The countertop of my bathroom sink was drowning in cosmetics. Every morning I would wrestle brushes aside trying to locate my toothbrush amongst seventeen different bottles. To say that it was frustrating would be a massive understatement.
Every morning it felt like a race against the clock to get ready for work. I’d knock over three items for every one I managed to pick up in haste. My marble-effect countertop did nothing to hide the mess; if anything, the stone made it look worse.
I’d bought bulky foundations vying for space next to travel-sized toothpaste tubes and miniature bottles of body spray. It looked less like a perfectly curated countertop and more like someone flicked the plug out of a cosmetics warehouse.
I reached breaking point one Tuesday morning when I accidentally dropped my moisturiser in the sink whilst digging through products to find a new roll of dental floss. ($60 down the drain.) I stared disbelievingly at the brown abyss of my sink as it spiraled away, and knew I had to do something about my bathroom clutter.
First up were the drawers. That sounds obvious but, trust me, it’s where a lot of people struggle. Take everything out of your bathroom drawers and look at yourself in the mirror.
No? That’s how I felt every time I opened mine. They were one of those dirty-drawer-opening-and-shutting-so-fast-you-don’t-even-know-how-messy-it-is drawers.
When I emptied mine out, I found lotions expired in 2019, three elastic bands that had gone sad and snap-less, and a miniature shampoo I didn’t know I still owned. The thing that made all the difference for me was buying drawer organisers that actually stayed put. You know the plastic ones that just slide about whenever you open and close your drawer?
I got some bamboo ones with felt on the bottoms so they wouldn’t slide around (you can get them from John Lewis for about £25.) Suddenly everything had its own place. One side was for skincare products I used daily. One side was for makeup I reached for every day.
Another was for hairbands, bobby pins, and general hair stuff. It was like *ORGANISATION*. But drawer organisation isn’t complete until you ruthlessly chuck out stuff you don’t need.
That lip balm you bought in 20/20 and tried twice? Throw it away. That mask that gave you breakouts?
Gone. I think I probably threw away about half of the stuff in my drawers. It was annoying, yes, but also so freeing.
Installing over-the-toilet shelving was a game changer. I always thought those storage units were so… tacky? Pretentious?
Booty? I don’t know. Everyone’s eyeballs creeped into mine when they installed those suckers above their toilet.
But then I saw my friend Sarah’s and was mind-blown. Sarah lives in a teeny studio flat with about seven people and manages to make her bathroom look AMAZING. She had one of those over-the-toilet shelving units in pure white wood with gold brackets, holding Mason jars with flowers and beauty products.
I had been so closed-minded. Mic drop. I found one similar to Sarah’s at IKEA for £40.
Installation was hell. Those instructions were written in ancient Egyptian, and I honestly think I put one shelf on upside-down. BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT.
All of a sudden I had shelving for bulk buys (you know, those Costco sized bottles of conditioner you buy because they’re cheaper??) and random miscellaneous items. The key is stocking them so it doesn’t look like you’re obsessively hiding things from guests. I poured my shampoo and conditioner into glass pump bottles that matched (I got mine from TK Maxx for about £8 each.) It sounds like such a silly detail, but coming home after a long day and opening the perfectly coordinated bottles instantly made my bathroom look put together.
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Towel management was another eye-opener for me. I used to, and still see people, hang their towels over the back of the door on a little hook. It creates this bulky ball of soggy towel that never fully dries.
I bought myself a towel rail (NOT the Chrome one that came with the flat from landlords past. Invest in a heated one.) Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking. Rachel, you live in a studio flat too.
How can you afford towel heaters?! Hear me out. They were on sale at B&Q for under £100.
I’ve had mine for years, and I love being greeted by warm towels every morning. Not to mention they actually dry now, rather than smelling like a fungus locker. I gave my medicine cabinet a good old purge and threw out anything that was expired (guilty as charged.) I then arranged everything by type.
Painkillers in one spot, First-Aid in another, skincare treatments on the bottom shelf where I could easily see them. I even went as far as to label them. K, before you judge me, hear me out.
I LABELLED MY MEDIATEMENT CABINET so I wouldn’t panic when my boyfriend cuts his finger shaving and frantically ask “WHERE IS THE ANTI-SEPTIC CREAAAAAAAAAM?? ?” As for frequently used products, wall-mounted dispensers are the way to go. I mounted three of them next to my shower. One for shampoo, one for conditioner, and one for body wash.
It keeps the counters clear so you don’t knock them over with your elbow every time you try to wash your hair. And they’re inexpensive! Mine were about £15 each from Amazon and have lasted me two years with no problems.
Mirror cabinet storage was a tough one for me. As you may have noticed by now, I LOVE storing stuff in jars. The problem is, most bottles aren’t tall or skinny enough to fit in those shelves above your sink.
I ended up storing cotton buds and hair pins in mason jars you can buy at the store that are meant to stack on top of each other. It sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it works. And you can see everything at a glance.
One mistake I wish I didn’t make was buying twelve mason jars when I started. I’ll admit it. I bought twelve and thought I’d find a way to fill all of them up.
Lies. Four are still sitting in my cupboard in my kitchen filled with nada. Start small, buy what you need, and then buy more if you think you need it!
One thing I didn’t expect? Cleaning my bathroom became SO much easier.
When everything is in its rightful place you don’t have to move fifty bottles of beauty products just to wipe down your sink.
What used to take me an embarrassing 45 minutes to clean now takes me about 15. The hardest part? Maintenance.
Once a week I spend five minutes putting any stray products back in their homes and checking if I need to restock on anything. It sounds like a pain but, trust me, it’s way better than waking up every Sunday to a cluttered countertop. It cost me about £200 and took me three weekends to get my bathroom under control.
Not gonna lie, that hurt my bank account. But considering how much time I wasted every morning trying to find things, it was probably worth it. Not to mention I actually enjoy spending time in there now.
It feels like an adult lives here rather than an adolescent tantruming their way through puberty. Oh yeah, and my moisturiser hasn’t fallen in the sink since.
