Tour my organized bathroom cabinet and get inspired to make the most of the limited storage space in your Small bathroom.
This project was sponsored by The Container Store. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for details.
If you’re looking for small bathroom storage ideas, you’re in the right place! Our primary bathroom is very small and very lacking in the storage department. This bathroom used to drive me crazy but it’s felt so much better since I painted the walls, vanity and vinyl floor (see the whole small bathroom makeover here).
When I did that big makeover last summer, the one thing I ran out of time to tackle is organizing under the bathroom sink. So this small bathroom cabinet has been long overdue for some organization.
Small under-sink cabinets like this can be difficult to organize and it’s really easy to simply shove your stuff under the sink and quickly close the door. Out of sight, out of mind…right?
Well, after five years of a messy cabinet that honestly really didn’t have a purpose, I’m happy to report that our vanity is now super organized and I’m amazing at just how much I fit inside!
Let me show you how great it looks now that’s it’s all neat and organized.
Looking for more bathroom organization ideas and tips? Take a look at these blog posts:
- How To Organize Under The Bathroom Sink
- Bathroom Organizer Ideas: My 5 Favorite Containers For Organizing A Small Bathroom
- Bathroom Drawer Organization Tips
<<PIN THE IMAGE BELOW FOR LATER!>>
Table Of Contents
Use quick links below to jump to that section of this blog post.
Organizing Our Small Bathroom Cabinet
Our primary bathroom is very small, just your standard shower, toilet, and small vanity. There’s no closet, very little bathroom counter space to work with, and zero drawers in the vanity. When I did this small bathroom makeover last summer, I added two open shelves above the toilet and they’ve been a much-needed spot to stash many of our daily necessities.
But as you can see in the photo below, I clearly needed to do something about that mess under our bathroom sink. Eeek!
There was really no rhyme or reason to what was stashed in this cabinet. Some of our back stock shampoo and contact solution and that sort of thing got shoved under the sink, but we also often put those types of items in our hallway linen closet.
Between our messy linen closet and messy bathroom cabinet, there was a lot of duplicate items and no organized system for either space.
So after organizing our linen closet in January and figuring out what actually belonged in that closet, it only made sense to focus on our bathroom vanity next.
I chose to remove all personal care items from the linen closet and relocate them under the bathroom sinks. And I’m so excited everything ended up fitting under here and there’s honestly room to spare!
First, I decluttered the cabinet and purged quite a bit of old, expired and unwanted items. Then I added a couple of awesome drawer that span the full depth of this cabinet and filled in the rest of the space with smaller white bins.
This whole project took me a couple of hours and it’s brought me so much joy! I can actually find things now and there’s a designated spot for all of my bathroom items which has been so helpful with my daily routine.
Here’s how our little cabinet looks organized all pretty:
BATHROOM CABINET ORGANIZERS SOURCE LIST
Here’s a list of all of the products I used to organize our bathroom cabinet. For a list of paint colors and decor used in this bathroom, check out this blog post about our small bathroom makeover.
- like-it Modular Drawers
- like-it Bricks (white bins)
- like-it Bricks Dividers
- like-it Bricks Label Holders
- Striped Shelf Liner
Watch The Video
How To Declutter & Organize Your Bathroom Cabinets
If you’re feeling overwhelmed about where to start with organizing your bathroom, check out these five simple steps. I follow the same basic steps with every organizing project.
Step 1: Remove Everything
Start by pulling everything out of your cabinet. And when I say everything, I mean everything. You need to start with a clean slate and get a good look at the usable space you have to work with.
Step 2: Clean
Next it’s time to give your cabinet a good cleaning. Use some cleaning spray and microfiber cloth to give things a good wipe down, making sure you get all the way to the back of the cabinet.
Step 3: Declutter
Now it’s time to sort through your bathroom items and decide what to keep and what you can part ways with. Bathrooms tend to collect a lot of clutter, thinks like unused hair products, expired skincare products, old makeup and more. Be liberal about tossing those old, unused and unwanted items and only keep the things that you’re honestly going to use.
Step 4: Categorize
Sort all of the items you’re keeping into categories. These don’t have to be perfect, just try to group things however makes sense to you.
When I was cleaning out our main bathroom cabinet, some of my categories were back stock toiletries, my husband’s bathroom necessities, the things I use during my morning routine, and skincare products like face wash that I use every evening.
Step 5: Organize
Once you’ve purged what you don’t need and categorized the rest, it’s time to organize everything inside your bathroom cabinet.
Use containers to corral categories of items and make the most of your limited cabinet space. Make sure you place frequently used items toward the front of your cabinet and put lesser used items further back.
Take a look at all of the bathroom organization ideas below for more helpful tips and smart strategies!
Quick Tips For Small Bathroom Cabinet Organization
There are three bathrooms in our house and they all have small cabinets like this one. The other bathroom upstairs has a slightly larger vanity with three shallow drawers, but for the most part I’ve gotten really good at maximizing the storage space under bathroom sinks.
So here are some of my best bathroom organization ideas for anyone who’s working with a small cabinet similar to mine!
1. Make Use Of Vertical Space With Stackable Drawers
Stackable drawer organizers are a great way to store items under your bathroom sink. Look for pull-out drawers that extend all the way to the back of your cabinet to get the most storage capacity.
I tried these pull-out drawers for the first time with this project and they will definitely be one of my go-to bathroom organizers going forward!
I’ve also used these bathroom drawers from The Home Edit by iDesign line under sinks before and they work great, too.
