Dude, meet our disaster drawer. I know you guys already got a preview of him yesterday, but you know how a horror movie has that dun-dun-duuuuun sound effect? This drawer needs one too. It’s that bad. Like “what wild animal got in there and rooted around?” bad. So in the name of organization week (and general sanity) it was about time we got on it.
The issue is that we don’t have a medicine cabinet, thanks to the window in front of the sink, as demonstrated by this pic from our House Tour page. The drawer in front of the sink is actually a false drawer, so we can’t use that one for additional storage. Sure, we have the cabinet under the sink, but that’s where we put bigger stuff like the hairdryer and our travel toiletry bag, so it’s mainly all on this small skinny drawer to store every last little thing – like floss, toothpaste, contact stuff, medicine, deodorant, hair stuff, nail stuff, and all the other things that usually get shoved into a few drawers and maybe even a medicine cabinet or linen closet.
But I knew straightening up this drawer was possible. John and I are pretty minimalistic when it comes to stuff like this (for example, I have a small travel makeup bag with all of the makeup that I own in it – which is less than eight items – and I keep that in the car or my purse, so that doesn’t need space in the drawer). We also don’t wear perfume or cologne, so there’s no need to store that or any bath salts or scrubs (we’re shower people). In short: we don’t have that much stuff when you consider that this is a pile of all the medicine, tooth stuff, nail stuff, hair stuff, and general hygiene stuff in our entire house except for one pot of diaper cream in Clara’s room and a bottle of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner in the shower.
So we just had to figure out a way to wrangle it so it was functional (ie: so we could actually find what we were looking for). The first order of business was removing everything so we could see the bottom of the drawer again and take inventory of all the things we had. I went through everything and got rid of things like expired medication or empty bottles that somehow got shoved back into the mess.
Then I grabbed two divided boxes at TJ Maxx to the tune of $9. I think they’re meant for office supplies or jewelry, but they were the right height for the sink drawer and I knew the key to adding some order would be to segment things off and create zones to keep things from slipping all over the place every time the drawer slid open. Here’s what I came up with after I stuck those two containers in the drawer along with the wooden toothbrush/toothpaste box we had from a while back and filled them all up.
It was a tight fit, but everything that I took out (except for the expired medicine and empty containers) fit back in. And this time it makes sense! If you look closely, I tried to group things. For example, all my nail polish is together at the back right of the drawer, all of our razors are together at the front right of the drawer, all of our contacts are stored on the left side of the drawer, and all of our mouth related stuff is still in the toothpaste box (mouthwash, toothpaste, and toothbrushes and one pack of floss, while the extra floss is back near my nail polish). In the back left of the drawer is all of our medicine along with a box of my, uh, feminine products.
Some of those cubbies, like the three in the middle of this picture are just items that are grouped by owner. For example, the one on the left is my stuff (an extra concealer and mascara that came packaged as a set of two so I only put one in my travel makeup pouch, my hair-cutting scissors, a nail file, etc) while the middle cubby is where John’s hair stuff and razor and contact case live. That cubby is sort of his morning routine (although he doesn’t shave every morning – maybe just every three). The cubby to the right of that is also John’s shaving stuff (shaving cream and aftershave) – so putting them next to each other and keeping my stuff out of his cubbies will hopefully make it easier to keep up with this system (he won’t be messing with my areas and my stuff won’t be in the way of his).
Medication safety update: All the medication is in childproof containers and those razor blades snap into a protective case that Clara couldn’t unsnap on her own (at 23 months old, Clara can’t open non-childproof bottles or even tupperware containers) and we keep the door to our bedroom closed so she is never in there unattended (since Burger’s food is in that room and she likes to mess with it, haha). So there’s a no-Clara-in-the-bedroom rule unless we’re in there with her.
Here’s the other side of the drawer again, just because I thought for a shot of random bathroom stuff, this was kinda pretty. Haha.
So yay! We finally got on that. I just hope it stays this way. It has lasted through one evening and one morning routine, so I have a fair amount of hope. I gave John a stern look and said “please respect the cubbies” and so far he has been awesome about it. But I’ll have to take a random photo in six months to see how this whole shebang really fares. You know I’ll keep it real and report back, whether it’s still looking good or somehow has exploded into chaos again.
The sad thing about getting on this project is that in doing it I noticed another task that I need to add to the list: painting these cabinets and drawers- both inside and out. See that dinged up looking lip? Now that things are nice and organized inside of the drawer I notice it even more. Why is it that one upgrade often just shines a big ol’ spotlight on other things that still need to be attended to? Oh well. Someday I’ll get on that.
