We spend a lot of time in our bathrooms, usually during the most critical parts of the day—the morning rush and the evening wind-down.
If you are fighting through a sea of half-empty lotions and searching for that one specific lipstick every morning, you aren’t just losing time; you’re also losing your peace of mind.
You need some easy toiletry organization ideas to streamline your space, so let’s get to it.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you tame the mess of toiletries and efficiently organize your bathroom.
Step 1: Declutter Everything
Before you buy a single acrylic bin, you have to know what you’re working with.
Decluttering the space is the first step.
Empty every drawer, cabinet, and shelf.
Yes, all of them.
But tackle one shelf or drawer at a time.
It’s overwhelming to pull everything out all at once and chances are you’ll run out of working space on the counter.
You’re going to go through every single item on the shelves, in the drawers and under the sink.
Do a clean sweep of all of the areas because the bathroom is a magnet for “just in case” items and forgotten samples.
If you haven’t used that specialty hair serum in two years, you aren’t going to start using it today.
It’s okay to let it go.
Toiletry organization comes down to regularly clearing out items you no longer need or want to put your products in top demand front and center.
Chances are it’s been a while since you last went through your stash of toiletries, so today’s a good day to start with an initial sweep.
Empty out what you don’t need, give the entire space a wipe down and have a clean slate and return the items you’re keeping.
Check Expiration Dates
Toiletries have a shelf life.
Products past their expiration date can be less effective or even harmful.
Using expired eye makeup or sunscreens isn’t just ineffective; it can actually be a health hazard.
Go through each item, especially skincare and makeup products, and check for expiration dates.
Make up and lotion containers often don’t have a printed “use by date” so look for a little open jar symbol, usually on the back of the product itself, towards the bottom.
The number in the center of the jar will tell you how long the manufacturer recommends you have to use the product once opened.
Exposure to air and humidity will begin to degrade the product and bacteria and other germs can get into the container.
So if you can’t remember when you first opened that tube of mascara, it’s likely time to pitch it since mascaras are good for 6 months after the first use.
I often lose track of time, so I’ll often write the date to pitch on the end of mascara tube with a permanent marker for an at a glance reminder.
If you can’t find a date and there’s no jar symbol to use for guidance, check to see if the product has changed in color, texture, consistency or smell.
If you find any changes, toss this dead weight.
Consider How Often You’re Really Using Products
Be honest about what you actually use. If you haven’t used a product in the last six months, it’s likely you don’t need it.
This doesn’t apply to seasonal items, but everyday products should be regularly used.
Otherwise, the unused products are just clutter, making your space more difficult to function in.
Dispose Responsibly
For products that are expired or no longer needed, make sure to dispose of them responsibly, recycling when possible.
Recycling rules have recently changed in many communities, so check to see if the container is something your local recycling center currently accepts.
Just because the container has the chasing arrows recycling symbol doesn’t mean it’s actually recyclable.
Generally, #1 and #2 plastic bottles and glass bottles are recyclable but the hard shell plastic containers (usually marked with #5 or #6 or #7) are not accepted by curbside recycling programs.
Some make up brands offer recycling programs for cosmetic packaging, so you can return empty containers right to the store.
For unexpired items that you won’t use, consider passing them along them to friends who might appreciate them to give the products a chance to be used, rather than added to a landfill.
My curly haired friends really appreciated getting my barely used products that weren’t quite right for my head of wavy curls when I was transitioning from pin straight to curly hair styling.
Step 2: Wipe Down Bottles and Categorize Toiletries
After decluttering and cleaning, the next step to organize toiletries is to clean and categorize the product bottles, tubes, and jars.
Give the products you’re keeping a quick wipe down to remove dust and residue.
Frequently used items like lotions and hair products often have some sort of build up on the packaging that can be easily removed with a quick swipe of a cleaning cloth.
This step will keep shelves and drawers cleaner and give your toiletries a fresh reset.
No more stickiness on hands when picking things up to use!
Next, create categories for all of your toiletries.
Grouping like items together makes it easier to find what you need.
Your bathroom will stay more organized over time if you group items into categories rather than letting everything commingle into a giant product party.
