Vanity organization

I recently completed our Harry Potter bathroom, and boy is it magical! Although it's a great size, the bathroom has very little storage (seems to be a theme throughout our home). There is an odd empty space behind the door, so I hunted for the perfect dresser to refinish. It holds all of our towels and washcloths.

Everything else that typically gets stored in a bathroom got thrown into the cabinet below the sink. Soon enough, we ended up with a vanity that was no longer functional. It was difficult to find what you were looking for, and when you finally did, a pile of other items would fall out with it. I haven't had a ton of time for my own home projects, but this cabinet needed some serious love!

The best place to start with any organizing project is to empty everything out. Everything. 

This is also a good time to do a quick wipe down and start with a clean slate.

Now that you can see what you're working with, make four piles:

• Keep: Items that need to go back into the area you are organizing
• Rehome: Items that belong elsewhere in your home
• Donate: Items that can be used by someone else
• Trash/Recycle: Items that no longer serve a purpose to you or anyone else. (For example, I ended up throwing away a TON of expired medications. Check expiration dates!)

Pro-tip: Empty everything out and sort it before heading to the store or clicking Add to Cart. Take measurements and know how much space you have for organizing products. Once you've done this, the shopping can begin!

​I had been eyeing some metal organizers at Target for awhile. They’re stackable, made specifically for bathroom vanities, AND have drawers! They come in three finishes depending on your style. Target also sells them in a bigger size, which is perfect for storing larger items like curling wands and blow dryers. I wish that the sides of the drawers were mesh so smaller items couldn't slide out, but at $15 each they were exactly what I needed for this cluttered mess.

The wood crate works great for a few reasons:

• It contains items inside
• You can “hide” unsightly items behind it
• It is very lightweight, but sturdy
• Turning it on its side, creates a shelf on top for more items

I bought four metal organizers, and one small wooden crate for a total of $75.
​Click the photos below for product links.

With the items that would be returning to the cabinet, I organized by category to visualize where everything would fit in the newly organized space. For our bathroom, these are the categories I created:

• Body lotion (on left shelf)
  
• First aid (in left drawers)
  
• Summer sunscreen and aloes (in wood crate)
  
• Nail supplies (on right shelf and drawers)

You will most likely have items that don't fit into any of your categories, so make sure they have a designated spot as well. For us, the top of the crate are where these items live.

The finished product is such an improvement from what we started with, and oh so beautiful. ​Accio organized cabinet!

And the best part about organizing this cabinet was finding some hidden gems. Did you spot the hilarious bath bomb in one of the photos above? And look at these little baby urinals! Hopefully they interest our toddlers enough to start potty training ASAP(pee)!