Simple Ways to Declutter and Organize the Bathroom (Plus My New Laundry Routine)

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

Declutter and Organize the Bathroom

I’ve struggled lately with a messy and disorganized bathroom. I couldn’t find anything that I was looking for when I needed it because I was keeping things in several shoebox size totes and I would end up having to pull them all out and dig through them before I could find what I was looking for!

Not to mention I was struggling a little bit with laundry. Our system functions to a certain degree but it definitely needed a makeover. We decided to tackle this issue and our bathroom organization issue at the same time.

Our previous system for laundry was this….Monday is laundry day which meant I would wash all of the sheets and towels on that day. The rest of the laundry would be washed through the week whenever I found a full laundry basket (which I had scattered around the upstairs of the house). I liked having one specific laundry day for the bigger items but the rest of the week wasn’t working for me!

Declutter and Organize the Bathroom

To change this I commissioned my hubby to build some shelves in a part of the bathroom that needed work. Our bathroom is fairly small and has this odd area that previously housed an old dresser and medicine cabinet for the previous owners. I thought both items were pretty yucky and dirty so we tore them out and thus had this big empty space for shelving.

What we ended up with after adding the shelving was a nice large space for organization! Here’s what we did with that space. (Note, the only other space we have in this bathroom is under the sink which is basically were we keep hairbrushes and toothbrushes.)

bathroom2

Top Shelf –

Soap for making Foaming Hand Soap and for making Shampoo. Washcloths (I make them like I make the crocheted dishcloths but with “baby yarn” so they are soft.), and I’ve also tucked some cleaning cloths behind the dishcloths for any cleaning in the bathroom. The basket contains epsom salts and my homemade heating pad.

Second Shelf –

I found these baskets at Hobby Lobby and purchased them when they were half price. They are very nice and heavy duty while still looking pretty! On this shelf I have 2 baskets that are storing “cotton goods” (ie: cotton balls, q-tips, etc) and first aid items (rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, etc).

bathroom3

Middle Shelves –

These are my laundry basket shelves….no more baskets scattered all over the place, they have a home! The top basket is for adult clothes and the bottom basket is for kids clothes (low enough for them to reach it and be able to put their own dirty clothes away). I will elaborate more on our new laundry schedule below.

bathroom4

Fifth Shelf –

I love this shelf, it’s SO useful! On this shelf I have several shoebox size totes without lids. I haven’t yet labeled them but I plan on it eventually with each of our names. Each member of the family has a bin (except my hubby) and our clothing for the next day goes in this bin sometime the evening before (usually during our bath routine). This is making my mornings so much easier because I don’t have to think about what we are doing that day and what I need to dress the kids in, it’s already done! We are also getting ready to care for foster children again and this shelf is going to be extremely helpful when I have even more little ones underfoot that need to get dressed in the morning. 🙂

Bottom Shelf –

This shelf is rather boring…it just has clean bath towels. But I’m still excited about it because I previously did not have any space for towels!

 

I left the shelves unpainted for now since I still need to paint the entire bathroom anyways. I need the functionality more than the beauty at the moment and I’m happy with the “rustic” look!

The New Laundry Routine

Here is the new laundry routine that we’ve been getting into since we created this space. It’s working out pretty well for us! We will have to adjust a bit as our family grows but for now we are happy with the plan because it’s been much easier to get the laundry work done and I know it’s getting done and we will have clean clothes to wear!

Monday is still “laundry day” On this day I plan to wash sheets and bedding and all of the towels from the bathroom. We cycle through kitchen towels much more quickly so they are not included on this wash day. I generally also have to do another load of clothing on this day as well which makes 3 to 4 loads of laundry total.

The rest of the clothing gets washed every other day (although I try not to have to wash on Sundays). So for example, Tuesday I was the adult clothing, then Thursday I was the kids clothing and finally, Saturday I wash another load of adult clothing. I only wash if the laundry basket is full and kitchen towels and cleaning rags get tossed in with every load so we are never washing a small load. It’s really more simple than it sounds…I just wash one basket, rest a day from the laundry, and then wash the other basket the next day.

By separating the clothing before we wash (into the adult basket and the kids basket) it saves me time when it comes to folding and putting away also. I already know where everything in the basket needs to go before I wash it so when I take it out I can take the entire basket right up to the room it belongs in and fold it and put it away there.

