10 Things You Should Never Store on Your Bathroom Counter

Bathroom counters come in all shapes and sizes, and unfortunately, sometimes, with little to no room for storage. That’s why it pays to find space-savvy ways to store your everyday essentials, well, any place other than your tiny bathroom counter.

To help you carve out a little more storage space, we put together a list of things that commonly clutter up your bathroom counters—and where you should store them, instead. From makeup brushes to hand towels, read ahead for 10 items you can banish from your bathroom counter to score some extra storage room.

For as much as we depend on our beloved beauty products, finding places to store them in a small bathroom isn’t easy, so they usually end up in a mess on the counter. Thankfully, wall-mounted cosmetic organizers (like these magnetic ones from The Container Store) are stylish and affordable, not to mention super simple to install. You can mount them on the wall, or hidden away inside the door of a medicine cabinet.

Want to see all your color options at once? You can show off your shellacs without taking up major countertop space. Floating picture ledges are unbelievably inexpensive and will turn your nail polish collection into an artful bathroom display in seconds.

If you’re anything like me (i.e. perpetually running late) you probably have most of your go-to hair products (dry shampoo, brushes, etc.) laid out on your bathroom counter. And while this might save you a little time in the morning, it’s definitely not doing you any organizational favors. So instead of leaving your bulky hair products strewn about in your bathroom, invest in a slim slide-out storage tower to stash your blow dryer and more. Its narrow enough to squeeze between your sink and toilet, and still allows you to keep all your hair stuff handy.

Forget that they’re small, your contact lens cases honestly aren’t very cute (unless you happen to have these) and therefore aren’t worthy of occupying any of your bathroom countertop space. So before you leave your contact cases out for easy access, consider corralling them in one petite (but adorable) place—egg holders, anyone?—instead.

Why waste valuable bathroom counter space on your humdrum grooming goods—think: Q-tips, cotton balls, etc.—when you can nicely stash (but still quickly grab) them under your sink instead? This expandable under sink storage rack at Target is surprisingly chic and provides easy access to your favorite grooming supplies.

Keeping a hand towel on your bathroom counter because the towel rack is too far from the sink? This streamlined hook from Anthropologie is the perfect place to hang up your hand towels in style but sturdy enough for bath towels, too.

As much as you intend to return your jewelry to its place in the bedroom or closet, it’ll always end up a mess in the bathroom. Instead of investing in a big jewelry box or stand to sort out your baubles on your bathroom counter, buy a sleek wall-mounted organizer and free up some much-needed storage space.

If your bathroom doesn’t offer a lot of countertop space for storing makeup brushes, employ a hanging organizer near your sink instead. IKEA’s FINTORP series offers hanging utensil holders that are great for holding makeup brushes and other small accessories.

Who knew spice racks could double as such stylish perfume holders? Attach one to the wall above your bathroom sink to show off all your pretty perfume bottles, without taking up an inch of countertop space.

Nothing makes a bathroom feel cozier than a bunch of pretty candles. Unfortunately, they also tend to take up a lot of treasured countertop space. Luckily, wall-mounted candleholders are every bit as stylish as they are small space-friendly, and surprisingly inexpensive too!