Learning how to organize bathroom toiletries above the toilet is a great way to add storage space into any size of bathroom.

In today’s episode we have 5 steps to help you maximize space and organize extra bathroom toiletries that you like to have on hand for when you run out.

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Why should you find a good way to organize toiletries in the bathroom?

There are 3 main reasons why we should care about organizing our extra hygiene supplies properly.

1. How do we make sure that we don’t overbuy extra supplies?
2. How do we make sure that we always do have some stuff in stock that we need, that we use a lot of?
3. Lastly, how do we use what we have without losing anything in the abyss that can be our bathrooms?

Now, obviously, not everybody is going to have one of these above the toilet cabinets. However, I want you to still listen to these principles.

Keep it in mind and think about how you could organize these extra bathroom supplies in your bathroom in a different area. You can apply these steps to organizing under your sink, or utilize stand-alone cabinets to achieve extra storage space.

If you have a way of storing things above the toilet, and have a desire too. Then my recommendation is to use that space to organize all your extra backup toiletries. 

This is a good idea because it is easy to take a quick visual inventory before you purchase more toothpaste at the store. Helping you to also save money on toiletries by not buying more than what you need, and what fits in the bins you have. 

How to Organize Bathroom Toiletries

Follow these 5 easy steps to learn how to store extra hygiene supplies in your bathroom, above the toilet. This does work best in a closed cabinet, versus open shelving. But can still work either way.

Steps to organize toiletries

Step 1: Empty out your above toilet cabinet (or install the one you need to install)

You need to know EVERYTHING you have on hand to begin with. Take an inventory of the entire bathroom (or entire house) so you can properly categorize the items that need to be stored.

So that means, don’t leave items IN the cupboard just because they will go back inside the cupboard at the end. You need to properly assess where you are starting from.

You are going to start with a clean space because you have to be able to know how much physical spcae you have to work with.

Step 2: Wipe it down: you want to start with a clean slate!

DO not make more work for yourself down the road by filling up a cupboard that is already dusty and dirty. Why do things twice. Give it a good wipe and you are good to go.

Step 3: What type of toiletries do you want to store in this cabinet?

This is the stage where you ask yourself questions and really take the time to think deeply about how you want this space to function for you. Most importantly so that you do not have to re-organize this space down the road.

Ask yourself questions such as…

1. How much space do you have?
2. What bathroom is this in?
3. What supplies are you actually storing in this space that makes sense?
4. How much toiletries do you actually realistically have the ability to store here?

You may feel like this step is a very big waste of 5 minutes, but I can assure you it is not.

These questions help you answer the greater question of WHAT. So that you can answer the next question of HOW in the fourth step.

Step 4: Categorize

Categorizing is such an important step, and I think a step many people think they can skip. Don’t do this!

Why would you put oral hygiene supplies in a basket full of hair care supplies? Answer these following questions to help determine your categories.

Of equal importance is the BINS. This is because they are what helps keep you accountable to putting things into each category properly. If we are not able to get the perfect bins for the job right away, we want to do the best we can for now. Then come back to the project and perfect it later.

• How many categories can you easily fit into your cupboard? Do you want your categories to be very broad (ie. things for the shower) or very narrow (ie. women’s haircare, men’s care, body wash etc).

• How big of bins will fit in the cupboard, and how can you maximize the size of each bin, while fitting in the amount of categories you need?

• What are the measurements of your cupboard (depth, width and height). You want to have your bins deep enough to hold a lot of items, but not so tall that you cannot easily see what is in the bin without pulling the entire bin off the shelf to grab what you need.

• Do you want the entire cupboard full of bins, or do you want some loose storage on the side. Or perhaps a lazy susan incorporated into your organization as well.

Step 5: Place the items and label the bins

Once you have your bins, your categories and have solidified the layout. You can go ahead and put each category of toiletries into the bins, and add some labels!

Sometimes people like to work with sticky notes to help categorize the bins and narrowing down your items.

But I like to physically move the items around from bin to bin so I can see how the items group with each other. 

Organize toiletries using these category ideas

These are the categories I utilized in my own master bathroom, above the toilet.

All these categories are for items that we like to have on hand. Sometimes you end up with ‘bulk’ amounts of toiletries from buying at Costco etc. Or when certain favorite products go on sale and you want to stock up a bit.

Having a good place to hold everything, in the appropriate categories makes it easy to see when we need refills or when we can pass on a sale and save some money.

These are the categories I used.

The small white IKEA Variera bins where the perfect size to fit 3 across in my cabinet. This allowed me to easily see into the bins, thanks to the swooped fronts. Additionally it allowed me to accommodate a larger number of more specific categories to organize into.

• Facial Care: face wash, face lotions, masks, toners and serums
• Body care: body wash, lotions, speciality body creams and scrubs
• Wipes: bathroom wipes
• Oral Care: extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss etc
• Mens care: Razors, shaving creams, deodorant and other specific hygiene supplies for my husband
• Makeup: My extra ‘backup’ makeup products
• Hair care: Extra shampoo’s, conditioners, and other hair care products. New ponytails and bobby pins
• Cotton pads

You may find that you have to use broader categories in your cabinet, in order to fit everything into the space you are working with.

Because the bins are inside an enclosed cabinet, I did not care about how decorative they looked. I opt-ed for plastic for ease of labelling. However, if you have open shelving I would recommend decorative baskets with handles such as these that are easy to label if you wish.

Final tips on figuring out how to store extra hygiene supplies in your bathroom.

Finding a good use for that storage cabinet above your toilet is simple, and will keep you so organized. Also, learning how to organize bathroom toiletries is also really easy to do, and will only take you 5 steps!

Utilize an above the toilet cabinet for storing extra toiletries/hygiene supplies.

This keeps them in easy reach when you run out of something. Makes it easy to keep visual tabs on your ‘inventory’ levels, and keeps things from being lost underneath the sink for years.

Remember, out of sight is out of mind! Do you have an above the toilet cabinet that is not be utilized very well? Give this project a go and let me know how you like it!

Best Tips for Maintaining the Organization of Your Extra Bathroom Supplies

I want you to have the discipline to put your toiletries into the proper bins as soon as you bring it home from the store.

Do a regular quick inventory, it takes less than a minute. If you’re starting to run low on something, write it on your grocery list right away. Start to make a habit, of certain times when you come into that bathroom to just quickly check your inventory.

See what you have in there, make sure you’re not having too many things on hand or that you’re not running out of stuff.

THAT is going be your recipe for success here in order to maintain it.

Take care, bye for now!

Amy