Bathroom Organizing Tips

The busy bathroom is the place to take advantage of the many tools and gadgets designed to organize your home's tight spaces. By design, most bathrooms leave little room for major improvement in terms of storage.

Still, there are plenty of little things you can do to make the most of these cramped quarters. These bathroom organizing ideas can help.

Master the Medicine Cabinet

Start the bathroom organizing process by cleaning out the one major area in the bathroom that was designed specifically for toiletry storage - the medicine cabinet.

Or you can hang a shower caddy over the shower-head to keep shampoo, shaving cream, soap, and razors within easy reach but somewhat out of eyesight. Another space-maximizing device is a system of coated-wire rollout baskets, which can be used to expand the storage capacity of under-the-sink cabinet space.

If your bathroom has no storage space there, mount a small coated-wire grid on the wall and hang personal appliances such as hair dryers and curling irons from it with S-hooks.

You'll find these bathroom organizing grids and rollout baskets at retailers that sell bath, kitchen, or closet storage accessories.

Take advantage of the empty space above the toilet by adding a small cabinet or shelves to hold extra linens or toiletries. Freestanding over-the-commode shelves can maximize this space right up to the ceiling. But be careful what you display here; small items that fall into the bowl will be no fun to retrieve. 

You can also place your deodorant, perfume, hairdryer, and hairbrushes in the clear plastic pockets of a back-of-the-door shoe holder; this will keep these frequently used items from taking up counter space but within easy reach.

A second shower curtain rod added behind and level with the first, provides a handy place to hang wet towels so they can air-dry before you fold and return them to the rack.

If your shower has glass doors instead of a curtain and there's no place to hang a second rod, you can make more space for towels by replacing existing racks with a set of decorative hooks.

Since running out of toilet paper is something you'd like to avoid, store at least one spare roll in the bathroom rather than in the linen closet. Hide the extra roll in a simple covered basket with the lid slightly ajar. It remains discreetly hidden, yet you, your family, or a guest can grab it in a moment of need. 

Bathroom Organizing for Tub and Shower Areas

Bath essentials tend to overrun a tub or shower, especially when women are involved. Add a kid or three and things can really get messy. 

The key to keeping Barbies from overrunning the tub and Mom's scented body scrubs, facial cleansers, shampoo, and conditioner from drowning the shower in stuff is to divide and conquer. 

Plastic dispensers in the shower for soap and shampoo eliminate a bottle or three. Racks or hooks for washcloths and the essential post-scrub wipedown of shower and tub surfaces keep these items from cluttering tight spaces.

And a suction-cup net or plastic tray across the tub keeps toddlers' bath toys handy. 

Bathroom Organizing Tools

No matter how luxurious your bathroom is, the under-the-sink cabinet probably doesn't offer enough storage space. Make the most of every inch of space with one or more of these bathroom organizing accessories. They can dramatically increase your bathroom's storage power. 

• Use a wicker or wrought-iron wine rack to store rolled washcloths and towels. This is not only a way to put extra storage and spare towels at the ready, but rolled towels can also provide a colorful accent, especially in a child's bathroom. Coordinate the towels to your decor.
  

• Near-sink shelving. If you're really short on space, single shelves hung near the sink provide perfect resting spots for soap, toothbrushes, and other daily essentials.

• Towel bars with built-in shelving over the top. You can hang used towels on the bar and stack fresh replacements on the shelves for easy use. Or forgo the traditional towel bars all together in favor of antique or whimsical drawer pulls. You'll find these at flea markets or garage sales for a song. Connect them to the wall with screws. Two or three together give a collected look. Hang a towel through each of the pulls for a finished look.

• Wicker storage units are a good choice for baths because they withstand humidity well. And most pieces come with drawers for more bathroom-stuff storage for you and the kids. 

• Even antiques can add storage to bathrooms. Need to recycle a few pieces from the other rooms in your home? An antique armoire, cupboard, chest, or table gives a bathroom more space as well as a delightfully elegant touch.