How to Organize Makeup & Beauty Products in a Small Bathroom

Keep your makeup and your bathroom organized at the same time.

Bathrooms should function well enough for busy people to get in, get ready and get on with the day as efficiently as possible. That can be a challenge in a small bathroom. Searching through piles of makeup and hunting for your favorite shampoo on overcrowded shelves wastes time that could be put to better use. Good organization is the solution. The right accessories, an established routine and a little creativity is the formula for making a small bath both attractive and functional.

Things You'll Need

• Shelving

Instructions

1. Purge items you no longer use. Get rid of old mascara, nearly empty bottles of lotion, shampoo and anything else that hasn't been used in awhile.

2. Consider installing wall shelving to group beauty products. Purchase inexpensive shelving in any material that suits your style: glass, wood, metal or wicker; most can be installed with just a couple of screws. Wall shelving is ideal for tall bottles of lotion and hair sprays that don't fit into drawers or small cabinets.

3. Look in home improvement stores for coordinated bath accessories that fit your space. Alternatively, look for small baskets, bowls or sectioned containers in complementary colors and styles to give the bathroom a cohesive, finished look. Put everyday items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and hair brushes in them to keep them off the edge of the sink.

4. Store small items like lipsticks and eye shadows in glass containers so they can be grabbed at a glance instead of having to hunt for the right color.

5. Designate specific containers for items and specific areas in the bathroom for those containers. For example, group nail polish, polish remover and cotton swabs in one basket and keep it in the same place in the room. Return items to that basket after every use. Doing so eliminates having to search around for popular items that are used frequently.

6. Install shower caddies for shampoos, conditioners and bath gels to store them together and keep them off of the edge of the sink or tub.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit home improvement stores to look for space-saving, apartment-sized cabinets or freestanding shelves to hold makeup and beauty products if the bathroom is large enough.

References

• Overstock; How to Organize Your Bathroom Vanity; Brooke Bartlett
• Apartment Therapy; How to Organize Makeup; Laure Joliet; March 2009

Resources

• House Beautiful; Keeping Your Bathroom Organized; Jenn Andrlik
• Discover Organization: How to Organize Your Bathroom