Organizing The Bathroom And Simplifying Daily Life

Today, it’s time to organize the bathrooms. Guest baths, half baths, the kid’s bathroom. All of them. This week’s deep dive will have us working on the primary bathroom as we work our way through your house in our Home Organizing Challenge.

Organizing The Bathroom

1. Empty the drawers, cabinets, and any closets. Sort through everything and toss old lotions, dried-up nail polishes, and sample hotel products from your vacation years ago.
2. Create “families” – Use attractive containers or baskets to store items neatly, including extra toilet paper. There is no reason to have half-used rolls and plastic packaging just sitting under the sink. Put the rolls in a beautiful basket for yourself and for guests.
3. Then, take a few minutes to clean before you repeat this process as you organize the bathroom. There is no excuse for stuff to be left out. Even bath toys can be stored in a plastic container instead of just strewn in the bathtub.
4. Take this time to give the toilets a good scrubbing and maybe toss a product in the back of the tank that keeps them clean for the next 30 days. Staying clean and organized will make your life more comfortable in the long run. If you want, you can even treat yourself to some nice, new bath towels in a vibrant color to celebrate.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Deep Dive: Organizing The Master Bathroom

Now, we are going to organize the primary bath. If you don’t have one, pick the bathroom you use the most and start organizing.

• We are going to stick with the routine that works the best. Empty all the drawers, clear off the shelves, and drag stuff out from all the dark places where you have hidden it. Pile them all on the counter and in the sink.

• Take the time to clean the sticky residue from toothpaste, leaky shampoo bottles, and everything else that needs it.

• Toss any old items. Makeup only lasts 3-6 months—Unclog hairspray bottles. Throw out lotions and perfumes that only have a squirt or two left—no need to hang on to stuff like that, as it only clutters up your space. You can also see what you need and do not when you throw these things out.

• Use attractive baskets or smaller tubs to sort items into groupings. Put all the shampoos and conditioners in one. First aid gear into another. Bubble bath stuff in a third and repeat for all item categories. You can use a silverware caddy in the drawer to organize smaller items.

• When you are finished, you should have a clear counter. Every single item should have its own new spot. If you replace each item after every single use, it will stay looking clean and organized.

Now, wipe the counter and clean the mirror for a minute or two. Take another minute and admire your beautiful bathroom! Having an organized bathroom makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning and wind down at night.

Wrapping Up

Now that you have organized your bathroom don’t forget to grab your free printable checklist to keep you on track as you declutter, clean, and organize. It’s always great to have an accountability partner and community support when you are doing a challenge, so don’t forget to share this challenge with your friends.

Want more inspiration for organizing the bathroom? Check out these reader favorites:

New post How To Organize The Bathroom on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas

Home Organizing Challenge

Welcome to week 4 of the Home Organizing Challenge, where we organize the laundry and mudrooms!

So far, we’ve tackled the kitchen, the pantry, and the entryway. Each week, we are looking at decluttering and organizing a whole area or room of your house and then taking a deeper dive into one component of each space.

This week, we will organize the laundry room and take a deeper dive into how to organize a mudroom to maximize its use for you and your entire family. Organizing the laundry room will help you keep this workhorse of a place decluttered and organized, so laundry is a breeze.

Let’s Organize The Laundry Room!

• Start as we always do by completely clearing out everything from your shelves and cupboards. Here in the laundry, we will also clear the top of your washer and dryer. Use bins, bags, or boxes labeled (the cards you downloaded with your freebies!) with “toss,” “donate,” “keep,” and sort your items. While this can sometimes seem overwhelming, it is the only way to declutter a space truly. I promise it will be worth it!
• Wipe down all of the surfaces in your laundry room. Clean your washing machine by running it with 2 cups of vinegar and then run another cycle with plain hot water. Clean the surface of your washer and your dryer, and empty your dryer’s lint trap.
• Now, it’s time to organize it all. Even if your laundry room is separate from your mudroom or entrance area, you can use your laundry room to store out-of-season items. Think of things like gloves, scarves, and hats in Winter, towels, swim, and beach toys in Summer. Large baskets on shelves are great for these items. Storing some of these items in your laundry room can help keep your entranceway or mudroom more organized and less cluttered.
• Place your detergent, dryer sheets, and stain sticks in smaller baskets or a drawer or shelving system. If you have pets, you can store their food and care needs in large plastic bins with lids to keep everything neat and easy to access.
• Depending on how your home is set up, you may not find all the things you use on this list. No worries! Start by thinking of how often you use each item, and then use some baskets or other storage and place them according to the best way for everyone in your home.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

