I’ve been doing a lot of work around the house lately getting things organized, simplifying, paring down and throwing things away/donating. Sitting down too much doesn’t agree with this pregnancy (I get pins and needles in my legs, not to mention that persistent lower back pain), so I have been trying to avoid discomfort by walking around my house and being productive! It’s been working out great, and while it’s not “exercise” it still gets me moving in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

This past week, I stocked up on some organizing supplies at Target and got to work in our bathrooms.

My guest bathroom (which is also the kid bathroom) wasn’t really disorganized, but there was a lot of “stuff” on the counter and no real place to put an extra roll of TP or a tissue box. A plastic shoebox solved that problem, and now holds the aforementioned items, plus some room spray, a lotion, and Zachary’s bubble bath. Now the only items sitting on the actual countertop are hand soap and a candle. So much more tidy.

My master bathroom was by far the most disorganized. Every time I try to clean the bathroom counters, I always get frustrated by how much makeup is on the counter and how many bottles of this and that I have to clear away. I do use all the different bottles (soap, perfume, toothpaste, contact solution, hair stuff), but there are just so many of them. Another plastic shoebox solved this problem as well, as all the bottles now live in a shoebox giving me easy access and an easy way to move it out of the way for cleaning.

Additionally, I found an old lucite makeup organizer under my counter just taking up space. I cleaned out the bathroom junk drawer/makeup drawer and now have room for the organizer and ALL of my makeup! I think that cleaning out the bathroom drawers and cabinets is going to have to become a yearly activity, because I was shocked at how much old makeup was in there, not to mention the random expired contact drops, creams, and bottles of Advil! I filled up a whole grocery bag with junk and was astounded by how much crap I have held on to over the years. I’m sure I could even get rid of more things if I went through the drawer again…

My husband Adrian has always disliked the makeup being out, so he’s been really pleased, as have I — having all of this space available has really made it so much easier to keep our bathroom tidy.

This photo from Pinterest was my inspiration.

While my makeup drawer will certainly never be as neat and tidy as Martha Stewart’s (I contemplated posting a photo so you can see how I did it, but it’s better left to your imagination – and Martha’s is prettier anyway, lol), it’s much better than it used to be, and best of all, there’s now plenty of room on my bathroom counter!

How often do you organize your makeup drawer and bathroom cabinets?