Bathroom Organization: Before And After Pics [Don't Judge Me!]

So, one of my New Years Resolutions is to get organized.  I've tackled a few little projects since the beginning of the year, like getting rid of appliances that we didn't really use, and cleaning out the "junk drawer" in our kitchen.  

But, tonight I (with my husband's help) tackled our bathroom.  

It's amazing how you don't realize how much crap you have shoved onto a counter and under the cabinets of your bathroom until you take pictures of it.  

How did I never notice that our bathroom counter was in complete chaos?  I mean, the rest of our house isn't like this.  But for some reason, makeup, medicine, lotions, and who knows what else have just accumulated on and in our bathroom over the past 2.5 years we've lived here.  Well no more.

Oh, it's sooooo embarrassing to post these "before" pictures but here they are.  Don't judge me.  

counter top:

left is my side & right is hub's side

 my drawer:

no wonder it takes me so long to get ready

hub's drawer

 hub's cabinet

(I forgot to take a picture of my cabinet but it was just as bad.)

 the middle cabinet

I went to Wal-Mart and purchased 4 containers (for less than $2 each) so that I could separate our things into them.  But, before I could use them, I had to take everything out of the bathroom so I could see what the hell we even had under there.  

It took two boxes to haul everything out of our bathroom and into the living room.  I could not believe we had that much stuff in there!  Where did it all come from?!  AHHH!!

I dug in, making different piles for each of the following:  prescription medication, over-the-counter medication, dental care, hair care, nail care, lotions, first-aid, and miscellaneous.  

Then, I started throwing stuff away!  Who needs 18 bottles of lotion?!  WHO?!  And why did I feel the need to keep the stupid single-use shampoos and conditioners you get in hotels?  Obviously because I didn't have enough stuff!  

Other stuff, I combined.  For example, we had like three boxes of Mucinex.  Why?  Probably because we thought we were out of Mucinex because we couldn't find any and so we bought some more.  I also combined things like bandaids.  If they're the same size, there's no need for them to be in two boxes even if one box is Sponge Bob and the other Angry Birds.   

Oh, and I learned something tonight:  When organizing:  zip-lock bags are your friend.  

We ended up eliminated a TON of stuff (probably 1/3) that we didn't need and organized the rest.  Here are the results.  

Look, I have a bathroom counter now!

(And yes, I really take that much medicine to need that weekly pill box.  haha)

And the area under the sink is organized so that we can find everything now!

Each container is organized with common items placed together.

No more searching, I now where everything is!  

It's a Christmas miracle!

This is my husband's cabinet. So clean!

 And my cabinet!

All of my lotions and hair-care products that I use but not regularly are in the pink bag.

All of my finger nail polishes are in the yellow bag above it.

 And here is my drawer:

Everything in it, I use daily.

My makeup is in a shallow box lid toward the back so that I can take the box out and then slide it back in when I'm finished.  See the ugly blue container?  My son had a wart a long time ago and the stuff to freeze it with came in that container.  We threw away the medicine (it was expired) but I kept the container.

 Now it holds all of my hair ties, clips, and pins

(I'll do something to pretty up the front of it, but for now it works.)

Oh, and here's the container with all of the first aid supplies.

I put it in a red box under my son's cabinet,

 so that it'd be easily recognizable and easy to get to.

Because I coupon, we tend to have more products on hand than the average family.  So we bought a small shelf to place in our garage to hold these extra products.  This shelf was only $14 and well worth it.  

Right now this shelf is holding 10 boxes of medicine, 8 packages of tissue, 6 sticks of deodorant, and at least 10 bottles of body wash, among other things.  A lot of this was just being stuffed under the bathroom cabinet, which is completely ridiculous because it might be months before we need any of it.  So why was it under there?!  Seriously.  Why?!

I am so, SO happy to have all of that clutter gone.  I honestly don't know how I let it get that bad but I am so glad to have it all organized now.  

Next up?  Organizing all of my crafts supplies!!