How To Organize The Mudroom

Now that your laundry room is decluttered, organized, and ready to work as hard for you as you do in it, let’s take a closer look at your mudroom. Maybe you have a dedicated area that is a mudroom or maybe you wish to turn space at your rear or front entrance into a functioning mudroom.

The Elements of Organizing a Mudroom

First, let’s look at the main components you want in a mudroom. A mudroom is essentially an entryway that is organized so that you have a place to keep the things you need when you are coming and going each day.

• Cubbies or shelves
• Somewhere to sit
• Boot or shoe mat and a rug
• A coat rack or wall-mounted hooks
• Bins or baskets to stash cold-weather gear, dirty items that need to be laundered, and items that need to be rehomed to another area of the house.
• A sink area

These things are similar to those you will want in an entryway. The most significant difference in a mudroom is that this area may be connected to your laundry room.

You may have a sink in this space if you have a separate mudroom. This is primarily an area to keep things you need as you come and go and also to quell and deal with outside messes before they make their way into your home.

Here are some smart and creative ideas to organize and maximize the working power of your mudroom.

• Cabinets, Cubbies, or an armoire. Adding a cabinet increases the storage and improves the function of your mudroom. It also allows you to hide everything behind closed doors neatly!
• Bins and baskets for seasonal gear. Having bins and baskets to store seasonal accessories is a must in your mudroom. In Summer, you can store flip-flops, towels, and smaller outdoor game equipment. In Winter, swap out for gloves, hats, and scarves.
• Hooks, hooks, hooks. Hooks are crucial in a mudroom. Keep coats, scarves, bags, purses, kids’ backpacks, hats- you name it on these handy installed hooks or coat rack style helpers.
• A basket for laundry. You’ll want to keep a basket for things that need to go straight to the wash in your mudroom. If you have kids in outdoor sports, you know what I’m talking about! Having this basket handy allows you to keep the dirt from making its way into your home. Empty it to the laundry room daily to keep it under control.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Wrapping up! Organizing The Laundry Room and The Mudroom

Remember to print out the checklists to help you stay on track as you organize your laundry and mudroom. Once you have these areas decluttered and organized, you will be amazed at how much more time you are saving yourself each day when you leave for the day and do those loads of laundry. Keeping your laundry room in order will make it inviting for everyone in the family to pitch in!

Want some more ideas for your laundry room and mudroom? Check out these reader favorites:

New post Organizing The Laundry Room on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas

How to Organize the Entryway

This week, we are going to focus on organizing the entryway and creating a space to take off and land each day.

Your entryway is the first thing people see when they enter your home. In addition to being the front piece of your house, it is also the main jump-off and landing spot for you and your family.

Your entryway plays many roles each day, for you and every member of your family.

As you leave and return from work and school, after-school activities, errands, and outings, it has to give you a place for everything you need. Because this area of your home needs to work so hard, you must have a way to keep it all organized and work hard for everyone.

To accomplish that, we will look at the different ways you can keep your entryway organized to get the maximum function out of it, no matter how big or small it is. Next, we will take a deep organizing dive into a specific part of your entryway, your front closet.

Let’s get started organizing your entryway!

As always, begin this organizing project by taking everything out of your entryway. Next, sort through what you need to have there for your every day, as well as your kids and partner’s daily landing and launching needs.

No matter the size of your entryway, there are some key components that we think every great entryway has.

Here’s our list of entryway heavy hitters.