You’re going to want to create several different categories, and go beyond just grouping similar items together.
I like to take it a step further and group things based on usage.
Daily Use Toiletries
The first and most important category to carve out is anything you’re using on a daily basis.
Separating items you use every day from those used less frequently is really important.
This step allows you to create an organizational system for all of your toiletries so that they’re stored in a way that makes sense for your life.
How frequently the items are used is also going to factor in when figuring out how to store toiletries in your bathroom.
Daily use items should be more accessible, while occasional items can be stored in less accessible areas.
In organizing, we talk about “Prime Real Estate.”
These are the drawers, cabinets, and shelves that are easiest to reach without bending down or reaching high.
Your daily essentials—toothbrush, deodorant, daily moisturizer—should live in these spots.
Items you use once a week, like a hair mask or a whitening kit, can go on a higher shelf or in the back of a cabinet.
If you have to dig for something you use every single day, the system is broken.
Sneak a Peek at my Bathroom Toiletry Storage System
In my bathroom, I store my most frequently used self care, cosmetic and toiletry items in my bathroom vanity.
In the top drawer, I keep dental products and make up.
I subdivided the space with small plastic and acrylic bins, with dental care up and lipsticks up front in the drawer, followed by eye and cheek make up in the center.
The back is reserved for foundation cosmetics and sunscreen in one bin and tools and fragrances in another.
Microfiber makeup remover pads and extra make up brushes live along the side of the drawer.
In the middle drawer, I keep facial care, deodorant, and hair styling products.
And in the bottom drawer, I keep nail care and more hair styling products because headbands and hair sectioning clips need to live somewhere relatively close, but not in the prime real estate area.
We remodeled this bathroom about six years ago and added a ton of storage space because the previous layout left a lot to be desired.
I was left storing items in the linen closet because there simply wasn’t space in the bathroom.
Creating Specific Routine Categories with Toiletries
Beyond the daily categories, you may want to create a “Morning Routine” bin and a “Nighttime Skincare” bin, especially if you use lots of products to start or end your day.
When everything you need for a specific task is in one container, you stop the search and rescue mission every time you brush your teeth because you’ll have everything you normally use right at hand.
Non-Daily Use Toiletry Organization Tips
For all of the remaining toiletries, the key is to organize and store them in a way where they’ll be used and not be sitting in the purgatory of the dark cabinet corner or bottom of the drawer.
Here are some common categories to considering organizing toiletries, make up and personal care products:
By Product Type
Group items by their type – skincare, haircare, makeup, dental care, etc.
This is the most straightforward method and works well for most.
You’ll need to create subcategories when a particular category has lots of products or individual items.
Cosmetics is one category that needs to subdivided to make the products easier to access.
Consider creating subcategories in terms of how you use the make up- face, eyes, cheeks, etc.
By Function
Another approach is to categorize toiletries by use case and function.
For example, put all moisturizing products – body lotions, face creams, oils – in one group.
Seasonal Items
Season-specific items, like sunscreens or heavier winter lotions, can be grouped and stored separately, rotating them into more accessible areas as needed.
Travel-Sized Items
Keep a separate category for travel-sized items and refillable containers.
This makes it easier to pack for trips and maintain organization since the grouped items are easier to access.
Also, unless you’re traveling on the regular, travel items should be stored in an out of the way area of your vanity or bathroom.
One of my clients lived in a two bedroom condo, and I used the guest bathroom vanity to store all of their travel products.
I lined up everything in the bathroom vanity drawer, still grouping like with like within the space for a really pretty travel drawer!
If you are a frequent traveler, then you’ll want to keep the travel sized products of your favorite products grouped together and in a more accessible area, like this client.
In my bathroom, I keep all travel sized bottles in a bin on an upper cabinet shelf.
In the image above, all the travel bottles are in the white bin, next to the Q-tips and my toiletry travel bags are right below it on the next shelf down.
Everything is within easy reach slightly above my head, but very visible, so the travel sized products aren’t lost in the cabinet.
Step 3: Create a Shoppable Backstock
One of the biggest causes of bathroom clutter is “duplicate drift.”
