I am a mother of 4 children, 3 being teenage daughters. (My poor son) There needs to be some sort of organization in a bathroom being used by 4 kids, especially with all the "accessories" teenage girls need.
Here are some organization methods that have worked for me...
I was an organizer on a mission to find extra space in this room. I had my husband install a medicine cabinet for extra storage. As he was installing the medicine cabinet, his curiousity took over and he looked beyond the insulation and lo and behold there was a 3' x 5' empty space. I jumped for joy....we could install cabinets in that wall for extra storage! (Sometimes to gain extra storage you have to think outside of the box. And have a handyman husband.)
The cabinet has been a great place to store linens and towels.
I was once told, by a mother of 7 children, that the best thing she ever did for herself was to buy all white linens, towels and children's socks. I have always remembered that and have bought all white towels. You can bleach them clean, just like the hotels. (Exception: Beach towels!)I also buy the stacks of white washcloths, that are inexpensive, so when the make up stains no longer wash out I can move them to my rag basket and bring out new ones. I stock up on hand towels and washcloths at Costco. I keep a stack in the back of the cabinet for "guests only".
The containers that house my washcloths and extra pillowcases are from IKEA. I fold the pillowcases into the flat and fitted sheets so they are always together. The extra pillow cases are for camp, sleepovers, etc....
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Towel bars wouldn't give us enough space, so I came up with this idea. (So very Martha Stewart of me!) Each child has their intial over their towel hook. (Towel hooks purchased at the Restoration Hardware outlet! Great buy!) Having the intials over their towel hook prevents the Three Bear comments...."Hey some one used my towel!" and it also helps me know whose towel is missing on laundry day!
(I'm in a big debate whether to change the "S" to "G"uest, "S" went away to college, what are your thoughts moms??)
**********************************************************************Hold on to your hats, this is the bestest idea yet, well at least I was pretty proud of my idea.
My children use the Sonicare toothbrushes and the Sonicare heads were finding their place all over the counters. It was driving me crazy! One day my son was cleaning the bathroom counters and he had the brush heads stuck to the metal corner under the dry wall. Wow...I didn't know they were magnetic. I checked with a Sonicare expert and asked if it would harm the heads to be mounted on a piece of metal. The answer was "NO", so I took my black IKEA metal message bar and cut it to fit the space above the counter, on the wall and "VIOLA", my problem solved.
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Drawers and Cabinets
There is a face plate, in most cabinets, in front of the sink. There is a product that can be purchased at stores like Home Depot that will turn this space into useable space. Photo below is the result....
Under the sink cabinets
When placing storage containers under the sink, remember to measure the space, the plumbing tends to make odd spaces for storage.
TIP: Increase your odds of children putting things back in their places by designating a space for everything. There will never be a question of "Where does this go?".
Now this drawer below will never be neatly organized, but my kids know what items go in this drawer.
Shower and Toilet area......
I hung a cabinet on the wall to house items that need to be on hand, like TP.
There are all kinds of over the toilet storage available.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour through a room that most "visitors" to my home don't see.