By Jeanette Joy Fisher
Before you can begin a bathroom remodel, you
need organization!
If you took a survey, you'd find that one of
the most frustrating things in the world to a
homeowner is a bathroom filled with unsightly
clutter. Yet, dealing with clutter in the bathroom
can be a daunting task and one that’s hard to get
a handle on, especially if storage space is
limited. What can you do to tackle the job?
Here are a few bathroom organization
suggestions:
First, if the bathroom is shared by more than one
family member, you've got to set parameters for
who-uses-what-space.
Begin by cleaning out every drawer. This will
accomplish several things. First, it will allow
you to discard anything that doesn't get used:
things that have just been sitting around, taking
space, sometimes for decades. It also sets
distinct boundaries for who-can-put-what-where.
This is important, especially if you have kids
sharing the space.
Give everyone who uses the bathroom space a
different-colored basket. They're easy to find at
discount stores for very little money, and they
can help your organization efforts immensely. Make
sure that everyone has all the items they'll need
every day, such as toothpaste, grooming supplies,
and makeup in their basket. No one is to borrow
from anyone else. That’s the key to making this
system work! If a family member gets low on
something, they need to you know, and you'll
replenish it quickly. (The key word here is
quickly, or the borrowing will begin, and the
system will break down amazingly fast.)
After the drawers are organized, begin on the
countertops. There shouldn't be much left on them
after you've made space for everybody’s personal
items in the drawers. Keep the countertops as free
of stuff as possible. That will go a long way
toward making your bathroom look less cluttered.
There are ways to maximize your storage. You can
use shower or bath caddies to hold soap, shampoo,
sponges, and other bathing utensils. Again,
they're inexpensive, but can save lots of clutter.
Similar kinds of caddies can be used to hold
little kids’ tubby toys, as well, to keep them
from cluttering up the bathroom space.
If you think about it, there are only a few things
that actually need to be stored in the bathroom:
things like towels, washcloths, toilet paper,
feminine hygiene items, make up supplies, extra
bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and a few bars
of soap.
Kids can present special problems by not hanging
up their towels when they're done with a bath or
shower. One great way to encourage them to hang up
towels is to use hooks instead of towel racks. It
only takes a heartbeat to hang a towel on a hook,
which means they'll be much more likely to use it.