This happens when you buy a new toothpaste because you couldn’t find the one you already had.
Designate one specific bin or shelf as your “Backstock Stash.”
Group all your duplicates here: extra soap, unopened shampoo, and toothpaste.
When you run out of something in your daily bin, you “shop” your own backstock.
This prevents overbuying or products going bad before you’ve had a chance to use them because you didn’t know you had them.
In my bathroom, these products live in the cabinet next to the toilet on the first shelf.
I’ve grouped similar products together and line up partially used products in the front with the duplicates right behind so that I’m sure to use the open container before opening a new product.
Step 4: Give Toiletries a Home
After sorting and categorizing your toiletries, the next crucial step is to put everything away.
This involves selecting the right spot for each category and possibly finding containers for the toiletries.
Family Member Toiletry Storage
If multiple people use the same bathroom, consider carving out space for each person, even if you’re only able to spare giving each person their own basket to store their personal toiletries.
This can prevent mix-ups and make it easier for each person to find their products.
It’ll also help everyone use the space more amicably, with no more mix ups about using each other’s products (hello to fewer sibling squabbles!)
Daily Use Toiletry Storage
Daily use products should be in the most accessible spot in your bathroom.
The best spot depends on how your bathroom is set up.
Aim to keep your bathroom counter clear and store toiletries off of it.
If you have a pedestal sink, is there shelving near by that you could put a small basket or bin of your daily use items on?
If you have a vanity, use one of the drawers to store daily use items.
Position items you use daily in the most accessible parts of the drawer.
Less frequently used items can go towards the back or on a lower shelf or drawer.
You may need to split up items into multiple drawers if they’re shallow.
Aim to keep the categories together as much as possible so that you’re not searching through multiple drawers to find items you’re using every day.
Storing Everything Else
All other toiletry products should be stored out of the prime real estate, still in their categories.
For smaller toiletry items like make up, or bottles of facial serums and moisturizers, it may make the most sense to contain them in a bin.
But not any bin will do!
Read on for deciding on the best storage bins for toiletries.
Step 5: Using Containers to Organize Toiletries
Based on the categories you’ve created, decide what, if any type of containers you need to store toiletries.
Would containers help make your space more functional?
Keep in mind that bins and containers aren’t always necessary or helpful, so don’t assume you’ll need to add one to keep toiletries organized.
It really depends on what you’re storing and the available space in the vanity, cabinet or on the shelf.
If you decide a storage container would make the space more functional, group bulkier items in baskets and small bins for makeup and makeup application tools.
Opt for materials that withstand humidity and are easy to clean, like plastic, acrylic, or glass.
Avoid materials that can warp or mold in a moist environment.
The bathroom really isn’t the place for DIY cardboard boxes or fabric covered storage containers.
Consider using clear or nearly containers for items you use frequently so you can see exactly what you’re looking for.
Choose containers that are visually appealing and cohesive with your bathroom’s decor.
Uniform containers can create a neat and organized appearance.
Different colored containers will make the space feel more cluttered and disjointed, especially since the colors of the products and items you’re storing are probably varied and not uniform.
Unifying the containers is more than an aesthetic boost.
It’ll give your eye less to deal with and you’ll more easily find what you’re looking for.
Here are some of my favorite storage containers for organizing spaces.
Step 6: Labeling Toiletry Categories
Once you’ve established categories, consider adding labels to keep the categories easy to identify quickly.
Labeling is especially important if you’re using containers to store toiletries.
This could be as simple as using adhesive labels on drawers or containers.
Ensure that the most frequently used items are the easiest to access.
Less used items can be stored in higher or deeper parts of the vanity.
Remember, your needs might change over time, so be flexible and ready to re-categorize items as your routine evolves.
Over to you!
Once you have your categories set and your backstock organized, it only takes a few seconds to put things back where they belong.
Toiletry organization is one of the faster organizing projects in your home.
It’ll leave you with a huge sense of accomplishment! and you’ll be so happy you tackled it.
You’ll immediately enjoy the difference and work you’ve out in to reorganize the space and enjoy your time in the bathroom that much more.
Organization Resources You’ll Love
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