A well-organized bathroom is a space that pays dividends several times a day, yet it is often last on the list of household tasks. Usually there are a lot of buyer’s remorse beauty items and expired but expensive meds that create resistance. Cupboards and drawers are often damp and a little hairy, since even the better home cleaning services don’t get into such private areas. Get past all that and you’ll be amazed at the lift you will feel.
Start with emptying out all of the cupboards and drawers into boxes and remove them from the room. Take some clean rags and the spray cleaner of your choice and wipe out all of the drawers and cupboards, then do your normal bathroom cleaning if needed.
Sort everything by category: Hair, cosmetics, nails, skin care, meds, first aid, eyeglasses and contact lens supplies, tooth care and so on. Take this opportunity to pitch any make-up that you don’t use or that doesn’t look good on you. Anything dried out or with passed expiration dates should also go.
Further define your categories into smaller categories such as eye make-up, cold medicines, digestive medicines, etc.
At this point you will be able to see how much stuff needs to go back into the bathroom. Do you need to purchase any new storage containers? I’ve used bamboo kitchen utensil dividers for ages in shallow drawers for teeth supplies, make-up and manicure supplies.
Under the sink I use plastic “Like-It” stackable containers that are easy to wipe out and come in a variety of sizes and a few colors. You can line the drawers or refresh old drawer liner at this point too.
You might also like to get creative with your containerizing. I’ve seen some really fun methods recently, such as using a magnetic knife strip to hold scissors, bobby pins and other metal tools. Spice racks can be great for small jars and containers and beautiful little jars or vintage juice glasses are attractive on a tray for make-up brushes.
You might also like adding battery operated or rechargeable lighting where you want it to make applying make-up or shaving on dark mornings or before going out at night so much easier.
Strips of rechargeable motion lighting near the floor are very cool for middle of the night bathroom visits. These can go along the kickboard under the vanity and are very easy to install with magnetic stick-on clips. But be sure to turn off during the day or the battery won’t last long and recharging is a bit of a drag.
Keep all your chargers (toothbrush, lighted mirror, water-pik, and so on) in a labeled container under the sink. Label the chargers themselves first.
If you have reduced clutter, you might have room in a drawer near the toilet for a few extra rolls of toilet paper, if not, try a basket on the floor. You might have room for extra towels under the sink but most people don’t. Stack or roll them on the counter if you have space or install extra towel hooks and bars where you can. I like to use stick on knobs and hooks inside the shower where they won’t get too wet (if the shower is large enough) to hang wash cloths, scrubby mitts and a super absorbent small hair drying towel.
Look around the now clean and orderly room and think about whether you want to add some art, a vase of flowers or a candle. If you use bar soap, there are some gorgeous soap dishes available. One of my favorites is carved out of a solid piece of rose quartz and polished smooth. Local artist Natalie Carpello has made some incredible wavy marbleized clay versions and also makes grape leaf embossed small plates that would make fun soap dishes (nataliecarpelloart.com).
Note: You might have noticed that one vowel and one consonant has changed in my byline. I decided to make this year about two things: lightening up (literally and metaphorically) and identity. Changing my name was a big symbolic shift I’ve wanted to make since early 2020. I finally braved the lines at the County Clerk’s office (there were none) and downtown Napa parking (also a phantom problem, go figure) to make it a reality. A couple thousand dollars and copious official documents later, I feel lighter and more “on purpose.” As writer (and inspiration for my new name) Aldous Huxley might say, it’s a Brave New World.