By Christina Morton DesAuguste
Christina is the founder of The Organizing Company and has been organizing professionally since 2013. She is currently grateful for The Teskey Brothers, peanut butter banana smoothies, and her covered patio.
No A.I. copy & paste here! All our blogs are still written by professional organizers or other humans.
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Looking for quick win this weekend? Here's your plan to organize your bathroom in a way that will actually last past next weekend.
First:
Sort your products into categories (if they aren't already). Categories I generally use are skincare, makeup, eye care, hair care & hair tools, body care, hair removal, feet and nail care, feminine care, shower items, towels, etc.
If you have a lot of any of these, I recommend creating subcategories. For example, skincare usually breaks down into things like: moisturizers, cleansers, acne treatments, serums/treatments/masks, etc. Hair care might break down into: oils, treatments/masks, styling products, dry shampoo, finishing products (hair spray, texturizers, etc).
Without categories, there isn't really any organization. So this first task is crucial, and should be done before you “edit” or buy containers.
Creating categories and subcategories means it's easier to determine what you need/want to keep and also where and how to store it so you can find it quickly. So create categories that make sense for your stuff and how you use it, and stay away from really broad terms like “toiletries".
Second:
Now that you can see how many lipsticks/deodorants/hair sprays/moisturizers you have, curate your collection of products to reflect what will actually get used and accomplish your needs, while also considering what will fit comfortably in your space.
Let go of products you tried but didn't like.
Let go of things you feel bad that you spent money on but never used (and won't ever use).
Let go of “nice to have" items that are taking up space for things you actually use.
Let go of redundant items if you don't have room for them. How many towels does your family use each week/washing cycle? Let go of 95% of the extras (after making sure the guest bathroom is stocked if you host).
Let go of things that are expired. Especially sunscreen.
If you are curious why I use the term “curate" for this step, or if you want more detail on how to organize in general, get my free organizing guide here.
Third:
Determine where each category should live. Think in terms of “zones" for the bigger categories like skincare, and keep those items together in one area (with those subcategories maintained, of course!). It doesn't usually make sense to have mascara in one drawer and the rest of your makeup in another drawer, right? So plan zones that can keep things you use together, together.
You could have two drawers for hair stuff though, right? One drawer for the products and one drawer for the tools. It’s best to keep them close to each other so everything you need to style your hair is easy to access at the same time, making your morning routine faster and less frustrating.
Remember to consider what items you use most to give those the easiest to reach spots.
Fourth:
Now that you know what drawer/cabinet/shelf each category will go on/in, contain and label! The “container” could just be the shelf/drawer itself for bigger items like bath towels, but maybe you need some drawer dividers so that your toothbrush isn't getting skincare products or hair on it. Maybe you need some long, skinny bins or drawers that fit under your sink to hold all those tall hair care products so they aren't just lost at the back of the cabinet.
You might have what you need around the house already, or head to The Container Store to pick something up. Psst! If you think you might add more containers later and you want them to match, The Container Store is usually a better bet than Target or Walmart, etc. In my experience, other stores change their product lines more frequently and it can be difficult to get matching products later. Plus, The Container Store staff is the best (shout out to the Flatirons store!) and will help you find the right products for your needs. Bring photos and measurements and they’ll take good care of you.
Lastly:
Implement a rhythm to maintain it.
Please do not skip this step if you want to stay organized!
If you don't plan how you're going to keep your bathroom organized, it's less likely to stay that way. And even though using my method up to this point gets you ahead of the game to begin with, it's not complete without this last step.
Once you have things contained, let those containers (even if that container is just a built-in shelf) be the boundaries on your products. Your bin of lotion is all the space for lotion, for example. This will help you know that you have enough and slow down on buying (which also saves you money since products don't last forever). If you buy a new product and it doesn't comfortably (key word here) fit, it's time to curate again and be more intentional about what you're purchasing going forward.
Here are a few other pointers to help you stay organized:
-Avoid having backstock. Sometimes Costco is not your friend. If you don't have space for duplicates/extras/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, don't buy them. It just creates more frustration of where to put it, having to go check to see if you have it before going to the store, being too lazy or forgetting to check and buying more anyway, then really struggling with where to put it all, and then you don't use it and three years later it's all goopy and gross and you don't want to use it anyway. I see this story played out almost every month as a professional organizer. Be very picky about what backstock you keep in your home.
-Consider buying fewer products to try or having fewer options. I’m no doctor, but I know that changing a skincare product every few months doesn't give your skin time to be changed by the product to know if it even works! 6 months to see a 50% improvement is what my dermatologists have said about most topical products I’ve tried, even prescription only products like tretinoin. Unless your dermatologist is telling you to switch products every week or couple months, stick with one thing until you make a total switch. Obviously, this doesn't apply for as needed items like zit patches, etc (but even then, how many different options do you need?), but moisturizers, cleansers, toners, serums, eye creams, etc are big culprits I see of just too many options. If you stop using something because it irritated your skin, why are you keeping it? Donate it to someone who will use it!
-Finally, build a rhythm into your day that you tidy your bathroom before bed every night. Anything that is out of place from a hectic morning gets put away so you get a fresh start the next morning. It also is great to set a reminder (or a calendar event) to tune up your bathroom every few months (if you share it with others), or at least annually. If you follow my month-by-month system, I like to do it in March (Psst! You can get my get Your Month-by-Month Guide to an Effortlessly Organized Life for free here!).
That's it! You might be able to get this done in less than 30 minutes if you're already organized, but don't get discouraged if it takes you longer.
Doing this organizing process in this specific order means that you'll make better decisions about what to keep, where everything should live, and how to store it, as well as about what comes into your house going forward.
And that means this is more likely to stick! So hang in there if it's a bigger project for you. It'll be worth it. And, of course, if you need a little extra help, I offer virtual coaching as well as in-home organizing. You know where to find me!
Happy Organizing!
Christina
PS: Remember, the key to making it last is doing every step in this order. Jumping ahead or leaving out steps won’t help make good organizing decisions. For more on my method and why this matters, watch my video guide.
April 9th, 2026
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