10 LifeChanging Storage Hacks to Maximize Your Bathroom Cabinet Space

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Next to the kitchen, the bathroom might be the most hard-working room of the house. In my home, it’s where we bathe, practice good dental hygiene, put on makeup, apply Korean face masks (me), catch up on the news (my husband), and prepare for “Crazy Hair Day” (our kids). Given the bathroom’s multifunctionality, it’s critical that the room have proper storage. But proper storage in the bathroom doesn’t just mean having enough shelving.

We love open shelving in the kitchen, but in the bathroom? Not as much. That’s not to say it’s impossible to pull off an organized bathroom with open shelving, but having doors and drawers to hide the bits and bobs and the unattractive necessities of your get-ready routine can be a godsend.

Girls Shared Bathroom Reveal With Three Sinks |

An addendum to the first tip: Closed storage is great—as long as you don’t use it as license to clutter it up. Take time to create another layer of organization via baskets, bins, buckets, and bags. For more ideas on how to rein in the mess in the cabinet under the sink, see 5 Tips for Under-the-Sink Organization.

. Yes, they will heat up towels so that you can enjoy a warm one post-shower, but what these products are really meant for is drying your towels. So, though a towel warmer may seem like an unnecessary luxury, it actually has a very utilitarian purpose. See Remodeling 101: Towel Warmers for a primer.

Above: A hotel bath that isn’t lacking for towel storage. Photograph by Andria Lo for Remodelista, styling by Alexa Hotz from Steal This Look: Manka’s Vintage Bath in Inverness, California.

Life Changing Home Organization Ideas For The Visual Organizer

I will always advocate for using hooks in a kid’s bathroom; little ones are much more likely to hang up towels on a hook than to drape them neatly over a towel rod. That said, if your bathroom is windowless, go for towel bars. They will dry your towels faster than hooks.

Above: An enviably uncluttered medicine cabinet featuring an electrical outlet inside. Photograph by Matthew Williams, styling by Alexa Hotz, for Remodelista: The Organized Home. See Steal This Look: The Medicine Cabinet as Vanity for shopping info.

If you use an electrical tool that needs to be charged (toothbrushes, razors, etc.), having an outlet inside the medicine cabinet is super-useful. That way, you can keep all those items—and their unsightly cords—out of the way and behind closed doors.

Organizing Under The Bathroom Sink

Above: We love Yamazaki’s line of storage and organization products, so much so that their Blowdryer Holder ($17 at West Elm) was featured in our book. Photograph by Matthew Williams, styling by Alexa Hotz for Remodelista: The Organized Home.

Another electrical tool that needs designated storage: your hair dryer. You can buy holsters or hooks designed to store the item, or you can simply hang it up in a pretty basket or a French net market bag (see Economy Class: Is This Ikea’s Best New Bargain Find? for an inexpensive version).

Above: A pile of pretty towels at the ready. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista, styling by Alexa Hotz, from Expert Advice: 10 Tips for Transforming a Rental Bath.

Simple Storage And Organization Ideas That Are Life Changing

Experts say that hand towels should be washed every couple days, and since I’m not convinced that all members of my household use soap when they wash their hands, I’m going to follow that advice. You should, too. Wet towels in the bathroom are breeding grounds for all sorts of pretty nasty bacteria. Keep a stack of hand towels in the bathroom so it’s easy to swap in a fresh one.

Above: A bathroom cabinet stocked with beauty supplies and nothing more. Photograph courtesy of The White Arrow, from Before & After: A Trend-Proof Bath Remodel in Brooklyn.

File this under: Irony 101. One of the worst places to store medicine is in a bathroom’s medicine cabinet. That’s because heat and humidity, both of which are common to places where we shower and bathe, can affect the efficacy of many drugs.

Things Nobody Tells You About Bathroom Storage

Chances are, you do what I do after cleaning with the toilet brush: flush the toilet and rinse the brush under the running water. Problem is, you haven’t truly cleaned it. To do that, you need to disinfect the brush by spraying hydrogen peroxide (a better alternative to bleach) directly onto the bristles.

I have many domestic pet peeves, but chief among them is leaving a sopping wet bath mat on the floor. (On the spectrum of household annoyances, it’s worse than using multiple water glasses a day and equal to wearing shoes indoors, I’d say.) If you have a tub, simply drape it over the side to dry; if you don’t, consider adding a towel rod for this purpose.

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Best Kids Bathroom Organizers 2023

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Easy Bathroom Storage Hacks You've Never Thought Of Before

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Genius Life Hacks To Help Organize Your Bathroom