7 Ways to Prevent Product Clutter When Your Bathroom Is Tiny…or Teeny-Tiny

When my husband and I were on the hunt for a home last year, one of my must-haves was a spacious master bathroom. You know, the whole nine yards – a huge soaking tub, plenty of storage, dual vanities. So if you knocked on the door of our sweet beach-town bungalow today and asked for a tour, you’d likely be surprised to find a master bathroom so slight that my husband and I can barely fit in it together. (In its defense, it does have a massive tub.)

What I have learned from the experience, though, is that I really don’t miss all of the extra space. Just more to clean, right? But if you have a tiny bathroom, like I do, product clutter is going to be a problem. The good news is there are plenty of clever ways to combat it. Here are a few of my favorites:

Trust me, these little guys are the small bathroom owner’s best friend. You can use magnetic wall strips to corral bobby pins and tweezers, or you can affix individual magnets to the back of small cosmetics and stick ’em on the inside of a cabinet door.

→ Good Ideas: 10 Ways Magnetic Storage Can Save Your Life

There are a few perks to using your shower for storage, the most obvious being that it isn’t terribly noticeable. Don’t just shove everything in the shower and close the curtain when company comes, y’all – rather, buy an extra tension rod. If you run it parallel to the one holding your curtain but on the opposite side of the shower, you can hang baskets from it to stash any waterproof items.

While you may not have a ton of counter or cabinet space, you can make the most of what you do have by using items that tap into the height of the room. For example, you might install stacked floating shelves on one wall or place a pretty tiered container on a corner of the counter.

It’s not like you can completely eliminate having products in your bathroom – they’re kind of essential to your whole routine (not to mention hygiene). But they don’t feel overwhelming in a small space if they are stored in baskets. Under the sink, attached to the wall, on shelves — baskets work anywhere and can hold pretty much anything. I’m particularly fond of ones made from water hyacinth.

In this day and age, you should know there’s practically a solution for every problem. And for people with less-than-large bathrooms, like us, that solution is hidden storage. You can buy full-length mirrors, artwork, and more that boasts a secret compartment to stealthily stow all of your products. Bonus? If you have a handy friend, you can find untapped storage space between the studs of the bathroom wall.

The more organized your vanity drawers are, the less likely you are to hoard products that are expired or have outlived their usefulness. Drawer dividers or organizers help you see everything you have so that you can keep track of what you’ve got, and also keep it off your countertops.

Here’s a fun tip: Everything looks better when artfully arranged on an elegant tray. If you simply can’t avoid having a few products on your vanity top – because you literally have nowhere else to put them – just group them in a neat cluster atop a tray to instantly elevate the look from cluttered to classy.