Just for fun, I snapped a picture of the cabinets under the sink. I told you we were minimalists about this sort of stuff. Just an old box from John’s grandpa full of a few John things, our travel toiletry bag (the black thing in the middle) and a basket with a hairdryer, a brush, and a curling iron among some other random items in the back. But see those blue arrows? Those are other dings and smudges I noticed while cleaning up. Someday I’ll conquer them. Although probably not anytime soon if I’m being honest. Haha.
Until then I’ll just appreciate being able to check if we need more floss or razors at a glance while grabbing the deodorant without having to wrestle any other toiletries out of the way. It’s the little things.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a huge rundown of all the grooming & cleaning products that we use in an attempt to keep it simple (many of them multitask, so we don’t have to store ten million different bottles under the sink). What have you guys been organizing lately? Have you found things like dividers or cubbies to be helpful in instances where you have only one shallow area that needs to store a bunch of different things? Who’s tackling their bathroom stuff tonight? And is it weird that I brushed and flossed after this project? Staring at all that stuff somehow compelled me to end things like that – just to test out my storage system I guess. Haha.
Kahley @ Ambiance says
Isn’t it amazing how good it feels to get a junky drawer all organized? I did some good “medicine cabinet” storage last year too, inspired by pinterest of course.
http://ambiancedecorlive.blogspot.ca/search/label/Boot%20Room
And the sweet thing is…. it’s been almost a year and it’s still working perfectly! Nothing has changed, and it’s all still organized. Kudos to you – it’s totally the small things!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!
xo,
s
Amanda says
It looks fantastic! We recently did a whole month of organizing in our home and blogged about it along the way – we tackled our out of control guest room, the garage, and a ton of random drawers like your junk drawer. We’ve managed to keep everything pretty organized so far, which is awesome! Having a clutter-free home is SO nice!
Amy says
I’m a pediatric ER doc and a devoted follower of Young House Love. I have taken care of DOZENS of children with accidental poisonings whose perfectly responsible parents were positive they couldn’t get the child safe caps off. Accidental Tylenol ingestions remain an important cause of liver injury in toddlers. Do yourselves (and your adorable little girl) a favor and put them up high.
Your blog rocks.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Amy! A few folks shared a link to a lock-box that kids can’t open (even teens can’t open it without their parents) so that might be the way we’ll go!
xo,
s
Angela says
Thanks for mentioning nail polish – I’ve been wanting to ask you “What kind of nail polish do you use?” Is there such a thing as a no VOC nail polish? I know how strict you guys are with that kind of stuff. When I painted my nails last week, I noticed how stinky the polish was and 6hours after they dried they still were very strong.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we’ll be covering that in this morning’s post. I like two brands that are really eco friendly!
xo,
s
Erin H. says
8 make-up items? I thought you were a Jersey girl! I am impressed with how little beauty clutter you have!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’m in recovery. In middle school and high school it was like 5000 items. It was actually a real relief to simpilfy!
xo,
s
Hayley says
I used to use some Toms deo, but I swear I stunk (stank?) all the time. Like I put it on 50 times a day, and when I sweat, I could smell lavender and my own stink. I know it is not anti-persperent, so sweating should be expected…Is there a special “type” of Toms where you won’t stink?
YoungHouseLove says
I just think different people have different deodorants that work for them. My best friend wears something I could never wear (it always burned) and she loves it and John and I have had luck with Tom’s but hear that some folks just can’t use it. Maybe we all have different things that react differently to our bodies (like how one lotion might dry someone out or irritate someone but work really well for someone else?). We have used a bunch of different “scents” from Tom’s so we’re not really exclusive to one type. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Karena says
I seriously cannot believe I have not done this yet; the kitchen drawers yes, the bathes need big help!
To see some Artistic Beauty…….2012 Artist Series featuring Designer and Paper Artist; Anita Rivera ( of Castles Crowns and Cottages)is in on my site! I hope you will visit…
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like fun!
xo,
s
Liz says
Awesome! I just did this. Except I had a disaster closet in the hall and a disaster medicine cabinet and three (smaller) disaster drawers in my bathroom. That are basically all mine. As in, my husband has his own (perfectly organized) bathroom cabinet. I would be the one getting stern looks and being admonished about “respecting cubbies.” It’s bad. But anyhow, I felt great afterward, especially after the hall closet. So much easier to find stuff. I’m not sold on the bathroom organization yet–it is roughly organized by how often I use stuff and yet I still feel like I can’t find things. I guess I have some more trial-and-error ahead of me.
