Organizing The Bathroom ~ And My Life

Organize your bathroom in a way that works for you with dollar store bins. Better yet, throw what you don't need away...
I'm not usually a huge dollar store fan.

Don't get me wrong, I love a bargain, unfortunately, the dollar stores in my area are just not that great. I see the items that some other bloggers pick up at their shops and wow, but here, eh, nothing great.

I can say, however, that my store does have a super selection of baskets and when I get the organizing bug, the dollar store is always my first stop.

Now, this is not going to be your typical "how to organize and pretty up your bathroom vanity" type of post.

If you have read my blog before, you know that I am more of general advice girl. I want to inspire and empower you to organize your own space, your own way, because let's face it, you could do it my way, but what's practical for me, may not work for you.

I have seen tons of gorgeous linen closets and bathroom cabinets on Pinterest.

They are lovely and I would love my spaces to look that perfect, but honestly, it is not realistic in my home. It makes for a great picture and if I were a single woman or an empty nester, those magazine ready cabinets might stay that way, but I have a husband and a houseful of teenagers.

Nobody cares how the linen closet looks, except me.

They want a towel and they grab for it fast or they want to get their chores done as quickly as possible, so they shove the poorly folded towels into the closet and run.

It is not always pretty, but the door is usually shut and it is one less job I have to do. I pick my proverbial organization battles for sure and so should you.

The bathroom I organized this weekend is the one my kids use. It is also our guest bath.

Our home is a beach cottage. It was built in the 1920's as a vacation home, storage for a modern family is sorely lacking, but we make it work.

I don't overbuy, I am not a Costco shopper,  so I don't have to worry about where to keep it all, but there were too many items shoved under the counter and every time I opened it up, something fell on my feet.

Argh!

Of course, the kids HAD to keep everything in here, they NEED it all, so since there was nothing to toss, I tossed it all into baskets instead.

Tips For Organizing A Bathroom Vanity

• Common sense approach here ~ frequently used items in the front, extras or things that were only used occasionally in the back. 

• I opted for plastic buckets, as opposed to baskets, because kids hands are often wet when grabbing for things.

• Product bottles can leak and last spring this cabinet was completely repainted due to a drippy faucet and mold problem.

Stuff happens when water's nearby, I don't keep towels in here for the same reasons...and really, where would I put them?

It took me about ten minutes to reorganize and take the pictures.

It's not glamorous, but it is functional for us and solves the problem that was bothering me...no more stuff spilling out on to the floor.

Now, I wasn't allowed to ditch anything from this space, but honestly, for me, that was unusual, because when organizing my overriding mantra is always the same.

Whether it's expired sunscreen, half empty shaving cream cans or outdated makeup, the old adage applies, when in doubt, throw it out!

Remember, the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to manage and I don't know how and I don't know why, but stuff tends to multiply. 

You can toss it nicely in that basket, but why if you haven't used it in months and don't plan to in the near future?

It's taking up space in your bathroom and, I know it sounds new age-y, but it's taking up space in your psyche, as well. 

Just get rid of it and free up all of that space!

Obviously, I'm much less married to my stuff than my kids (and my husband was outside), so baskets in hand I decided to hit our bathroom, as well!

Shhh.

I tossed all of this....   

Ah, much better, I can breathe again.

Also, when I don't have all those empty bottles hanging around, I can clearly see what I do have, so I can use it and be aware when I need to replace it.

I actually find that it saves me money to be organized, as I don't waste money buying duplicates and the kids don't waste as much and use the items I buy to the end, because they can find them.

It's a much easier way to manage our stuff and it only took a few dollars.

Again, nothing in these rooms is pinworthy, but it works for me and it's realistic for my family.

I mean honestly, even the laziest among them can get the bottle in the basket, right?

...Right?

Oh boy.

I'll let you know how it goes! 😉

How do you organize your cabinets?

PS~ Later that night I decided to use my extra baskets to organize the kitchen junk drawer!

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