All those things that end up on top of the vanity — the perfume bottles, the creams, the lotions and potions, not to mention the cotton balls and the crocheted toilet paper holder — end up causing more disarray than decoration. The best solution: Wipe the surface clean. Not only will the bathroom look more stylish, it will also be safer from any threat of accidents, including broken glass. A better place for cosmetics is in the drawers below. To organise these, consider borrowing a desk organiser from your home office (the slots make perfect places for toothpaste, cotton swabs, hair clips and makeup). Or, experiment with a few kitchen organisers, including a utensil organiser or interlocking square and rectangular containers.
Strong medicine for cabinets
Without organisation a medicine cabinet can be like an avalanche waiting to happen. Here are a few ways to make it work. Try standing small tubes of liniment, tweezers, nail clippers and files, thermometers and cotton swabs in small containers or cups. Now, you should have more room for the other stuff, like cold medicines and aspirin.
Past its expiry date? Eliminate
Be sure never to keep anything longer than is safe. Dispose of any unused medications. This is also true of unused or old makeup (which can breed bacteria). Discard mascara after three or four months; cleansers, moisturizers, foundation and lipsticks after one year; powders and shadows after two years; and perfume (which can eventually turn rancid because of the oil contained in its formula) after two to three years.
Iron out the linen closet
Getting the linen closet in line is pretty simple. Bedding can be separated into piles of specific sizes — twin, double, queen, etc. Towels, too, can be ordered by size (the trick here is to remember to rotate them occasionally to avoid mustiness). If there's room, a linen closet can also benefit from storing extra soaps and shampoos, which not only help keep the bathroom organized, it helps keep linens smelling fresh, too.
