BATHROOM ORGANIZING

Bathroom organizing tips

By Jennifer Weatherhead

Style At Home

Bathroom organizing ideas that’ll help keep your bathroom clean, tidy and functional.

When it comes to keeping one of the most-used rooms in your home, the beautiful bathroom, clean and functional, it all comes down to getting and keeping your bathroom organized. With so many people in and out of this room, and so many products, towels and small appliances making their way into the bathroom, it can turn into a place of chaos. But with our expert organizing tips from designer Rosemary Carbonara, you can get your bathroom completely organized and be able to easily access everything you need in just a few steps.

Bathroom organizing: Get started with these essentials

Before making sure everything is in its place, you’ll need to invest in a few items to keep things clean. If you’re starting your bathroom from scratch with a renovation or a new home, it’s the ideal time to create some special nooks and built-in organizational options that will make keeping your bathroom tidy much easier. Here are Rosemary’s organizing tips for clean and functional bathroom decor:

-Opt for a soap dispenser rather than tray and a bar of soap to keep the sink area clean.

-If you’re starting from scratch, have your vanity float off the floor so that mopping and cleaning is made easier and dirt does not pile up against the toe kick.

-Install wire shelves in the corner or wall of your shower to keep soaps and shampoos off the shower floor. Or install a niche in your shower that can house showering products if you are adding a new tub or shower.

-Have a medicine cabinet at the back of your mirror to house those small items. If you are starting from scratch, design it to be recessed into the wall with the mirror on front.

-Make use of the space above the toilet with shallow shelves for storage of extra towels, washcloths, etc.

-Have drawers in your cabinetry – always opt for drawers over doors for easy access and visibility of products and small appliances.

Keep products out of sight

Unless you have a beautifully bottled skincare product, soap or scent, the best way to keep you bathroom organized is to keep items off the counter or sink, and stored in cupboards, your linen closet or drawers. Organize your products by need (for example, tooth care products, skincare products, makeup, etc.) and be sure to keep items that you use on a daily basis in the easiest spot to access. Invest in dividers and compartments to help keep drawers sectioned off for specific items.

Keep towels and shower items accessible

Shelving is key when it comes to bathrooms, especially if you are cramped on space and have a small area to work with. Rosemary’s favourite place to make use of is above the toilet.

“Shallow shelves above the toilet are great for storing towels,” she says. If you can’t add shelving above the toilet, Rosemary recommends purchasing a seagrass- or leather hamper-like container with a lid to store towels or items you want to keep out of sight.

And, as mentioned above, shelving in a shower (especially a small stand-up shower) is essential for holding shampoos, conditioners, body wash and loofas. Built-in shelving is ideal, but wire-hanging shelves also fit nicely in showers and tubs.

Make the most of your linen closet

Keeping your linen closet organized is another way to make life easier when it comes to a tidy bathroom. An organized linen closet allows you to store products you don’t use every day in baskets or drawers in a place other than your bathroom. It’s the ideal place for extra towels, cleaning products and small appliances such as curling irons and flat irons. Just make sure you keep it as tidy as your bathroom!

3 WORDS...AFFORDABLE, QUICK & EASY

Quick Kitchen and Bath Updates To Do Before Selling Your Home
Brendon DeSimone
Zillow  February 17, 2012

Many people say it’s the kitchen and bathrooms that really sell a home.

Buyers prefer that both are clean and in move-in condition. They want to unpack their dishes and glassware as well as their toiletry bag and feel comfortable in their new home right away.

Many homeowners, however, don’t have the time, energy or financial resources for major kitchen and bathroom renovations. Perhaps during their time in the home, the seller focused on turning the basement into a media room or making necessary roof and siding repairs. When it’s time to sell, how can a cash-strapped seller appeal to buyers who want — even expect — an upgraded kitchen and bathroom?

Here are three affordable, quick, easy tips for sprucing up your kitchen and bath right before going on the market.

1. Paint the kitchen cabinets.

It would be too costly to go out and purchase new cabinets just before you sell. But you and your real estate agent despise the old knotty pine or dark grain cabinets from 20 years ago. A quick fix is to paint them white. It will make the kitchen appear lighter, brighter and cleaner. A fresh coat of paint will give the appearance of new, which will appease many buyers. This can be done in one or two days’ time for just a few hundred dollars.

2. Put some new hardware on the kitchen cabinets.

After you’ve brightened up the kitchen with some new paint, throw on some brushed nickel cabinet door hardware. This hardware with the new white paint in the backdrop will make the kitchen pop. Buyers’ eyes may be drawn away from the older counter tops or appliances. And, given that the cabinets are at or just above eye level, the hardware may be the first thing they notice in the kitchen. You can buy new hardware for just a few dollars and install them yourself

3. Re-grout or clean the bathroom tile and grout.

Bathrooms should be sanitary places and a new buyer wants to feel comfortable with their new bathroom. Nothing is more of a turn off than a bathroom where the grout is dirty or moldy or full of soap scum. At a minimum, spend an hour with a toothbrush and some bleach and scrub that grout. This is something you can do on your own in just a half a day. If the bathroom is too far-gone, you may want to spend the money on a tiler to regrout the tile. This will make the bathroom pop, giving a new, clean feeling to this important room

There may be other, more important projects for which you’ve budgeted. In many cases, your real estate agent has suggested painting some of the rooms a more neutral color or spending some money on storage for excess furniture. Staging and home preparation are unique for every home. But, given the focus buyers always put on kitchens and bathrooms, these three tips should be seriously considered as you prepare to go on the market.