Theresa says
A free container that I just came up with is the plastic packaging to the Q-tips, it’s a great size for our drawers and it works great for all of my girls hair ties and flexi headbands.
YoungHouseLove says
So cool that you noticed it was the perfect size!
xo,
s
Tara@ Glassbusters Az says
thanks for the ideas! I too have a problem with little bottles and tubes. They should all go in one place, but in a nneat way.
Crissy says
Oh man, I wish I was that organized with my kids stuff, with three kids I feel like I am always trying to put away their things. I know other mothers are able to keep organized with more but for whatever reason it’s hard for me. Maybe I need To go to organizational boot camp…lol
Karyn says
A. We have 7,000 disaster drawers in our house and even if I cleaned them the crap inside would organize into chaos by tomorrow!
B. You have a small bag of make up? I have drawers of products I don’t use but don’t want to throw away because what if I NEED purple eyeshadow from 2 years ago and can’t find it?
C. Hair cutting scissors? And your hair looks that adorable?
Sherry, you make me want to be a better person. I have to go make my salon appointment now;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re so cute Karyn! The hair cutting scissors are mostly for John’s haircuts (haha, yes I cut his hair) and sometimes he’ll trim mine when it’s wet from the shower. I just beg him to go in a straight line. Haha.
xo,
s
Connie says
Since organizers usually slide around (drawer manufacturers and drawer organizer manufacturers don’t agree on sizes), I’ve discovered that the anti-slide drawer liners intended for use in RVs is the answer. Cut a piece to fit the bottom of the drawer, add the organizers, and finally you have a non-sliding organized drawer.
I’m using this system in the silverware drawer, which holds far more weight than most drawers so you know it works.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo,
s
Amy Knisely says
Totally unrelated… but how do you two like the Tom’s deodorant? I have to use natural deodorants without antiperspirant (otherwise I sweat like crazy, get ingrown hairs… just general unpleasantness) and I haven’t been able to find one I really like. I haven’t tried Tom’s yet and was just curious.
YoungHouseLove says
We tried a few brands (Jason, Tom’s, etc) and seem to prefer Tom’s after a bit of back and forth experimenting a few years ago! Sometimes it takes a little while to find your favorite one, and I think it’s different for everyone!
xo,
s
Jamie says
You are totally looking for the Drama Button for your Dun-dun-duuun!!
http://www.dramabutton.com/
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahahahahha, exactly!
xo,
s
Amy says
I had the complete opposite problem – my linen cloest is way too large, so things just get lost in it, and thus when I couldn’t find something, I would go to the store to buy something I already had. A few months ago, I removed everything I had, pitched any expired/empty/un-needed stuff…and then I was a super nerd and made an inventory list of things I have along with quantities. So now when I open the closet to grab something, I can confirm if I have it – and how many. This has saved me a ton of money!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! That’s super organized!
xo,
s
heather s. says
Where are things like hairspray, sunblock, lotions? PLEASE tell me you have sunblock somewhere. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we’ll cover that in this morning’s post. That’s in our travel bag under the sink (and one tube is in the car since we’re usually going somewhere when we need to use it).
xo,
s
Elsie says
I just saw something I think Clara would enjoy: a fairytale video by kids for kids called a Clara Tale!
Here’s the link; it’s super cute.
http://www.claratales.com/
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!
xo,
s
Bboss says
FYI. Saw this and couldn’t resist:
http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Saying-the-Word-%22Dude%22-So-Much
In case you need some rehab.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahaha! Dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about!
xo,
s
Renee says
Kudos on the organization projects!
We don’t have a play room at our house and our 2 yrd old usually wants to be in the same room we are in. Luckily we have an open floor plan so the kitchen, dining room & living room are all in one. I purchased a vintage buffet and put it at the far end of this room for all of V’s toys. It works perfect! He can get to the toys himself and things are put away quickly. The 2 shelved areas with doors hold larger toys, singing elmo, ball popper, tool bench, etc. The 2 large lower drawers hold blocks, cars, cars and more cars. the 4 upper drawers are for small pieces & for moms stuff – candles, pictures, etc.
works great if you have room for a large piece!
