If you feel like your bathroom counter has been held hostage by a sea of elastic bands and plastic clips, you aren’t alone.
Hair accessories have a way of multiplying in the dark corners of drawers.
As a professional organizer, I’ve seen my fair share of “hair tornadoes,” and I promise you: there is a way out that doesn’t involve throwing it all away.
Let’s talk about the best hair accessory organization and storage ideas so that you can enjoy your collection and stop the chaotic search every time you get ready.
Getting organized isn’t about having a Pinterest-perfect solution; it’s about being able to find a ponytail holder when you’re thirty seconds late for work.
Here are some fantastic organizing tips for hair accessories to contain the chaos.
Decluttering Hair Accessories
Before you buy a single bin to tackle the mess of clips, hair ties or headband, gather all of your hair accessories in one place.
Touch every clip and band.
If the elastic is stretched out or the claw clip is missing a tooth, let it go.
Same with bobby pins that are bent out of shape.
These broken hair accessories are only in your way.
Taking the time to declutter your hair accessory collection will help keep everything organized.
Skipping this step means your hair accessories will never be truly organized.
Creating Hair Accessory Categories
Group your remaining items by how you actually use them.
Store your favorite daily essential hair accessories in your top drawer prime real estate.
Keep “special occasion” items (think fancy fascinators or formal barrettes) elsewhere, perhaps on a high shelf of a lower bathroom vanity drawer.
Putting less frequently used hair accessories slightly out of the way, but still in an area that easy to access, makes it easier to get to accessories you’re using on the daily.
Otherwise, you’ll be constantly sorting through everything to find what you want, which eats up time and is utterly frustrating!
Now let’s get into storage and organization ideas for specific hair accessories.
Organizing Hair Ties and Ponytail Holders
Hair ties are the biggest players in hair accessory hide and seek because they disappear the moment you set them down.
Stop tossing them loosely into a large drawer.
One solutions is to clip them all together, using a carabiner or a circle clip.
Thread all your elastics onto the clip, and they’ll stay in one neat loop.
Repurposed jewelry boxes (the outer paper lid and bottom, not the velvety hinged box) also work beautifully to keep hair ties contained but visible.
Bangle bracelet boxes work particularly well since they are pretty deep and the ponytail holders can stack up.
I like to segment my hair tie collection because I have a good sized collection of Teleties and I’ve switched to using the smaller size more often than the larger size.
Some of the smaller Televise usually end up in the top bin, but using this two stacking bin system has worked well to keep things in check and make use of the full depth of the drawer.
Refreshing Stretched Out Teleties Hair Ties
I love Teleties, but my mane of thick hair causes these hair ties to stretch out and leave me with a looser hold than I’d like.
I’ve seen online hacks for refreshing them with boiling water, but I’ve discovered a much simpler solution!
When my Teleties get stretched out, I add them to a zippered mesh laundry bag and toss them into the dryer with a load of wet towels.
The high heat helps to reset the hair ties without messing with boiling water.
It’s an easier method to get the ties to be tighter and simple enough to occasionally add into my towel laundering routine!
Storing Hair Scrunchies
Scrunchies are bulky, which makes them a nightmare for small drawers. To save space, think vertically.
An empty paper towel roll is a secret weapon for scrunchies since you can slide the scrunchies onto the roll without risk of stretching out the scrunchie.
The downside to this hair accessory storage solution is that that you have slide the desired scrunchie over all the others or slide everything off to get to the one you want.
The bonus to this method of storage is that the tube will lay nicely in a drawer and keep all of the scrunchies lined up, with the colors and prints easy to see.
Before I switched to entirely to Teleties, I stored scrunchies right along with the hair ties since they served the same function.
Don’t be afraid to commingle hair accessories for storage in this way.
It’l save you space and time since you’ll always know where to go to find a hair tie, whether it’s a looped band or a fabric scrunchie.
Organizing Claw Clips
Claw clips are notoriously difficult to stack because of their shape.
Skip this storage method entirely and store the clips loosely in a bin instead.
Or clip them onto the edge of a sturdy fabric bin or a ribbon.
I mostly use mini claw clips, and I store them right alongside the bobby pins in frosted plastic stacking bin.
Storing Bobby Pins
Bobby pins are even harder to keep track of than hair ties just because of their size.
One solution is to take advantage of the fact that they’ll stick to a magnet.
Get a flat magnet and stick it on the inside of a bathroom cabinet door or the side of a bathroom vanity drawer and load it up with a stash of bobby pins.
You can also use a magnetic paperclip holder.
They’ll snap right to the surface and stay put until you need them.
I prefer to store my collection of plan and embellished bobby pins in the lid of a jewelry box.
They all stay together in one place and are easy to snag out of the open container one handed!
Organizing Hair Barrettes
For barrettes, a simple “hair bow ribbon” hung on the back of a cabinet door allows you to clip them on in rows.
A small box or bin is another great solution for barrette storage if you prefer to store these hair accessories in a drawer or on the top of a dresser.
Headbands Storage
Headbands take up a lot of space, especially when they get intertwined with one another.
Use a dedicated headband stand or even a cylindrical oatmeal container covered in pretty paper to wrap them around.
Command hooks on the inside of a cabinet drawer or along a closet wall can work wonders to keep the headbands within easy reach.
See the hooks on the right cabinet wall?
Using the hooks to store the headbands eliminated the need for an additional storage bin in this linen closet.
And it also kept the hairbands really easy to see, ensuring they didn’t get lost in the fray.
For stretchy fabric style headbands, it’s best to fold them or group them in a small bin.
This is what I do in the lowest drawer in my bathroom vanity.
I don’t wear these much, but they’re easy to get to when I do.
Strategic Placement for Easy Access
The key to maintaining this system for organized hair accessories is putting things where the action happens.
If you usually do your hair in your bedroom, don’t store your everything in the bathroom.
Keep your most frequently used items near the mirror to avoid having to cross the room to get the hair accessories you need.
I usually do my hair in the bathroom, so that’s why I store all of my hair accessories right alongside my collection of hair styling products and other toiletries in the bathroom.
Over to You
Organizing your hair accessories will payoff big time when you’re in a rush to get ready.
You’ll eliminate the need to play hide and seek and will speed up your getting ready process, setting you up for a happier day in general!
Some hair accessories like hair ties and bobby pins come in a in a big pack, so the number can be overwhelming if not contained.
The key to lasting hair accessory organization is to separate by use (how you’ll use the accessories and where you do your hair) and use small containers to keep everything together and easy to access.Organize Your Style
Visible Solutions: Keep bobby pins exactly where you need them.
Smart Hacks: Use carabiners for ties and paper towel holders for scrunchies.
Vertical Space: Maximize cabinet doors for clips and headbands.
Organization Resources You’ll Love
Beautifully organize your bathroom must haves, including beauty and travel toiletries and first aid supplies so you’re never left to guess where anything is.
You’ll love our set of printable bathroom organization labels that makes bringing streamlined order to any space!
Master your household management with the ultimate organizational tool: the Organized Life Binder.
Featuring expert-designed trackers and checklists across 815 pages, this system helps you eliminate paper clutter and streamline your daily routines so you can focus on what truly matters.
Transform your space and eliminate clutter with the Label All the Things Printable Home Organization Bundle.
Our comprehensive printable household label collection offers an instant, stylish solution to help everyone in your household know exactly where things belong.
Stop struggling with the clutter that’s blocking you from enjoying your home. Get the guidance you need to transform your space without overwhelm.
Get your copy of Organize and Declutter Your Life today.
