Tuesday, March 19, 2013

34 Items IHeart: Linen & Loo Storage

Last month I really enjoyed taking a moment to not only reflect on the bad {what isn't working}, but also focus on the good {what is}, when it came to storage in the ktichen.  Over the years we have put a few systems in place around here that have actually stuck and still help us day after day here at the Jones abode.  And hey, we are human, so we have swung and missed a few times too, but we will address those problem areas oh so soon.  It is linen and loo {bathroom} month, so here are the things that have gotten the Jones approved thumbs up!


{ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 }


1.  Our lower level didn't come equipped with any kind of linen closet, so, we just popped in a linen cabinet and now we have all sorts of storage that we totally adore!


Bonus points, I added in his and hers toiletry baskets and they have been working so well at keeping our individual clutter off of the counter!


2.  Over the door hooks.  Or any hooks really.  We use hooks instead of towel bars in our bathrooms, as I find they are much simpler than nicely folding and hanging the towels everyday.  Especially when the kids are involved.  In our bathroom we save space and use an over the door hook, it not only holds our towels, but our robes.  In the kid's bathroom, we use wall hooks and it works great for them, but I am still thinking of sewing small ribbon loops to each towel to prevent them from slipping off of the hooks.

3.  Two towels per person.  It's a little rule we have adapted.  Each family member has two sets of towels, that way, when the first batch is sent to the laundry, there is a second one waiting.  But it also ensures we are always keeping up with our linen washing, and that we don't over fill our cabinets with unnecessary stacks of towels.

4.  Drawer dividers, the stackable options are even better.  They work great for dividing cosmetics and toiletries so that you are not rummaging and digging each day.  It also keeps things a bit more sanitary vs. just tossing them haphazardly into a drawer.  Although I keep my beauty supplies in our dressing room, the dividers are a sanity saver!


5.  Toiletry tote.  I used one of these for the longest time and looooved it.  It was a super compact way for me to store my hair tools, makeup and supplies, and carry it in-between bathrooms {when my kiddos were younger I would use their bathroom more often to get ready}.  Everything just stayed stored within the bag and hung on a hook.  It is a really great option for individuals who don't have a lot of cabinet and drawer space.

6.  A hamper.  If you have the space for a hamper in the loo, it just makes sense.  Think about it, it's where people tend to undress {OK, you can stop thinking about that now, it's getting a bit creepy}.  We have a hamper in our master bath and use it daily.  The kid's don't have one in their bathroom, and it's no surprise I find their clothes behind the bathroom door or right outside the bathroom in a pile in the hall....



7.  Baskets.  Obvious right.  I say, "Hurray!" to baskets in the linen closet for sheets {folding a perfect sheet is a pain right?}.  They work great for corralling and hiding everything and anything really.  Not only do we have a two towel rule, we also have a two sets of sheets rule.  Each bed has two sets of sheets only, and we rotate them weekly.  Since we use our linen cabinet for medication, we opt to store the bedding right within each room, and it works so well!


8.  Nail caddy.  OK girly girls, this one is for you!  I have been using my nail caddy for years now, and I totally dig it.  It is so nice to be able to grab the entire stash of nail grooming supplies and take it anywhere, use them while I relax, and easily transport it back.

 
A few other things that have been working well for us:
  • We keep a small bin of cleaning supplies under each sink, so we can wipe up the bathroom frequently without needing to head to the kitchen for our household cleaning caddy.  It holds some disinfecting wipes, toilet bowl cleaner and sponges.
  • Candle votives make super star storage for Q-tips, cotton and other itty bitties such as bobby pins.

  • We like to keep our toothbrushes stored in a concealed area.  The bathroom can be a very germy place!


  • We don't store medications in the bathroom.  We use our hall linen closet for that instead since it is important to find a place within your home that keeps your medications stored at room temp, away from humidity and heat {it causes the medications to lose their effectiveness}.


 Tag, you're it!  Time for you to spill your favorite linen and loo organizing tips!


