Inside the home, the bathroom is one of the rooms where space isn’t a particularly important consideration. However, it is a place where comfort and safety are essential, as it is particularly prone to accidents such as slips or falls (especially among older adults). All of this means that, if you have a small bathroom, efficient organization is especially useful for making the most of its potential and preventing accidents.
Tips on How to Organize a Small Bathroom
As is well known, the bathroom serves a very specific purpose. So we shouldn’t overcomplicate things when it comes to organizing it and arranging its contents. In fact, you could say that this is the golden rule for organizing a small bathroom: keep only what you need to carry out your daily hygiene and personal care routines.
Below, we’ll share some tips on how to achieve this and, at the same time, create a comfortable and intimate space.
Clean up
If we start with a somewhat cluttered space, the first step in organizing a small bathroom is to get rid of everything we don’t need or don’t use. You probably have old (or even expired) product bottles and containers that serve no purpose and are just taking up space. So remember to go through the entire bathroom, including the insides of your cabinets, to carry out this much-needed cleanup.
Having enough space to move around
According to a study conducted by the Federation of Local Radio Stations of Catalonia in collaboration with “Mundoabuelo,” two out of every three household accidents involving older adults occur in the bathroom. In this case, the presence of moisture and engaging in activities that carry a certain degree of risk—such as taking a bath or shower—increases the danger of falling or bumping into something, especially if the person has limited mobility.
So, regardless of the age of the people living in the house, one of the keys to organizing a small bathroom is to think from a safety perspective. To do this, it’s essential to have enough space to move around comfortably inside the bathroom, as well as to keep the floor and walkways clear, since doing so will help prevent accidents such as tripping.
Similarly, it is highly recommended to cover the floor with a non-slip surface (such as a mat) so that the moisture typical of this area of the house does not make it slippery and dangerous.
Plan ahead so you can store things later
After clearing out and cleaning your small bathroom or half-bath, think about how you’re going to organize it to make the most of the space available. Choose two or three storage areas to hold all the items you’ll need in this space, and decide on a decorative style to make the final look as appealing as possible.
Storage cabinet built into the sink
Every bathroom needs a sink, so if the room is small, we can make the most of the space by adding a cabinet underneath it. Today, there are many models available that suit different decorative styles and incorporate the sink into a unit with compartments or drawers—which are very useful for storing typical bathroom items such as a toiletries bag, towels, toothpaste, a first-aid kit, and so on.
Everything is very accessible
Another tip for organizing a small bathroom: everything you store in it needs to be easily accessible. Try not to overcomplicate things, and make sure you can easily reach everything you store in this space. This means always thinking practically and avoiding installing shelves in high or hard-to-reach areas. The more you use something, the closer at hand it should always be!
The countertop: the less cluttered, the better
In a small bathroom, the sink usually takes up just enough space to serve its purpose. And although in our case this rule doesn’t apply—since we do have a small countertop area—it’s best to keep it as uncluttered as possible so we can move around comfortably and, if needed, set something down temporarily (like a comb, for example).
In any case, it’s best to have a shelf above the sink itself to hold precisely the items we use most often when we’re standing in front of the mirror. From the aforementioned comb to the soap, including a container for storing toothbrushes and toothpaste. Thanks to this piece of furniture, we’ll fulfill what was mentioned in the previous point (always having the essentials within reach) and clear the space where we’ll be moving around the most.
Install a dressing room closet
A mirror is another essential element in any bathroom or restroom, no matter how small it may be. It’s important that we can see ourselves when using it, so—just as we recommended for the sink—we can turn this necessity into a virtue. How? By installing a vanity cabinet that includes the mirror and offers ample storage space inside to hold everything we need.
This piece of furniture pairs perfectly with the vanity to provide another storage area where you can keep more items. This is especially useful if you’re a very organized person who tends to sort or categorize products based on their use or importance.
Trays and boxes, which are very useful for organizing
If you plan to keep some items in plain sight (such as soaps, gels, creams, or toothbrushes), you can organize them properly using trays. These will allow you to separate them from other items and will also help keep them in place so they don’t shift or even fall.
And this tip for organizing a small bathroom can also be applied to everything we store inside the cabinets. Although, in these cases, instead of trays, we should use storage boxes or baskets. These can be very useful for storing jars, bottles, containers, makeup, personal hygiene products, or anything else typically found in a bathroom that doesn’t take up much space. This way, we can keep everything neatly tidy and separated.
Using hooks to hang clothes
Storing clothes and other typical bathroom items, such as a bathrobe, is another important issue to address. This is especially true if we have a full bathroom that includes either a shower or a bathtub. The truth is, though, the solution is quite simple: just install one or more hooks on the wall with the most space available, so you can use them to hang items while getting dressed or undressed.
In addition, this tip for organizing a small bathroom can also be applied to towels. Instead of hooks, we should use practical wall-mounted towel racks that take up only the necessary space and, of course, are close enough to the sink, bathtub, or shower so we can grab our towel whenever we need to dry off.
Play around with the lighting and decor to make the room look more spacious
Finally, remember that perception matters when organizing a small bathroom. Don’t just settle for organizing it properly to make the most of the space; make an equal effort to make it feel more spacious.
To achieve this, you have several options. For example, it’s a good idea to make the most of natural light and opt for white, since it conveys a sense of spaciousness and cleanliness. That said, don’t go overboard—you can balance out the whiteness with furniture featuring wood finishes.
Or, if you’d rather take a risk, you can choose to combine a more vibrant area with a more subdued one. For example, you could opt for more understated walls and ceilings paired with a more eye-catching floor, featuring tiles with bold patterns or different colors. Or vice versa, so that you create a contrast that makes the space feel more open.
Keep your home organized with the help of CULMIA
We hope you find these 10 tips for organizing a small bathroom very useful. And remember, if you’re looking for more recommendations on keeping your home tidy, you can access our free guide, where we tell you everything you need to know so that no room is too challenging to tackle on a daily basis.
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