I bet organizing your medicine cabinet isn’t on the top of your to-do list, but I’m here to tell you why it should be! If your medicine cabinet is anything like mine, it’s your only real storage in your bathroom. That’s why I have to make sure our medicine cabinet is always organized, or things start to make their way to the counter. When that happens,I know it is time to get things organized! We have very little counter space, so I like to keep the counters as clear as possible. When it is time to organize, I always follow these 8 tips for organizing a medicine cabinet.
1. Don’t Store Medicine in the Medicine Cabinet
The name of the cabinet implies that medicine should be stored in it, but don’t do it! High humidity and heat can cause some medicine to lose their potency. Instead of storing it in your bathroom medicine cabinet, keep medicine on a high shelf in the kitchen or linen closet, where the medicine is at a stable temperature. Wherever you store your medicine, make sure it is out of reach of children.
2. Use Cups to Store Smaller Items
Use drinking cups to store smaller items for easier access. Keep bobby pins, scissors, combs, rubber bands, and make-up brushes in cups in your medicine cabinet to allow for more space to store other items. I keep all of my husband’s scissors, combs, and nail clippers in a small drinking cup. He uses these items a few times a week, so this helps him easily find the items and they aren’t sprawled all over a shelf taking up precious real estate.
3. Keep Most Frequently Used Items on Low Shelves
Items such as toothpaste, razors, contact solution, and make-up brushes should be stored on lower shelves allowing for easy access. Items you use less often should be stored on shelves higher up in the medicine cabinet. I keep all of my husband’s razors and my contacts on the very low shelf. My deodorant, hair products, and contact solution are on a shelf that I can easily access.
4. Only Store Items You Use Regularly in the Medicine Cabinet
All items you use daily or weekly should be stored in your medicine cabinet. Items that are used as refills, extras, or aren’t used as often, should be stored in your linen closet, under the sink, or in a completely different place in your home. I keep a lot of our extras and refills under our sink, behind some of my bigger bottles, like mouthwash and hair spray. I have a separate extra supply bin stored in the way back under the sink so I can easily find it when I need it, but don’t have to keep it in the front of the cabinet.
5. Attach Hooks Inside Medicine Cabinet to Create Additional Storage
Using hooks, such as 3M Command™ Hooks, to hold your brushes or toothpaste tubes allows you more room in your medicine cabinet to store other items on the shelves. You can store these hooks on the door or within your medicine cabinet. Our medicine cabinet is not that deep, so storing things on our door is not really an option. But when I was living in Chicago, my apartment had a huge medicine cabinet with plenty of room to store things on the door. This was a huge space-saver for me, as I was living in a studio apartment with minimal storage.
6. Utilize the Cabinet Door
Like I shared above, the door space can be incredible storage. If hooks don’t work, then try magnetic strips to hold things like bobby pins or nail clippers. You can also attach magnetic strips to your make-up and attach it to the door of your medicine cabinet. Our medicine cabinet door is a mirror, so I have attached a magnifying mirror to utilize the space. Now, I don’t need a giant magnifying mirror on my counter!
7. Adjust The Height Of Shelves
Take time to adjust the height of the shelves for you specific items and needs. Big bottles need more space on the shelves, so adjust the height accordingly. Take your tallest bottle, set it on a shelf, and place another shelf above it, giving you enough room to take the item in and out of the medicine cabinet. Then, install the second shelf, so you know you have ample room for your largest items. Also, create a smaller shelf to hold smaller items like toothpaste, razors, etc.
8. Clean the Medicine Cabinet Regularly
Finally, the best tip I have about keeping your medicine cabinet organized, is to clean it often. Not just scrub it down, but also go through your stuff that you have in your medicine cabinet and check for expiration dates on things. Also, check to see if you are actually using certain products. For me, I love getting free samples, so I store them in the medicine cabinet, and weeks go by, and I still haven’t used them. When I clean out the medicine cabinet, I throw those items away if I haven’t used them, as they are just taking up valuable space.
By not storing medicine in the bathroom, using cups to store small items, utilizing the door space, adjusting the height of the shelves, and cleaning the space regularly, I know I am able to get the medicine cabinet organized out quickly and efficiently. While I wish we had a bigger master bathroom, I know this is what I have so I need to make the most of it! I recently organized under our bathroom sink, and shared some of my tips for organizing that space as well. Hopefully you can find 15-20 minutes to get your medicine cabinet clean by following these quick and easy tips.
Children’s area looks like it will provide hours of fun. Like your pillows-they look perfectly stuffed and add a punch of color for couch.