Bathrooms and Linen Closets

We use our bathrooms and linen closets almost every day. Making them a place of sanctuary rather than stress is a great goal for all of us. Stop frantically looking for your razor! Help is here. We have provided tips to help you get these spaces in order with little effort.

Different people have different thinking and communication styles. The science of organizing is the tip; the art of organizing is knowing which tips will work best for you.

Bathroom Medicine Cabinets

Magnetize Your Medicine Cabinet
Mount a long magnet along the back of your medicine cabinet to hold tweezers, clippers, little scissors and other small metal objects.

First Aid Information
Tape first aid instructions and poison control numbers to the inside of cabinet doors for easy access by anyone who may need them.

Divide Your First Aid Supplies into Two Groups
First aid supplies can be a nightmare to organize, and look dispiritingly chaotic in your medicine cabinet. Try organizing them by dividing them into two groups: supplies that take care of cuts & bruises (scissors and tweezers, adhesive tape, safety pins, sterile gauze pads and adhesive , bandages, rolls of gauze and ace bandages for wrapping, thermometer, cotton swabs and cotton balls, cotton swabs and cotton balls, ice packs or plastic bags, latex gloves, etc.) and supplies that take care of aches & pains (aspirin, cough syrup, allergy medications, antihistamine tablets, saline eye drops, hydrocortisone, etc.). Put each of these groups into its own box – shoeboxes work well – label them, and put them on a convenient shelf, or in a drawer.

Have a Medicine Cabinet Clean Out Day!
Medicine & Vitamins – old medicine is a must throw away item. If the date is old, even if your mother told you it was still good.... Throw it out! While you’re at it, check on those 1/4 bottles of shampoo, conditioner and facial cleanser that were pushed aside when something new came along. Use them up or just get rid of them.

Have a Makeup Clean Out Day!

Any color you have found that you do not wear at least once a month should be thrown out. In addition, here’s a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products, listed in alphabetical order. (Taken from Vanguard online.)

Concealer - up to 12 months.
Eye shadow - up to three years.
Eye liner - should be sharpened regularly and will last up to three years.
Foundation Check the ingredients: A water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months.
Lip liner - up to three years.
Lipstick - up to four years, but if it smells rancid, throw it out, it’s spoiled.
Mascara - throw out after three months.
Nail Polish - up to 12 months, depending on the quality and how many times you apply it.
Powder - up to two years.

Make the Most of Your Bathroom Space

Use Drawer Dividers for Small Items
Use drawer dividers to keep small items (medicine, floss, toothpaste, makeup, nail clippers) in order and easily accessible.

Keep Items Close to Where You Will Use Them
Keep items nearest the point where you will use them -- such as storing extra toilet paper in a basket by the toilet and towels on a shelf by the tub.

Make Your Guests Feel Welcome
Keep a basket in your guest bathroom filled with sample soaps, shampoo, toothbrushes, sewing kit, etc. and other items guests might need.

Makeup Does Have a Shelf Life
If you have had powders for more than a year, throw them out.

Clear Your Counters
Keep your counters as free from items as possible -- store everything that you don't use daily in a cabinet or drawer.

Quick Cleaning Needs the Right Supplies
Stock each bathroom with its own batch of cleaning supplies This is a must for easy and quicker cleaning!

Put Up Extra Door Hooks or Bars in the Bathroom
This will encourage you and family members to hang towels, rather than toss them on the floor. Plus, you'll have a place to hang your bathrobe while you take a shower. Also remember to install towel holders for adults and children at their levels.

Linen Closets

Creative Towel Storage
Roll your towels! This gives a different look as well as provides more space in your towel rack or cabinets.

Fast Sheet Sorting
Reduce the clutter of your linen closet by placing each full set of sheets inside one of its matching pillowcases. It looks great and there is no more wasted time searching to match sets.

Always be Prepared
Keep a toiletry shelf or drawer for extra deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. so you won't run out of an item when you need it. Keep a running list and replenish each when you have only one left.

Everyone Needs their Own Space
Give every member of your household his or her own basket or plastic container for their personal bathroom items, like brushes, hair accessories and razors.

Store Bulk Items Somewhere Else
Don't waste daily storage space on bulk purchases -- keep those 3-gallon refill bottles of shampoo and 64 rolls of toilet paper somewhere else out of the way.

Share a Tip!

If you have an organizing method that you use and you would like to share a tip with us, let us know. Also, you can complete your project easily by finding identified items in our product catalog!

Direct comments or questions about this article, including requests for reprint rights, to:

Stephanie L. H. Calahan
Calahan Solutions, Inc.
8 Shoreline Court
Bloomington IL 61704
Phone: 309.825.7833
Fax: 309.422.7665
questions@calahansolutions.com

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