5 (Key) Steps to a RíOrganized Bathroom

I’m about to break it down when it comes to bathrooms, so be sure to pin this, bookmark it—whatever you have to do because these are the secrets you need to know when trying to get your bathroom organized. I’m talking about sharing my personal and professional formula for dialing in your bathroom. This is not a drill.

First, always remember that your bathroom is important—like, really important. This space is where you start and end each day. When it comes to your home organization, you want to take care of the high traffic, essential areas first—AKA your bathroom. It is not meant to be an afterthought or a space that falls into the ever so lovely “I’ll get to it eventually” category. No, get your bathroom set up right, folks!

Picture this: It’s morning and you are looking for your tweezers. You search multiple drawers only to realize you have zero clue where they are and now you are beyond frustrated. Whether you know it or not, you just set the tone for your day. And irritated, frustrated and annoyed are not good ways to start the day, I think we can all agree on that one. Instead, let’s start out in a routine-ready space and kick major butt the rest of the day! Sound like a plan? K, great, now let’s get to work on that bathroom! Here are my 5 (key) steps to getting it organized ASAP!

1. EMPTY THE SPACE COMPLETELY

This might sound like a major time commitment, and that’s because it is, but it’s honestly what you need to do to truly tackle any space—not just your bathroom! You want to be sure you’re approaching the space as a whole and really fixing the problem, and to do that you have to be able to assess your inventory. And to assess your inventory, you’ve got to EMPTY. THE. SPACE. COMPLETELY. Don’t mean to get aggressive here but this first step is crucial. It’s often one people think they can skip when they’re DIYing at home. I’m here to tell you you absolutely cannot do that. When you only work on small areas of a space, you are not able to assess your entire inventory and layout to make sure things are living where they should be. 

So, empty ALL OF THE THINGS and start placing items by category. We always want our clients to see ALL similar things together. Create piles or areas outside of your bathroom that will allow you to see everything you have for hair, hygiene, beauty, etc. Create as many piles/categories as you need!

2. CLEAN YOUR SPACE THOROUGHLY

OK, everything is officially empty and now is your true chance for a refresh. There is nothing like starting with a CLEAN and blank canvas. Get out those paper towels, we prefer Viva Multi-Surface Cloth paper towels at RíOrganize, and wipe out every drawer and cabinet. Is it a bit tedious? Yes, but the result will be worth it!!

3. PURGE ITEMS

Remember those piles/categories you created? Now is the time to edit them. You want to assess ALL of your inventory. Look at each item individually and purge things that are unused, unwanted, unneeded, or expired. I know we all have that face mask we keep meaning to try but it has been three years... either leave it on the counter to try it out that night or it is time to move on. I think you’ll be amazed at the number of things that were living in your bathroom that you actually didn’t want/need (starting with that face mask).

4. CREATE A SPACE FOR YOUR EVERYDAY ITEMS FIRST

You’ve made it to step four!! This means it’s time to start bringing your edited inventory back into the bathroom. Placing items purposefully is a very important part of how we approach projects with our clients. I like to start with the essentials. What are your daily routines (am/pm)? Consider the products you’re reaching for on a daily basis—you want to create zones for those that need to be the most accessible. Think top drawer of your vanity or a nearby upper cabinet. It is necessary to find a home for these things first because these are the items you grab most. You will then be able to space plan with your remaining items based on how often you use them.

5. STORE ITEMS BY CATEGORY (MICRO & MACRO)

When creating a home for your items, do not overthink it—you want it to make sense for YOU. This is where micro and macro organizing come into play. Micro-organizing means you have very specific categories like tweezers, eyelash curlers, brushes, hair ties, hot tools, etc. Macro-organizing is when you create general categories to store items like face, dental, hair, travel, etc. One is more specific and one is broader. We decide on categories for each based on our client’s inventory, so consider what you have to determine what will work best for you. Or, an easy way to think about is this: When you pick up an item and decide it is staying, there is already a category you associate with it in your mind and that is what you will want to label its home so it will be easy peasy for you to find. 

Congratulations, you now have an organized bathroom!! This is literally our exact formula when approaching a client’s bathroom, so if you follow these steps you can’t go wrong! And if you need a bit of inspiration for organizing your beauty products, this post is your best bet!

PRODUCTS WE USE MOST FOR BATHROOM PROJECTS