34 comments:

  1. I cannot stress how easy my life has been since we added a hamper to the master bath! AHHH I LOVE IT!!! My husband ACTUALLY USES IT NOW! Had to stress that... the love of my life is a slob that strips off all his clothes throughout the house and drives me nuts with it -- but now that the hamper is by the shower he at least tosses his gym clothes and pjs in the hamper. Now if only I could get him to do the same with his flight suit... hehe =)

    I'm rambling! Love the loo organization tips darling! xo

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  2. I know you have mentioned before that you really like the plastic travel size q-tip boxes. I have used one for years to hold bobby pins. They fit perfectly inside and it takes up very little room. You can see it on my blog below.

    http://onemilehomestyle.blogspot.com/2013/02/bathroom-drawer-re-vamped.html

    Thanks for sharing your favorite organizing tips!

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  3. I'm digging the nail caddy! I think I'd like to use that for make-up too!

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  4. I love anything that can corral and keep "like with like" - that can be a tray, box, basket...you name it. It helps me keep things in their proper places. Looks like we're on the same page on that! And I'd LOVE to have a hamper in our bathroom, but it's so tiny, there's no room!

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  5. Jen I love your website! I am learning so many good tricks and tips. I was looking into a getting a nice hamper for my hallway, and like the one you have here. Is it the one form Home Decorators? I thought the measurement wasn't tall but yours looks like perfect height? Do you have any suggestions?

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  6. Thank you for all of the wonderful tips! Until "Linen and Loo" month began, I never knew not to keep our meds in the bathroom! We are doing a linen closet makeover and will be moving them into there. Like you, I love labeling everything possible in the bathroom so that everything has a place and is easy to find. :) Thanks for always inspiring us and making us think!!

    ~Abby =)

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  7. Thanks for the roundup Jen-- it's always great to see what products actually work for others. From you, I've learned about having a caddy for cleaning supplies to corral thinks under the sink and I keep ALL of my manicure stuff in one cute little tin that I can take with me wherever I want. We just moved into a new house and I'm all about not putting anything anywhere unless I have an organized plan for it. Love your website!

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  8. I have seen a lot of your posts with those great plastic containers (I assume plastic), the blue and green ones you have for meds and such. Do you remember where you got them from. I would rather use something similar to that than fabric bins for bathroom/linen things. I love all your ideas!

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    Replies
    1. I think I saw them at Target...

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    2. Yup! Target... many different colors! Great and affordable!

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  9. hi jen!

    how do u installed the deco paper in that toothbrush cabinet? it's look very nice n i would like to do it to my dark coloured cabinet..

    tq! =)

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  10. I would *love* to know where you found your bathroom hamper! I'd like something just like that for our bathroom. The plastic one we have now is just so unsightly! :(

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    1. I think she said that she got the hamper from Home Decorators.

      They have a number of tilt out hampers on their website, including this one which looks similar to Jen's.

      http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Hampton_Bay_Tilt-Out_Hamper/410/

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  11. love # 3 and #8 and the nail polish cubbies- those are adorable! thanks for sharing this I can always use some storage inspiration. xx. gigi. food and beauty blogger @ www.gigikkitchen.blogspot.com

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  12. Just posted a blog post on organized bathrooms. Hope you all enjoy! http://www.seedingsimplicity.com/bathrooms-organized/

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  13. I have a nail caddy also and it is awesome!! So easy to just grab and then put it back when done!

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  14. Love the idea of having a tray to corral my nail polish. I use one (inspired by you of course) for my baking supplies. It makes clean up so much easier, so why not do that for your small manicure supplies too!
    {lamourcheznous.wordpress.com}

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  15. We have two of these cabinets in our bathroom and they have been working great!!

    http://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/60218968/#/00226179

    They store everything from towels, hairsupplies, toiletbags to extra tp and our cleaning-caddy!! We also mounted a wallsocket from the inside of the cabinet so we can charge our electric toothbrushes in there!

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  16. I use a flip fold organiser for my towels and it is great, so easy to fold and different size towels all end up looking the same.. we have a few more than 2 sets a person (oops) but we have the space so it's all good. we have quite a few beach towels as we live in the tropics.. I use baskets for my fitted and flat sheets, I do fold them but not as perfect, I line them up vertically rather than on top of each other, so you can just grab one.. in our loo is nothing but the cleaning stuff as it has it's own room and I store loo paper in another cupboard.

    Now I need pretty labels like yours! love your inspiration!