1. Great lighting is vital to bringing your entire home to life, and this is just as important in your entryway. If you don’t have built-in spots to do the job, consider adding pop-up lighting for this space.
2. An entryway rug does more than add a beautiful design to your entryway; it helps keep dust at bay. Adding a rug to your entryway will reduce the dust we track from outside that accumulates in your home.
3. Having hooks and bins to hang bags, coats, and accessories is crucial to maintaining an organized entryway. If you are blessed with a roomy entryway closet, many of these things can be kept inside. But it is still nice to have some hooks and a bin or basket for a quick place to drop stuff off before they get fully put in their homes.

In the big picture, your entryway is a landing space for your home. We need to consider what we need this space to do for us. We need a place to drop keys, wallets, purses, mail, and shopping bags.

Let’s look at some ideas to organize a narrow entryway or a small space.

Smaller entryways or foyers may lack built-in storage you need to stay organized, such as closets and shelving. The good news is that all you need is creativity, and you can create the storage you need. Here are our best tips for organizing a small entryway.

• Add a bench and a mirror. If your space allows, adding a seat and mirror can give you a lot of bang for your buck. By combining these items, you have a place to check if everything is in place before you leave for the day,
• Bring in bins and baskets. If space allows, you can add a bench, as we mentioned above, and choose bins that slide nicely underneath. Entryway baskets are excellent for storing hats, gloves, scarves, shoes, and other accessories.
• Add a standing coat hanger or wall-mounted hooks. These can be used for bags, coats, umbrellas, and other things that work better when hung rather than in a basket or bin.
• Consider a wall-mounted shelf if you don’t have the real estate for a table in your entryway. A floating or mounted shelf will give you a place to store your keys and wallet.
• Use the back of a door nearby to create storage for everything you need.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Now that we have looked at some of the best ways to create beautifully organized functions in your entryway let’s look more specifically at your front or entryway closet. If you don’t have a front closet, apply these organizing ideas for the closet where you keep items like coats, bags, sports equipment, umbrellas, boots, and shoes.

Organizing The Front Closet

• First, we’ll begin as we always do when decluttering and organizing by removing everything from the closet – coats, gear, shoes, scarves, gloves, and bags. When decluttering, it is essential to clear your space so you can later be intentional with what you put back.
• Sweep or vacuum the floor of the closet and wipe down any shelving. Tip: I like to keep my vacuum cleaner ready to use when organizing a project. This way, it’s easy to clean those areas while I already have everything pulled out.
• Time to sort! Next, review what you removed and see what belongs here and can be rehomed to another area. To help you decide, think of how often each item is used if the answer is not that often, it may not need to take up space in the front closet.
• You’ll want to think of the best way to utilize your space there. Invest in some quality wooden hangers for coats, and see where you can use baskets or hooks for additional storage options. Add your items back into the closet.
• Next, hang coats, put small accessories in baskets on shelves or the closet floor, and neatly hang bags from hooks.
• Finally, to keep your front closet beautiful and functional, mark your calendar for when you will clear it out each season. Doing this a few times a year, like every changing season, will keep this area in a prime organized condition.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

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Wrapping up

By this time, your entryway should be looking and feeling fabulous. After a long day, you will love being sent off and greeted by such a streamlined and organized space.
Do you know what else you will love? The extra time you now have is because you are not running around looking for kids’ backpacks, car keys, and wallets at the last minute as you are trying to leave the house.

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Organizing Planners

Decluttering & Cleaning Planner

Kick overwhelm to the curb with all checklists and forms to organize your home from top to bottom and the cleaning printables to plan a cleaning routine unique to your family’s needs and schedules.

I want it!

Want more inspiration for organizing and styling your entryway? Check out these reader-favorite posts!

More Home Organizing Tips

SEE ALL

Tips and ideas to help you prepare and enjoy this special holiday with your friends and family.

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  How To Organize The Bathroom

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  Organizing The Laundry Room

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  Organizing A Beautiful And Welcoming Entryway

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  How To Organize The Pantry From Top To Bottom

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  How To Organize Your Kitchen To Tip-Top Shape

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  How To Prepare To Organize Your Entire Home

Entryway Organizing Products

New post Organizing A Beautiful And Welcoming Entryway on A Personal Organizer by Helena Alkhas

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