Mar 28, 2017

Small Space Bathroom Tips

Small Space Bathroom Tips

Seven years ago when we moved into this house I knew immediately what my biggest challenge would be, the bathrooms. There are two but as evidenced by this post, they are very small. When we first moved in it was pretty easy to keep them tidy, but over time the clutter builds up. Whether it’s a product I wanted to try, travel goods, or seasonal items, they all find a way to make it into the bathroom at some point or another. So this week I decided to tackle the bathroom clutter for good. Today I’m sharing some of my tips for cleaning out the bathroom, as well as some words of advice for living with a small space bathroom.

Small Space Bathroom Tips Small Space Bathroom Tips

I didn’t want to share this, but I think it’s important that you know what I started with. Our bathrooms are incredibly small and somehow all of these extra things snuck their way in. Some of them are even empty and are definitely not living up to the better life I had envisioned for them. I removed (and you should too):

  • Products I bought to try and didn’t end up loving.
  • Stuff I received as gifts and didn’t end up loving.
  • Items I don’t use on a day-to-day basis.
  • Products (Hey bath salts!) I made and don’t like or use regularly.
  • Duplicates of any product, whether I use it regularly or not.
  • Travel-size items. I have a separate area for those.
  • Items I only use for a certain season (Here’s your place, sun stuff!)
  • Products that are expired (Ugh, whyyyyy?)
  • All makeup products. This may change later.
  • Tools not used on a daily basis like the blowdryer or shavers.
  • Stuff that does not aesthetically bring me joy.

So you see, it added up to a basket-full of in-the-wrong-place goodness. Plenty of it was tossed or donated, while others found their place somewhere else in the house. I have a basket in my linen closet for duplicates or backups of products we love and use. I moved the stuff we always use but isn’t pretty to inside the medicine cabinet. Travel items moved to their basket in the linen closet too. I felt pretty guilty cleaning it all out, as most of it was so well-intended but just never got put to use.

Small Space Bathroom Tips Small Space Bathroom Tips

That left me with this. And some of what is left still has a mental remove note on it, but for now I am happy. I plan to add a Command Clear Caddy to the inside of my medicine cabinet to hold items like Q-tips and maybe a couple of makeup items. I keep a belly basket on the floor with spare towels, an extra shower mat, my blowdryer, and a brush inside. My perfumes and makeup were moved to the dresser in my closet, along with my curling rod and straightener. I moved his shaver to a small organizer in my husband’s dresser, which also includes the charger. The toothbrushes were moved to a cup inside the medicine cabinet. I do have one exception for extras in the bathroom, which is that I keep spare toilet paper rolls in a toilet paper roll sized clear vase, a trick I learned a long time ago from Sherry & John.

Shop My Bathroom:

Small Space Bathroom Tips Small Space Bathroom Tips

More tips for small space bathrooms:

  • Use a wall mounted shelf to get extra storage above a toilet or on the wall.
  • Get rid of what you don’t use every day, scroll up to see the 11 items you can move out of your bathroom now.
  • Stick with a light color palette, it makes the room look cleaner, brighter, and lighter.
  • Place a basket on the floor to store extra towels if you need to.
  • Only display items that bring you joy, hide others away in a basket or medicine cabinet.
  • Use the remove and replace method if you have a hard time culling on your own. Remove all items and put them in a box outside your bathroom. When you need something, take it in and after a week, that’s what stays.
  • Remember, those pretty Aesop bottles can be refilled and reused if you’d like. When we stayed in Iceland the rental owner giggled as he told us he refills the Aesop handwash dispensers with other liquid soap.
  • If you don’t use it daily, it’s worth storing elsewhere.
  • Keep the floor as clear as possible, anything you don’t absolutely need is visual clutter.
  • Hooks on the wall take up less space than a towel rack.
  • Consider spaces for storage that you hadn’t before, like the inside of your medicine cabinet mirror or door.
  • You can even replace the back of your medicine cabinet with a magnetic piece (like metal) so that you can use magnetic spice tins for smaller items like bobby pins or hair bands.
  • If you have a narrow entry and it looks good visually, consider adding a shelf above the door to add storage space.
  • If you are lucky enough to have under-sink storage, consider using storage drawers to better organize it.
  • Keep your countertops visually free of clutter. When they have less on them, the room looks more open.
  • This one is likely obvious, but keep the room tidy! When everything is in the right spot, it will feel more relaxing.
  • Carve a spot for yourself. Borrowed from my lux bathroom post, be sure to keep a little something in there for you as well. I keep bath salts on the top shelf of my wall shelves to remind me to make time for me.
  • If you can, add some plant life to your bathroom for decor. Not only will it clean the air, it makes it feel more homey and less sterile. I had to remove my plant because it got too tall for it’s home in the bathroom, but I plan to replace it soon!
  • Don’t store extras! If you have backups for when you run out of favorites, keep them elsewhere like a spare dresser drawer.
  • Pay attention to cohesiveness of the room. When everything matches it will have a more clean and minimal feeling.

Shop Small Space Bathroom Favorites:

Small Space Bathroom Tips

What are some of your tips for a small space bathroom? Anything I can improve on? I’d love to hear!

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Great tips! I love how clean and crisp your bathroom looks!

xx,
Amanda || http://www.fortheloveofglitter.com

This is a very great use of space. These days you rarely find a large bathroom so this is great information

I’m in love with the bathroom. I could sleep in there.

When you have a small bathroom, it’s super important to use vertical space! These are some great ideas!

I thought my bathroom was tiny but yours takes home the prize. If I owned this bathroom, I would probably install some upper cabinets about the toilet and try to find a different type of sink fixture that added a bit of storage. It sounds like you are making due with what you have though and there is nothing wrong with that.

I’ve never thought about a wood shelf above the toilet like that. We have two small toilet spaces I need to do something with!

These are fabulous tips and the results speak volumes. This looks great we might have to try this.

I love the result! These are very useful tips. My sister has a small bathroom. I will share this with her.

I love the simple ways you transformed your space. We have a half bath that could definitely benefit from a few of these tips!

Great tips! I was just thinking last night how I wanted to put shelves above our toilet!

Thanks for all the great ideas. I can’t be daunting to try to figure out how to decorate such a small space in the home.

These are such great tips! We’ve been talking about overhauling our small guest bathroom, and this is going to be a huge help.

I’m moving this summer into a vintage decor art hotel that’s been converted to apartments so these tips will come in handy.

love the shelving and baskets!! perfection!
lauren
LMents of Style

I love how neat your improved bathroom looks! I know very well how hard it is to store all of those precious containers with great new skin moisturizers that we get, and in my case I am lucky we have a double sink vanity type bathroom so I can pile on whatever I have got. I also have 3 kids, and work full-time and overtime, so re-organizing my bathroom is usually not the first priority, but I am planning a spring cleaning this week – hopefully will get to those shelves in my bathroom as well.

Oh wow I love this! The shelving is so great.

xo,
Steph
@trendyinindy || trendyinindy.com

Your bathroom looks so great after your cleanup!! I love your wooden shelves and how clean and organized they are
Charlene The Frugal Fashionista

I like this. Where do you get your ideas? I am looking to do some new things with my home and I don’t know where to find the right ideas. Thank you! 😀

I love your bathroom! Even though it is tiny, it looks great with those clutter free wood shelves. So cute!

Xo, Brianne
http://www.scrubsandsparkles.com

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