With the changing of seasons, the inevitable spring-cleaning bug tends to bite — sometimes hard. Here to help you organize those spaces in your home that need a little freshening up, Audrey Swanson is picking the minds of local professionals to share their tricks of the trade on home organization.
Somehow, bathrooms can manage to be the smallest rooms in the house with the biggest potential for messes. We prepare for long days, wind down from them, primp, prime, and refresh in these spaces, and sometimes it feels impossible to keep makeup and hair products and skincare materials from swallowing our countertops whole. Back with us again this week to take care of bathroom-organization business is professional organizer Mandy Barnes, who last helped us undertake kitchen cleanliness. Get ready for five of her top tips for turning your bathroom into a sanctuary.
1. De-clutter counters. Keep countertops clear and clean by utilizing storage elsewhere, like under the sink or in the medicine cabinet. Having a practically empty bathroom counter is the simplest way to make this space feel put-together and the perfect place to refresh. The bathroom gets a lot of usage throughout the day, so have your most used products easily accessible. Extra tip for the germophobes: put toothbrushes in a drawer or cabinet, instead of in a holder on the counter, to avoid capturing bacteria that naturally travels through bathrooms.
2. Choose elegant & complementary colors. Try to pick two harmonizing colors to decorate the smaller space that is the bathroom. If there are multiple colors and patterns taking over its décor, it can be easy to create an illusion of clutter. Since we use towels so often, it’s best to choose white or cream to be certain when they need washing.
3. Clean up your supplies. Keep all your cleaning supplies for the bathroom together in a basket or bin under the sink. If you’re low on space down there, keep them in a caddy under your kitchen sink where they’ll be easy to get to for both spaces. Another fun option for under-the-sink supply organizing is purchasing a two-tiered lazy Susan for quick and easy access to your cleanup goodies.
4. Compartmentalize. Get some dividers for those drawers and separate all makeup, brushes, hair supplies, skincare products… You know the rest. Silverware trays work as fantastic drawer dividers – whether plastic or metal – and serve as a simple way to keep bathroom items within their own kinds. Pick up a metal basket to throw your hot curling or flat irons in when you’re on the run!
5. Toss the trash. Just like food, makeup and hair products can grow old and go bad. Instead of pushing them to the back corners of drawers to be forgotten, throw them away. As Barnes points out, a magical eye cream might not work its intended magic three years past its expiration!
