Hey there!!
Just wanted to drop in and show you something kinda fun I worked on last month. I'm totally nutso over the show on Netflix called: Get Organized with The Home Edit. Joanna and Clea are my organization heroes. I aspire to be half as amazing as they are but in the meantime, here's what happened in my bathroom. My apologies for the not-so-great pics. I was waiting on some back-ordered product and I ran down in the dark to snap a few photos of the after. Hubster was sleeping so I tried to be quiet but I accidentally slammed a cabinet door. Oooops
Let's start with the before and then the after where we have them:
This is under my sink in the bathroom. Not horrible but not great. There is lots of wasted space and things got lost in the back. The big bin on the left is a bin of hair stuff and I was always digging through it to find what I needed.
Here we are after! I'm still not crazy about the plastic drawers but The Home Edit just came out with some new stacking drawers at Walmart so I'm hoping they'll be about the same size and I can switch these out. On top of the plastic drawers, there are 2 clear bins, one holds headbands and the other is holding nasal/allergy items. Saline spray, neti pot, etc. The wicker basket is divided into sections and it's holding hairbrushes, curling/flat irons & hair dryers. It's nice and long so it covers that lost space in the back of the cabinet but I can see and reach everything. Next to that is a lazy susan, it has lotions, deodorants, sunscreen, etc. It's perfect, everything is visible and in reach WITHOUT knocking over things when I dig. Finally on the right are eye makeup remover, witch hazels, and face toners. There is also a large clear bin to the back which holds my back stock of things in this cabinet.
Next up is a wall cabinet. Can you say hot mess express??!! I cussed every time I needed something in here. But now.....
Top shelf: Yeah, I just folded all my extra blankets
Middle shelf: Nail supplies (there is a small lazy susan in the middle to hold tools)
middle bin has jewelry cleaner, extra razors, and a container of eyeglass cleaners. On the far right is the bin of contacts and eye drops. I use a LOT of eyedrops and now it's so easy for me to see when I'm running out.
Bottom shelf: Starting in the back on the left, is my Young Living back stock then as you move forward is facial cleaning and moisturizers, these are on riser-type shelves. The next 3 bins are all hair care but separated by when/how you use; hairsprays and dry shampoos in one; products for dry hair (like serums & hair oils) and finally ones for wet hair (leave-in conditioners, styling products)
It's so much easier for me to know what goes on with wet hair or dry hair this way especially when I haven't put my contacts in yet!
Next up was the adjacent cabinet on the wall:
I don't have a before for this one but let me assure you it was BAD.
It's still not perfect but honestly, this is working for us and it has stayed in this condition so for now, we'll leave it.
Top Shelf: blue bin has heating pads/compresses; the riser shelf has products we rarely use; the top of the wire basket holds supplements that are rarely used and the bottom section holds back stock of toothbrush heads, dental floss, and extra toothbrushes for guests or travel.
Middle shelf: This is my main Young Living oil stash- these are on tiered shelves and are in alphabetical order. The divided bin in the middle holds ointments and behind the shelves are baskets with roller balls, extra bottles & caps and sample-size bottles.
Bottom shelf: on the left are the basic pain relievers and antacids with the rest of the shelf being first aid supplies. The top of the wire basket tray has thermometers.
This is the cabinet over the toilet.
Top shelf: extra sheets for our bed, hot rollers (yes, I keep a set!!) and the round bin has regular velcro hair rollers.
Middle shelf: These are all travel items: The shelf is labeled so if you are looking for shampoo or toothpaste you can see right where to find them.
Bottom shelf: Bin for cleaning supplies- Bin for Hubster's bath soaps/body washes, bin for epsom salts and finally the extra TP.
It's so easy to reach in and pull a bin down to get what you need then slide it back in the cabinet.
Next to the bathroom sink are a set of 3 drawers and I have taken over 2 of the 3. Hubster has the top drawer and we didn't do anything to his drawer because he "likes it just the way it is" haha
This is the bottom drawer and where I keep the extras of my Young Living oils.
Old prescription meds. You can see that I write on the top of them in case we need one for something.
I also have my Jen O'Sullivan Young Living oils & supplements reference books. The next bin has the daily supplements I take and towards the back of the drawer are supplements that I use infrequently but I like to have on hand because when you need them..you NEED them!
Next up is the middle drawer and my make-up drawer.
Everything is divided up into small bins and grouped.
eyeliners, eyeshadows, blush, mascara, foundation, etc.
This makes packing a breeze too!
This is Hubster's under-sink cabinet, which he also insisted was fine the way it was.
It wasn't! Just a quick straightening up, tossing out expired items and some new clear bins tidied it up nicely. Now if I can just get that top drawer tackled. haha
We moved to the kitchen now. I did the refrigerator but we just had a big party for the 4th of July and my refrigerator needs a good cleaning. Hopefully next week I'll get to that and show you because I've gone clear bin crazy in there! If you know me then you also know that I label EVERYTHING, including the leftovers so this is organizing is the logical next step in my life.
This is one of my kitchen drawers that was a complete disaster. You could never find anything in here and I ended up tossing so much when I cleaned this one out. Now there is a lazy susan in the back that holds the various hot chocolate mixes. The ice tea bags and the big carafe for the coffee pot are here in easy reach and we have a bin for extra coffee, instant coffee, and sugar packets. Good old mason jars hold the straws and another bin keeps the drink mixes in reach.
Here's a view from the front and I'm happy to report that I'm no longer mortified when someone asks me where the extra filters/coffee are located. I can point them to the drawer and not die of embarrassment when everything falls out of the drawer on the floor.
Some folks may wonder why on earth I spend so much time on this and why on earth would I spend so much money on clear bins when all the baskets and bins I had before worked. Yes, they worked but the clear bins allow me to open a drawer or cabinet and quickly assess if I am running low on something or I can grab a bin for a specific task and have everything I need. Plus, when things are organized you find you have so much more room than you thought and you won't buy things that you don't need just yet. And hopefully, you'll see what you are running low on so you can tell the ever-attentive Alexa to add it to your Costco list.
Being organized isn't about being "pretty", it's about being practical and the pretty is just a pleasant side effect.
Have you seen the show? Have you started organizing yet?