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  17. Yah, I think I'm on the right track! I just got the same plastic woven baskets from target for "his" and "her" baskets to hold our daily stuff. I also found something similar to your nail caddy at Target that fit our budget better (although doesn't have a handle like yours, which I love!). Can't wait to share our pretty cabinet at the end of the month.

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  18. I found the cutest hamper at of all places "Family Dollar". It is a precious white wicker basket with handles, lined, with the word Laundry embroidered on the lining in a nice spring green. I couldn't believe it and it looks great!

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  19. I'm in an old house with no linen closet and sloped ceiling, so I had to opt for short storage. A friend gave me an old wicker cabinet that fit perfectly, so I took the front doors off and put leather baskets on the shelves - underwear/socks in one, camis and swim wear in another, assorted toiletries in the last. In the remaining empty spot, I rolled up my extra towels and packed them in, toilet paper stored cleverly behind the towels. Perfect fit!

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  20. Thanks for the great post. I just posted a blog post about Organized Bathrooms that your readers might be interested in. It focuses on some of the storage solutions I have found useful for those hard to organize areas.
    http://www.seedingsimplicity.com/bathrooms-organized/

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  21. Love all these products and suggestions...thanks for getting my wheels spinning!!

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  22. Bathroom storage space seems to be a challenge for nearly every house. I have a tiny closet sized spot where the commode is seated- within the master bath. It is so claustrophobic that we removed the door (its okay its part of the master bath). I didn't want an over the toilet unit because it would loom over you. I wish you could see what I did about towels because reading it makes it sound unappealing. I'll explain best I can. I had a towel storage problem. Mostly because of the dogs--2 German Shepherds and the messes they get into.
    Here's what I did. I cleaned out 7 #10 cans (restaurant sized), 7 more 28 oz (tomato)cans, & 7 15oz cans (regular vegetable). All cans were spray painted green (any color would work)& filed all sharp edges. I drilled a hole in center of bottom of each can and screwed it to the wall to make "flowers". SO-- all # 10s together, one center and 6 around center makes a perfect flower--these were filled with tightly rolled beach towels (our dog towels), repeated the process with the 28 oz size can--they hold hand towels, repeated the process once more with the 15 oz cans and they hold the wash cloths. These are over the commode. On the wall I painted flower stems with leaves. The walls left & right I hung a wide towel bar high up. These bars hold my bath towels (they are very pretty beach towels- I like a big towel). I love using the everyday items as decorations--keeps them handy & frees up space. I used the towels as "art". No other decorations needed. I have a small hanging waste basket on the wall near the floor (from IKEA). Hanging it was important because it could easily get kicked over in that small space. I covered it with fabric to soften it. I also got creative with the spare rolls and a little reading material. Like I said--its tough to visualize but it really does look good. I like to keep everything off the floor in a bathroom because there is no need to empty the room to clean the floors. I could send pics if you like.
    Under the same premise of decorating with everyday items-- to free up kitchen cabinet space I made a display with my Dutch oven collection on/around the fireplace(didn't know I had so many until I rounded them up together). It works because the fireplace is brick & part of what i call my overflow kitchen (used to be a den). charlenetydryszewski@gmail.com

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  23. I love when storage is pretty. Where are the toothbrush clips from? I can't seem to find anything similar.

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  24. I also have a nail caddy and absolutely love it. Although mine's just an old Ferrero Rocher box. :)
    Another thing I love is my beauty box - I keep a tin of trial size packs of bath lotions and face masks in my cupboard which I can easily take out whenever I feel like pampering myself.

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  25. Where did the clear drawer dividers come from?

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    Replies
    1. I have found them both at The Container Store and at Target. You can also find them on Amazon.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  26. Where did you get the toothbrush holders? I love that they are out of sight AND not rattling around in a drawer spreading their germs to one another, and taking up valuable drawer space.

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    Replies
    1. We love them too! I found them in the office supply section of Walmart. I think they were initially meant for pens/pencils. :)

      xo,
      Jen

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  27. Where did the linen cabinet itself come from? I have been looking all over for one just like that and can't find it! Help please.

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    Replies
    1. The one in my inspiration items is from here: http://www.hayneedle.com/product/eleganthomeplateauwhitebathroomlinentower.cfm

      However, it looks like it sold out. We found ours at Target. I have also seen them at HomeDepot.com, Overstock.com and Amazon.com.

      xo!
      Jen

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