Bathroom and makeup storage ideas - title card

If you’ve been keeping up with my latest posts, you’d have read my Home Organisation Rampage article about being so motivated to organise that I’ve gotten angry when my Dymo labeller runs out of labels. I’m not ashamed to be that person.

This week I tackled my bathroom which has been a storage issue from the beginning. When I moved into this place, the person who had it before me had painted the entire bathroom apple red. Why? I have no damn idea why anyone who appreciates blended and colour matched foundation would do such a thing, but I they did. If you’ve ever owned an apartment, you would also know what a pain dealing with body corporate can be, renovating a bathroom that has a common wall is near impossible so while we’re jumping through the hoops of arranging that, we painted over the dreadful paint job in white, installed a new vanity and shower screen and jazzed up the room with a few cute plants and pictures.

In my hometown of Shellharbour, I had ample storage space for cosmetics and bathroom items, I didn’t even need to store cleaning products in the same room because outside of the city – space is everywhere! Fast forward years later and your bathroom is your laundry as well as your bathroom and you just have to make it work.

Top Left: Lush collection in Kmart basket. Top Right: Swisse Rosehip Oil,  Salt By Hendrix Lip Balm, Mecca Night Lip Treatment. Bottom Left: Ikea Tiered Pot Stand With Mixed Brushes. Bottom Right: Naked Bean Coffee Scrub and Lotion.

My vanity mirror cabinet is narrow, but perfect for cosmetics, so half of my bathroom is cosmetics, shampoo, shower stuff and hair stuff and the other side is bathroom cleaning products and laundry solutions. Because I’m all about custom storage and not about hammers, nails and all that jazz, I took a trip to Daiso. Daiso is essentially a two dollar store, there’s quite a few of them around Sydney and they sell amazing, perfectly sized stackable clear containers. If I’ve got vertical space in my cabinet/wardrobe/basically anywhere – you can bet I’ll use it.

I’ve stacked all of my Daiso containers and labelled them accordingly so that I know where everything should be. I’ve also stacked my cupboards in the order in which I use my products. Cleansers first, then primer and strobe cream, foundations, concealers, eye makeup, cheek makeup and lipstick. Everything else that doesn’t get used as regularly (glitter reserved for Mardi Gras, nail polish for when I can be bothered and outdoor lotions like sunscreen and Aeroguard are higher up and can be pulled down with the help of a boyfriend or a step ladder).

Before I did any organising though, I did a purge. There’s nothing more satisfying and therapeutic than getting rid of things you don’t need or makeup that has expired. I had to enlist the help of Liv Slee to get me through some of the makeup purging though, as there are so many things that go out of date in our makeup kits that we completely forget about. With that in mind, I’ve listed how long some of your general makeup should last below and don’t forget to look for the little round container icon on the back of your makeup packaging for specific instructions on expiry.

MY SIMPLE BATHROOM & MAKEUP ORGANISATION IDEAS

Pots & Vases For Hair:

I purchased a few white pots from Ikea when I first moved into my apartment, now that’s it’s fully decorated, I had two pots left over that I wasn’t using. They’re currently under my bathroom sink cupboard and one has hair brushes and combs in it and the other has my straightener and curler in it. Pots or vases are fantastic for utilizing corners or cupboards, give it a try!

Lazy Susans:

On top of using a vase or pot, if you have other areas of your cupboards that have wasted space, a lazy susan is perfect for storing different bottles and items on. Things will be easy to find and it makes your cupboards more user-friendly. For extra ease of use, try and find a tiered one or put a cake stand on it for the same effect! If you have a small corner on the edge of your bath, you can also use smaller lazy-susans to store things like shower gel and shampoo, I use mine to store my scrubs and hair balms so they’re out of the way but easy to get to.

Matching Trays / Jars

Just like having matching hangers in your wardrobe makes it look neater, a cupboard with matching trays or jars gives you the same ‘look at my cupboards!’ excitement. If you’re not near an Ikea, Muji, Daiso or Container Store, Kmart, Target and your average two dollar stores can home some fabulous options.

Makeup Organisation Ideas

Clear Labelling:

I’m not just saying this because I’m addicted to my label maker, but labelling your jars, trays and bottles helps you to find things so much faster. It also makes you feel like Martha Stewart.

Palette Files:

Over time, I’ve purchased and inherited a lot of makeup palettes. They can take up a lot of space and are generally harder to store. There are two ways I’d recommend storing your palettes and one is with a small file stand that is angled so you can see what you have, or two is with a clean tray that either has drawers or is stackable.

Use Your Vertical Space:

I love vertical space, it’s that wasted space between your shelves, the inside of cabinet doors and the sides of your vanity. If you have things that need hanging, ie: hair straighteners, even a laminated list of your daily beauty routine so you don’t slip up, these areas are fantastic. You can even store extra over the cabinet door racks for things like face wipes or bathroom cleaning supplies.

I hope this post has motivated you to tackle your bathroom and makeup cabinet, as makeup organisation is part of your Effortless Bitch routine and having a home for everything will help you get dressed up and looking fabulous faster!