a hunt to find some more efficient storage containers for the specific items we had. Here’s how it ended up:
I eventually found a plastic container unit with drawers for lots of the small bathroom products. The drawers provide easy access to the items that might otherwise get lost in the back of the cupboard.
Bathroom cleaning supplies are corraled in a basket of their own and tuck under the plumbing pipe.
The handles on the hampers allow for simple retrieval when items are needed.
A transparent glass container with a lid works well for bandaides and guaze, providing quick access.
I still need to create the labels for this project, but the planned categories are as follows!
5. Utilize the reverse side of cabinet doors for storage solutions
An attractive over-the-door organizer is ideal for keeping my blow dryer, flat iron, and brushes tidy.
6. Storage for Medications and Generous Bath Towels
Even without pictures of these spots, the lower cupboards are excellent for neatly stacking large bath towels.
Medicines are kept in the second shallow drawer, organized within small trays from Ikea.
7. Storing Paper Goods and Towels
Our unique townhouse bathroom features a substantial closet, and inside the door, there are very useful shelves.
(Please excuse the poor night-time flash photo!!) It had become a disorganized collection of assorted crafts and bathroom necessities.
Cleaning products were moved beneath the sink, and the remaining items were arranged for better daily usability.
Laundry items are in the small basket next to the hand towels, which now frees up space for extra toilet paper.
For newcomers, this marks week 6 of an 8 Week Organization Challenge; review a previous post to see other areas of the house.
Explore Bathroom Vanity Organizers on Amazon
Finding the perfect organizing pieces takes time, so I've gathered some fine choices from Amazon below. (Note: These are affiliate links).
