4 Clutter Hot Spots—and How to Conquer Them

Perfume bottles, toothpaste tubes, empty shampoo bottles—clutter can build up at a mystifyingly rapid rate in a bathroom when several members of the family are using it. These quick tips will help to restore order.

Divide and conquer
Impose order by allocating each member of the family their own drawer or container and keeping only a few items out on the countertop. If you don't have enough storage space for everyone to have a drawer, decorative boxes or lidded wicker baskets are good alternatives. Gather all nonessential items into these containers after use and pop the lid on to regain some order. A colorful plastic box with holes for drainage for corralling children's bath toys is also a good idea if you want to limit the bath time chaos and avoid stepping on a hard plastic toy with bare feet.

Group essentials
For items that are used every day and need to be kept out on the countertop, such as hand soap, hand lotion, and toothbrushes, group them all together on a tray and keep them close to the sink to avoid splashing water all over the countertop when you reach for them. Choose beautiful bottles or containers that you will be happy to look at every day, too; I decant my liquid hand soap into a glass dispenser because I'd rather look at that than a plastic bottle, but whatever pleases your eye is the right choice for you.

Tidy towels
Large storage boxes are good for keeping clean towels neatly ordered, and plenty of wall hooks will ensure wet towels don't end up on the floor. Color-coded towels are useful if you have lots of people using a bathroom—and culprits can be easily identified when damp towels are left lying around. If your towels are all the same, a simple colored tab or marker dot on the label can help you assign each one to a family member. If you are really organized, why not take a page from my sister's book and embroider each person's name onto their own set of towels? Instant identification!