 

Remember

You may not have the same kind of space I do to declutter and organize the bathroom, but here are some tips that you should take away from this blog post:

  1. Clean out your bathroom so only the essentials remain. (We have first aid, general supplies (ie: q-tips, toothbrushes), towels, and laundry.) Anything else really doesn’t belong in the bathroom and needs to find a different home. (p.s. I store my supplies for making DIY items in the pantry, not in the bathroom even though I use them to make bath and body products.)
  2. Pare down what you have. Have a crazy amount of towels compared to the number of people living in your home? Time to make some into cleaning rags! (Make sure to keep a few extra towels if you frequently have guests though!)
  3. Think about how you can create “stations”. My bathroom became my “dirty laundry station” and my “clothes for tomorrow” station. Both stations are incredibly helpful and have really streamlined several of our daily routines.
  4. Try and make your bathroom someplace you actually don’t mind being. No one wants to spend copious amounts of time in the bathroom of course but we all end up spending a fair amount of time there regardless. Plus when I want to relax in a bubble bath after a long hard week I don’t want to relax in a cluttered mess.

Getting into decluttering? Here are some tips on How to Downsize and Organize Like Never Before!

Now it’s your turn! Share in the comments your best ideas on how to declutter and organize the bathroom!

merissabio

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Support Little House Living by Sharing This

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

30 Comments

  1. Love these suggestions! We have a large closet in our bathroom (really the only place for storage in the house), and we store cleaning supplies, towels, sheets, blankets, games, and dirty laundry in there. The shelves could definitely use some organization, so I will be using some of these tips! Thank you!

  2. We have 2.5 baths. I went through and got rid of all the extras and old toiletries and first aid supplies. Pretty much the only things left are for those using that bath. I also put a set of cleaning supplies in each bath. I found it easier to keep up on the cleaning if I didn’t have to haul a bucket of cleaning supplies upstairs and down. Still working on the rest of the house!

  3. You should Check out flylady.net for ideas on how to declutter, set up daily morning, afternoon and evening routines, stay organized and stay on top of laundry. “A load a day keeps Mt Washmore away!” I also foster.

  4. Good ideas I have a small bathroom and need more space for items that go there although I don’t have small ones anymore I do love organization….Thanks again

  5. We’ve been struggling to find a home for our bathroom supplies. The apartment we moved to only has one place for everything, under the sink. So I feel your pain! We are looking to getting baskets and a few other things to use to organize our things.

  6. Great tips. Just had a new tub/ shower put in our apartment bathrooms. Everything had to come out. So before reading your article i determined i was going to rethink my bathroom. Like you said i have too many towels for just me. Thanks

  7. Your bathroom shelving looks great!!! I love all the pretty baskets. You have inspired me to organize my mess of a bathroom. Thanks for sharing!!!

  8. Hi Merissa, Your new space with shelves looks nice and organized! Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Janet

  9. So many terrific ideas. Also, whatever bins/baskets you set up for the foster children, they can keep and take with them if they return to their family.

  10. I love your idea of a bin-per-kid with their clothing for the next day! So smart. I wish I had a space in the house where I could create a neat bathroom/laundry area like this!

  11. Thanks for the organization tips. Congratulations on your new book. That is great. If you ever want to guest post with some of your tips on my new site, let me know.

    Thanks,
    Leigh Hines
    HinesSightBlog/co-host of Small Victories Link Up

  12. The clothes for tomorrow thing is genius. When I was working, I had to do that, even after the kids were grown!
    Did I see this on TwoUses Tuesday? If not, then I don’t remember how or where I saw it.

  13. Definitely some great ideas!

    I’d love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks.

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J

  14. Another idea for old towels is to donate to the local animal shelter I did this with blankets and they really appreciated it.

  15. Terrific suggestions. I smiled when I saw your post on the DIY party. I just reorganized my bathroom as well as my laundry room. I took several pictures to remind me to keep each area neat and tidy! It only takes one misplaced item to lead to disaster! Please stop by Still Woods Farmhouse when you get a chance!
    Blessings from Lynda at Still Woods Farmhouse

  16. This looks fabulous! I’m gonna COPY you and try to do something similar in our next house, prayerfully. 🙂

    And the washcloths you make are lovely, too…I make knitted ones, and I’d like to know what baby yarn you use. Is it Bernat brand?

    I’ve tried several types of yarn, but can’t find anything that stays soft.
    Thank you for your time!

  17. Wwwwooow.. .amazing guide to organize bathroom .Thanks for sharing 😉 I loved to read this 🙂

  18. You say you wash the basket load. Do you sort whites, colors, darks? I ask because my granddaughter has two small girls and she washes everything together.

  19. Thanks for writing this article. This are some amazing ways that’s i will definately use to organize my bathroom

  20. That is a fantastic idea for a laundry room. we need to separate our own laundry and bathroom. I am pretty much for your excellent idea.

  21. Just a tip that I’ve used for years. We have a whites and a darks hamper. No more separating dirty wash. Just grab whichever one that you want to wash

    1. I do something almost identical, except I have 3 – darks, lights, & denim. Recently, we adopted a baby & she has her own hamper – everything needs to be closely inspected for pretreating, so I keep it separate for when my teenagers throw a load in. I recently put them in charge of their own laundry, so I’m doing a lot less these days!