You Asked: Quest for an Organized Bath

I had received a letter from Jaime looking for a little help with her bathroom...

Jaime wrote:

First, I want to thank you so much for your blog!  I just found it this morning, when I went searching for a way to store our dvds.  I was so excited, I went on and on about your website to my husband.  I absolutely love organization; I go crazy whenever I find a cute bin or organizational tool.  Unfortunately, I'm not so good at coming up with ideas on my own {and I absolutely hate shopping}.  I have 2 boys, ages 4 and 18 months, and I work 3 12-hour shifts/week.  Right now our entire house is in desperate need of organization, but I feel like I have no time to think up ideas.  I think I would be able to follow through with ideas - but I can't come up with any!  I'm hoping that I'll be able to look back at all your amazing ideas and hopefully be able to apply them to my home.  I wanted to send you some pictures of my downstairs bathroom.  It makes my stomach hurt just to think of what it looks like.

We really need a shelving unit, but there is no room, with the radiator and toilet in the way.

Above the toilet, we have these 2 random small shelves.  The only time I put anything on them is to decorate at Christmas time.

We have a large counter top area, but I have no idea how to use that space to our advantage.  It tends to just get cluttered with used facecloths and towels from the boys, since they can't reach the towel bar.

Here's the bathtub with all of the tub toys.  I bought a little tub rack from onestepahead, but we have too many toys to fit in it!

And this is our horrible closet.  There is a chimney running through the center of it, so it's very difficult to store things in it.  I tried to put medications and first aid supplies in bins, but because of the odd shape of the closet, they don't fit well.

Under the counter is just crammed with lots of random items.


Anyway, thank you for looking.  I'm hoping that by sending this email it will give me the impetus to start moving.  I just feel so overwhelmed!  So much to do, so little time.  Maybe some day I'll be able to send you updated pictures of the bathroom, clutter free and organized.  

I can't wait to look more through your blog.  And by the way, your boys are adorable. 

~Jaime

I couldn't wait to get back to Jaime with some ideas.  Often times, it takes a fresh eye to look at a space to come up with something fresh.  And even buy analyzing your own spaces by taking pictures and typing up your problem areas, may spark some solutions right as you go?!

Here is what I had come up with for Jaime and her clan:

"Hi Jaime!

Thanks so very much for your email! 

I can totally understand feeling overwhelmed with organizing, especially when you are working with little ones, and I absolutely agree that shopping with kiddos isn't always easy.  Just take your time and focus on one space or zone at a time when you have time.  Schedule it in here and there and do it in small spurts rather than trying to tackle it all at once.  It takes time to get organized, but hopefully once you are done, you will have a smooth working system that maintains itself for the long term!

I have taken a peek at your pics and through together a couple of ideas for you.

"We really need a shelving unit, but there is no room, with the radiator and toilet in the way"

What types of items are you wanting to store on the shelving unit?  They do have wall mounted options that could float on the wall above the radiator or toilet, depending on how much you are looking to store, like this one from Walmart which is super adorable and has both open and closed storage! 

"Above the toilet, we have these 2 random small shelves.  The only time I put anything on them is to decorate at Christmas time"

Those shelves could become functional in the space.  Take a second to peek around the bathroom to see if there are display items that are out that you might want up and out of reach from your little ones.  If not, you could always use those shelves to put a small basket of extra rolled up washcloth's, some bar soap or an extra roll of toilet paper.

"We have a large counter top area, but I have no idea how to use that space to our advantage.  It tends to just get cluttered with used facecloths and towels from the boys, since they can't reach the towel bar"

I would take advantage of that counter top space by snagging some cute/decorative cups for the kiddos to use when brushing their teeth, that can be left out with their toothbrush and toothpaste in the cup when they are not in use.  One for each kiddo.  As far as the facecloths and towels, I would recommend an over the cabinet towel bar at their level, and possible a step stool for them to use when washing/brushing.

"Here's the bathtub with all of the tub toys.  I bought a little tub rack from onestepahead, but we have too many toys to fit in it!"

I can see that you have an abundance of bath toys.  A couple options might be to either pair down and only keep favorites, or add secondary storage in the form of wall toy storage.  There are many options that are fairly inexpensive, so going with two/three of them to hold everything might help?

Here are a couple that I found:

Bath Toy Bin

 and:

Safety 1st Bath Toy Bag

"And this is our horrible closet.  There is a chimney running through the center of it, so it's very difficult to store things in it.  I tried to put medications and first aid supplies in bins, but because of the odd shape of the closet, they don't fit well"

Wowzers, there isn't a lot of space in that cabinet with that chimney there.  I would have to say using bins like these would probably be the best option for getting any kind of good storage in there.  They are tall and come in a couple of different sizes but would be great for all those meds and first aid supplies if placed up high out of little one's reach.

Towels could either be rolled and then stacked or folded into thirds then in half and stacked.  I really like to use trays to define areas as well when baskets are too large to fit into a specific area.

I hope that helps some!  Best wishes with your bathroom organization project!  Thanks again so very much for taking a moment to send pictures and a note!  I will be rooting you on from here, I know you can do it!!"




What do you all think?  What else has been working magically for you, to keep your bathroom's organized?  Anyone have any other ideas for Jaime and her bathroom dilemma?