2. Use Modular Bins To Get The Best Fit Around Plumbing
One of the biggest challenges with standard bathroom cabinets is figuring out how to work around the pipes under the sink. The good news is that it’s not hard to do, all you need is a few of the right organizers.
I like to use pull-out drawers on the bottom of the cabinet and then stack modular bins on top to make use of the vertical space. The white bins I used in this sink cabinet are so nice because they come in a huge variety of sizes so you can mix and match them to fit all of the available space.
Before buying containers, be sure to measure your cabinet and the location of the plumbing.
3. Organize By Category
Group like items together so you can easily locate things. For everyday items, I like to categorize them into two bins: one for my morning routine and one with everything I use in the evenings before bed.
You can also categorize things by type of product like skincare, feminine items, hair tools, first aid supplies, etc.
4. Ensure Easy Access To Your Most-Used Items
As you’re filling up your cabinet, think about what you’ll reach for most often and place those items toward at the front.
Things you use on a daily basis should be super easy to grab or else you’re bound to give up on your organization and just leave things piled on the bathroom counter or shove them into the cabinet haphazardly.
5. Use The Cabinet Door For Extra Storage
When you’re organizing a small space, don’t overlook little spots like empty walls and the back of doors. These can give you a little extra space with the right organizing products.
For example, I love using these small adhesive bins inside cabinet doors. They’re awesome for storing small items that you want easier access to. I didn’t end up using any in this bathroom (at least not yet!), but I do have a few under our kitchen sink and they’re so handy!
6. Designate One Container For Backstock Items
When you buy a new bottle of condition or face wash but you don’t need it quite yet, where do you store it? This is a whole category or bathroom products that’s often forgotten while organizing the bathroom!
When I was purchasing containers for this bathroom cabinet organization project, I specifically looked for a large drawer that was tall enough to hold our tallest bottles of products.
This gives us a great spot to put back stock products until we need them and when we’re looking for a new toothpaste or lotion, we know just where to look to see if we have a backup. It’s so helpful!
7. Add A Lazy Susan For Convenient Access To Items
Lazy Susans are one of the best organizers for bathrooms! I didn’t end up using one here, but I use this high-sided turntable in our other bathroom and it’s amazing for corralling all of the tall bottles of hair sprays, mousse, dry shampoo, etc. Lazy Susans come in a few different sizes and are a simple solution for being able to easily access your daily essentials.
8. Add A Shelf Liner To Protect Your Cabinet
Before you fill up your sink cabinet, take a minute to cover the bottom with shelf liner. This not only looks pretty, it also protects your cabinet from any moisture or little drips that may occur under the bathroom sink.
9. Create Easy-to-Grab Kits With Your Daily Products
Your storage needs in the bathroom probably include a lot of products you use on a daily basis. Think about how you can use a small bin to create a mini “kit” of all of the things each family member uses as part of their daily routine.
For example, I filled a small container with all of the various skincare products I like to use before bed. I also included my contact solution because even though it’s not a skincare item, it is a product I use at the same time I’m washing my face at night so it makes sense to group those things together into one bin. I made sure it’s easy to grab so I can quickly pull it up onto the bathroom counter every night.
10. Create Compartments Using Dividers And Bins Inside Bins
As you’re fine-tuning your bathroom cabinet organization, don’t forget that you can add little bins or dividers to create little compartments in larger containers and storage baskets. This is a great way to separate little items.
11. Divide Up Drawers With Drawer Organizers
If you’re lucky enough to have actual drawers in your bathroom cabinet, definitely make the most of them! Drawers are a great place for small items that you use often like cotton swabs, toothpaste, hair ties and bobby pins, and makeup.
Check out my post all about how to organize makeup in drawers for lots of tips and ideas for organizing your eyeshadows, mascaras, makeup brushes and more in a shallow drawer. Small countertop organizers can also be a great option for makeup organization if you have more counter space than I do.
12. Utilize The Full Depth Of Your Bathroom Cabinet
One of the keys to an organized bathroom cabinet is making the most of every square inch. That’s why I’m loving the pull-out drawers I found for this project…they make use of the full depth of the cabinet and things won’t get lost way back there because your can easily get to everything in the back of the drawers.
I stacked a few of the white bins on top of the drawers to fully use all of the deep cabinet, arranging lesser-used items inside bins in the back and putting our everyday items up front.
13. Keep Cleaning Supplies Within Reach
I have one cleaning caddy in our linen closet that has all of the cleaning supplies we need for deep cleaning the bathroom. But I do like to keep a soap dispensing brush under each bathroom sink for quick scrubs in between deeper cleans.
Definitely keep your cleaning essentials within easy reach if you can because we all know if they’re shoved way in the back of that cabinet there’s no way you’re going to dig them out very often. My brush is easy to grab so I can quickly scrub out the sink basin when it gets gross and it buys me a couple more days until I have time to thoroughly clean things.
14. Add Labels
And last but not least–labels are your friend in any organizing project! I am so excited about these Like-It bins I used under our bathroom cabinet because not only do they have snap-in dividers, they also have cute labels that snap right on the outside of the bins wherever you want them.
Now, don’t feel like you need to go overboard with labels. Labels should help you and other family members know where things belong but you don’t necessarily need to label every single container if it’s obvious what’s inside.
Looking for more small bathroom organization ideas and tips? Take a look at these blog posts:
- How To Organize Under The Bathroom Sink
- Bathroom Organizer Ideas: My 5 Favorite Containers For Organizing A Small Bathroom
- Bathroom Drawer Organization Tips
Have a fantastic day!