Tracy says
I’ve been using a white paint marker to touch up paint where the dinged areas are just annoying but not aethetically important. Instant gratification!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip!
xo,
s
MGal says
You should stop by and check out my post on using command hooks to store your blow dryer under organizing the bathroom. Cheers, MGal watchmediy.com
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea!
xo,
s
maribel says
Curious to know what items are in the cubby with what looks like vaseline…do you have a thing about qtips and cotton balls or pads…dont see any of those. BTW…do you ever think it’s crazy how much “we” all want to know about you, i bet when you started this blog you never in a million years expected questions about what feminine products you use.LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I do have cotton balls under the sink for nail polish removal, and we stopped using q-tips when our doctor yelled at us (apparently ears are self cleaning and sticking cotton sticks into them just messes up the delicate balance, haha). Those two tubes of things that you see in that cube are balm sticks, like for rubbing on bug bites or burns to soothe them? Sort of like first aid stuff, but all natural. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Karyl says
For that fake drawer by your sink you can get a tip out hinge kit to make it into a functional space. We retro-fitted our kitchen sink drawer to hold sponges, etc and also put one in the bathroom for tooth paste and floss. You can get them from here: http://www.thehardwarehut.com/kitchen_sinkfront.php
I also keep all my pedicure stuff (emery boards, polish, cuticle remover, scrub, clippers, etc) in a plastic shoe box container. It keeps it organized and handy to grab when I do my toes somewhere other than the edge of the bath tub, or more often in the car while my husband drives on the way to the event.
Thanks for sharing your favorite items and tricks–always nice to hear what works for others.
YoungHouseLove says
Such a smart idea!
xo,
s
Joanna says
At least your mess is generally hidden behind closed doors (or drawers). We are working towards that now! Since moving 8 months go it’s been a mess!!
Kim says
This super organized drawer makes me wish I DIDN’T have a medicine cabinet and just a shallow drawer like yours :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, I think that’s the sweetest possible thing you could say about an ugly dinged up drawer like ours! Haha.
xo,
s
Alex says
Love the drawer. One suggestion to minimize more. Get John to use a safety razor or straight razor. I guarantee he’ll enjoy the shave more and if he only has to do it every three days it’s a perfect combo.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea! Off to tell John how to shave. Haha. We’ll have to see if he’s down.
xo,
s
Caitlin @ Hardly Housewives says
I just went through something similar in my bathroom, except instead of a drawer, I had a whole cabinet full of stuff that has accumulated there in the (fairly short) period of time we’ve moved into the house.
http://www.hardlyhousewives.com/2012/03/bathroom-organization.html
Much better!
YoungHouseLove says
Looks awesome!
xo,
s
Maleah says
Just have to say (I am an optometrist by profession) that you need to stop using Acuvue 2 lenses. There are healthier options out there. Also, generic contact solutions are not the same as brand name. This is one time that I would spend more and get a brand name solution. Either opti-free or clear care.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Maleah! I’m due to the optometrist soon and I’m sure I’ll get upgraded then!
xo,
s
Patty C says
Looks great. You have to love an organized space – when my kids were little I had toys in plastic candy containers I got from a local store. They saved them for me as they emptied them. Labels on the containers and on the shelves let sitters help the kids to clean up when I was at school. I got laughed at, but my playroom pretty much always looked good except when everybody was actually using things. For drawers like yours, I use empty check boxes. They divide the space really nicely.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip so much!
xo,
s
Wom-mom Ethne says
Wow, I just did this on my blog – giving yhl credit for the inspiration!
http://www.wom-mom.com/2012/05/organization-bathroom.html
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Go Ethne!
xo,
s
Jessica C. says
How do you rangle all of Clara’s things in the ‘bathroom’ department (hair bows, lotion, shampoo, soap) I looked for a post trying to find recommendations as my toddler now has hair ad needs it to be actually washed, but couldn’t find anything
YoungHouseLove says
Check out this post for that info. We only have three toiletries for Clara (and hair bows go in a little box in the top drawer of her dresser since she only has a few). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Lesley says
So? How’s it holding up?
YoungHouseLove says
Still looks good! I can’t believe it. But it hasn’t been that long yet. Haha. Give John time…
xo,
s
Erin C says
I wasn’t sure where to ask this question so I’m posting it here :)
Where do you store current magazines in your house? I get quite a few subscriptions and don’t want to hide them away until I’m done reading them but don’t want them cluttering up the house either. Plus we no longer have a coffee table :( Just curious if you had any thoughts. Thanks!!!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re stacked under the built ins in those cabinets if I want to keep them and have read them, but if I’m in the process of reading them, they’re usually just stacked on the console table or the chaise part of the sofa.
xo
s
Celia says
Bumping this to suggest an update! I love your organizing posts, and I would love to see how this has held up or what else you might be sorting.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Celia! So far it’s still working (admittedly it’s not as super clean as it once was, but all those cubbies really help so I’d say it’s 80% still like this and 20% a little more cluttered with more stuff). Hah!
xo
s