Medicine Cabinet Organization 101
What is that one area in your home that is likely cluttered and overlooked? For most, that answer is the medicine cabinet. Although it is the area we likely use most often, it seems to be often forgotten.
First and foremost, whether or not you have a medicine cabinet, there are so many options you have to create systems and structure for your bathroom essentials. With the medicine cabinet (or other area designated) being the home to health, hygiene, and skincare products, we want to make sure everything is separated and easy to identify! Continue reading for my top tips for organizing your medicine cabinet, and options you have if you don’t have a medicine cabinet!
Let’s start with the challenges you may be having when organizing your medicine cabinet. There’s the obvious, you might not actually have a medicine cabinet. If that’s the case, don’t worry, I will go over all the spaces you can utilize (and how) if you don’t have one! The other common challenges I see when organizing this area are working with a small space, expired items, nearly empty (or half-used and abandoned) product containers, messy cabinet shelving, unrelated or unalike items, duplicates, or an overfilled cabinet. Don’t be distressed, these are all manageable. Ultimately, I want to help you structure your space in a way that fits you, your needs, and your space.
So what exactly should you have in a medicine cabinet? Ultimately, it should be unique to you! I suggest you think of your needs, your space, and then you can decide where/how to place everything. In general, here is a list of products we suggest to store in your medicine cabinet:
Medicines & Vitamins
Skin care items
Toothbrush & toothpaste
Hair products
Tweezers
Q-Tips & cotton balls
Shaving products
If You Have A Medicine Cabinet
Remove Everything You Have In Your Cabinet
-To get a clear picture of what you have, start with a clean slate. Empty the cabinet completely so you have a strong understanding of what you are working with.
Wipe Down
-Use this opportunity to give your cabinet a scrub down. All you really need is a damp wash rag and a light all-purpose cleaner. I always recommend starting the organization process with a clean area, you’ll feel so much better and lighter!
Keep It Current: Check Expiration Dates
-Hanging on to expired items is a huge sticking point in the bathroom, especially the medicine cabinet. Sometimes it comes from a mindset of wondering what the harm is of keeping it, other times, you might hold on to an expired tube of lipstick as a reminder to buy another. But, when the current products are mixed in with expired ones, the space doesn’t function as well as it should.
Sort Products Into Categories
-Considering the medicine cabinet is prime real estate and isn’t usually all that large, decide which categories you want in this specific space. From there, categorize and sort all your essentials. Every home is different so the categories will be unique to you. With that, some suggested categories could be skin care, hair care, oral care, medicines/vitamins, makeup, first aid, or feminine care.
Edit
-Now, it’s time for my favorite step. Edit. Expired items aren’t the only items that should go. When sorting your products, ask yourself “Do I currently use this product?” “Is this part of my regular routine?” “Do I actually need this?”If the answer is no, consider discarding or donating them. (note: if it is unopened or unexpired, consider donating to a women’s shelter).
Unbox & Contain
-Unbox any items you can! Typically, packaging is bulky and take up prime real estate in tight spaces
-I love using items like lazy susans, bins, and spice jars for containing to make sure nothing is lost and everything has a home. Take a peek at the graphic below for a roundup of all my favorite medicine cabinet organization items.
Label
-Make your space efficient with labels. Adding the name (and expiration date if needed) to each container will save you so much time. Gone are the days of trying to figure out what’s what, labels will make everything crystal clear.
I am absolutely in love with these spice containers! Pro tip: I love using them for vitamins & supplements (note: they are not childproof so make the best decision for you).
Absolutely obsessed with these wooden bins! I love to keep canisters in them so everything is contained.
Need a longer bin for more canisters? No problem! I love to mix & match the two sizes, depending on what products need more space.
These ceramic containers are an absolute dream for keeping any beauty products, bobby pins, hair ties or anything else!
If you know me, you know how much I love a lazy susan. This eco-friendly wooden lazy susan is perfect for keeping spice containers accessible and efficient.
These glass canisters are perfect for housing q-tips, cotton balls, or any other first aid needs.
If you prefer to keep your items in a glass container over ceramic, these are for you!
I love to keep these closed crates for bulk items that I don’t necessarily need to see from a day-to-day
If You Don’t Have A Medicine Cabinet
Don’t have an established medicine cabinet? Not a worry! Find a space that makes sense in your daily flow, and designate that area for your bathroom essentials. This area can be a linen closet, nearby drawer, blank wall, rolling cart or behind the door!
If you are going the route of a cabinet or linen closet, you can optimize on the same products I recommend for a medicine cabinet. You might even have more space to include a lazy susan and larger containers!
If you choose to use a drawer to organize, I love to use acrylic drawer organizers that give the drawer a clean look! Modular bins are also key. Using the different bin sizes gives you the ability to mix and match based on item size. If it’s a deeper drawer, I also love drawer dividers that can easily separate items.
I also love maximizing vertical space with an over-the-door hanger. This one is amazing for providing multiple containers to separate everything.
If you know me, you know I love a rolling cart! They are portable and provide more than enough space for all your bathroom essentials!
