Small Bathroom Organizing Mistakes (+ How To Fix Them!)

Bathroom organization doesn’t have to be impossible with these easy small bathroom organizing tips and tricks. Your space is going to be looking perfect in no time.

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Bathroom organization is tricky to teach because every bathroom is so different. Some have cabinet space, some have under the sink storage, some have closets.

I figured the best thing to do is go over it all! Regardless of whatever space you’re dealing with, it is so important to maximize every inch.

Keep reading to learn about the most common small bathroom organizing mistakes and of course learn exactly how you can EASILY fix these problems! You will conquer your space in no time!

This post is all about small bathroom organizing!

Bathroom Closets

If you are lucky enough to have an entire closet in your bathroom, you want to make sure you are using the space properly. In my bathroom that I share with two sisters, we have gone through so many systems before finding one that actually keeps everything organized.

The one constant through all of these systems is using bins in the closet. I love plastic bins for the bathroom. Fabric bins look beautiful and work really great as well!

Your bins are too specific of not specific enough

not specific enough

I made this mistake so many times in my bathroom closet. When I first organized, I had bins with such broad categories that they would get out of control immediately.

When your bins have too many categories, two problems occur. The first is that everything in the bin is disorganized and quite honestly, it’s all just a mess (speaking from experience).

The second problem is that you never know where anything goes. With broad categories, there is likely some stuff that will overlap, meaning it could fit into more than one category.

For example, if you have a nails bin and a face/skin bin, where do cotton pads go? One of my sisters might think they go in the face/skin bin because she may use them to take off her makeup. The other might think they go in the nail bin with the cotton balls because they could be used to take off nail polish. See the problem?

Too specific

On the flip side, when your categories are too specific, there tends to be a lot of wasted space. If you have ten categories and need ten different bins, that’s a lot to fit into one closet.

But maybe most of those bins aren’t actually full, or even close to full. Instead, you should be combining those categories so you can properly utilize your space.

There is a very easy solution if you have either of the problems I mentioned (too specific or not specific enough).

When you are categorizing your items, start with really specific categories. Just move things into piles or groupings that specifically go together. One pile for toothbrushes, one pile for toothpaste, one pile for floss. Even if you think all of those groups go together, start small.

Then, move on to combining like groups until the size of your categories fits the space you are working with.

you aren’t leaving enough free space

This is something I constantly struggle with in my own bathroom. Especially if you are like my family and buy a lot of back stock of bathroom products, it is so important to leave empty space when organizing.

Whether you are expecting to buy something new or not, 9 times out of 10 you will. If you already accounted for this and left some open space, buying something new will not be a challenge.

It is a lot easier to add something into an already empty space than it is to have to reorganize and move things around.

You aren’t labelling

The biggest small bathroom organizing mistake you can make is forgetting to label at the end. It is so important to label all of your bins in the bathroom closet.

Especially if you put in the time to figure out the perfect categories and put everything so nicely into their bins, why would you want it to all be messed up so quickly?!

In a small bathroom specifically, labelling the bins with exactly what belongs in them is so helpful. And if you are sharing the space with others, this is essential to making sure everyone knows where everything goes.

SHowers

You have too much

Depending on the size of your shower, the best bet to organize here is to have as little in there as possible.

Obviously you are going to have a few bottles of soap that you use on a regular basis, but try to keep it to only that. If there are old products in there that you don’t use anymore, put them away or throw them away.

If there are special products you only use once a week or month, maybe try leaving them somewhere else in the bathroom and taking them out when you need them.

You aren’t organizing the wall space

Another insanely important small bathroom organizing mistake is not utilizing all of your space. The shower walls are your best friend in this case.

Hang your razor from the wall, buy a wall organizer, hang your soap on the wall: the possibilities are endless!

Whether you use a corner or one of the walls, anything is better than nothing. Really maximize that space, especially if you have little to no built in features in your shower.

There are so many options for different shower wall organizers that you can buy to fit your space.

Over the toilet

Under the sink

Under the sink organization is tough. Not only is it the weirdest size/shape, but most of us would rather not have to crawl on the floor to get to the back of the cabinet.

My best recommendation here is to just find the right products for your space. It is hard for me to just say “here is a link, just buy this and you are good” because every under-the-sink space is a different size.

However, I’ll give you some of my favorite ideas that have helped me so much! Roll out drawers are really nice for a space like this so you don’t have to bend down to reach the back of the cabinet. I also love using stackable bins in places like these to really maximize the vertical storage under the sink.

Drawers

If you have drawer space, this is my favorite place for everyday items. If I could give you one tip, it’s to keep things off the counters and in the drawers instead.

The one thing that will ruin a small bathroom right away is a million and one products all over the vanity area. Instead, use drawer dividers to put all that stuff away.

There are so many different drawer organizers that are perfect for whatever products you have. Drawers are also the perfect place to give each person personal space if you are in a shared bathroom. If you don’t have the drawer space to do that, try giving each person a bin in the closet. It is so helpful to have space for items that aren’t shared.

It may seem overwhelming, but these small bathroom organizing mistakes can EASILY and QUICKLY be solved. Figure out what you are doing wrong from the list above and then get right to implementing a solution. Your bathroom will be organized in no time and actually stay that way.

This post was all about small bathroom organizing!

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