Our half bathroom, on the main floor gets a lot of use. It is one of the central hub of our home. The family, the kids’ friends, service people, even casual visitors wind up using it. Because of this, it has to be stocked with various items. from extra rolls of toilet paper and several hand towels, to band-aids and antiseptic, to tissues, combs and lotion.
Not wanting to go all the way up or down the stairs, certain dirty clothing items, such as stray socks, hand towels and jackets wound up accumulating in the corner of the bathroom since it is close to the basement door where the laundry is kept.
In addition to all of these things, other items wind up finding their way into that bathroom, such as anything that needs to be grabbed on the way out the door, including hats, gloves, a handheld game and my husband’s shaver. You can see how this room, which had zero storage space when we moved in could quickly get chaotic.
Knowing that it would be easier to adapt to the family routine and put storage solutions in place instead of trying to change four other family members and all of our friends, I tried to work with the space.
We started by swapping out the pedestal sink with a sink that had cabinet storage. Items that go in here include the toilet paper, the baby wipes and even some parts and pads for our steamer, since I like a clean bathroom floor.
There was a natural indented space to the right of the sink where perhaps a closet or in wall ovens for the kitchen on the other side might have been originally planned. We purchased some black bookcases from a yard sale and reconfigured them to fit the space. This gives us a lot of storage, and we are making good use of baskets to coral typically small items as well as showcase some of our mementos.
Finally, we purchased a canvas over the door shoe organizer from Target (I choose canvas so it would hold up to frequent use). Into this organizer, we put the sunscreen, the baseball hats, the winter gloves and item of that nature. Once in a while a favorite stuffed animal or a library card finds its way into one of the pockets as well. Each family member has his or her own row and is responsible for maintaining it. No more lost items in the mad rush out the door.
Related Articles:
Time to Clean Out the Medicine Cabinet