As you aspire to be more organized in your life, decluttering your bathroom is paramount. In this article, we explore some tips to achieve this.
We say space is precious, but nowhere is that more accurate than in a tiny house. The average size of a single-family home in the United States is 2,260 square feet, while the average size of a tiny house is just 225 square feet.
That means that the average tiny house is 10 times smaller than a normal-sized house.
As a tiny home dweller, you’ll need to get very creative in order to maintain the same quality of life as everyone else.
Downsizing is a conscious decision that people take for varied reasons. However, adapting to the new reality is not something many do.
While there are no clear statistics, it is believed that a significant percentage of those who move into tiny houses eventually return to their old lifestyle.
Of course raising a family is the key reason, but there are those who simply fail to adapt.
When building a tiny house, we rightly tend to allocate more space to areas we spend most of our time. These are the living area/kitchen and bedroom.
As essential as it is, the bathroom area is too often not given enough love. Many tiny home owners can barely fit in theirs.
On top of the small size, these bathrooms tend to always be full of junk and clutter.
In this article, we’ll look at a few tips and tricks to declutter your tiny house/small bathroom.
1. Get rid of what you don’t use
By far, the best way to declutter any space is by getting rid of everything you don’t use. Human beings tend to be attached to their belongings, but this leads to some very undesirable environments.
If you don’t use something at least several times a month, you really need to evaluate the value of having it around, especially when space is such a rarity.
Go through every drawer or cabinet, every shelf or storage basket, and meticulously remove everything you either haven’t used in a while, or are not planning to use soon.
The human mind can however play tricks on you, urging you to retain some stuff because you’ll need them soon. If you are not 100% sure it will be of use soon, dump it.
The value of the product should not come in play at this point. It could be something as cheap as a shampoo bottle, or a long broken but fixable hair dryer. Get rid of all of them.
How you dump them is totally up to you. Landfill, donation, backyard sale, whatever you choose is fine, but the point is they have to go.
Since we are only decluttering the bathroom in this case, moving items to other rooms with more storage space can also be an option.
A good example is having several bottles of lotion or hand wash, all in your small bathroom space.
While that seems like the most logical place to store them, in this case it is important you get alternative storage space.
2. Become a minimalist
Going hand in hand with getting rid of unnecessary items, is minimalism.
In the lifestyle context, minimalism basically means extreme simplicity. Going with the bare minimum and removing everything that distracts or is unnecessary.
Minimalism should be second nature to people who live in tiny homes. Though normal-home dwellers are joining the movement in droves, they really do not have to.
However, by virtue of a tiny house being so limited in space, you are forced into the movement.
If you are just getting started, the bathroom is a great place to begin. That’s because the true essentials are quite few, and most of everything else we add is clutter.
For example, do you really need 4 towels when you’re only two of you? Do you really need 3 shampoo bottles to get by?
The first step is to cut down on your needs. Share the same toiletries and gels with your partner for example, instead of linining up multiple bottles in your small space.
If you don’t have adequate storage in other rooms, you don’t need to buy items in bulk. That gallon of hair conditioner will just fill up the space.
Here are a few quick tips on how to practice minimalism.
How to be a minimalist
- Start with a clean slate: Instead of working in reverse, where you select the items to keep and which to dump, working systematically with a clean slate. Get rid of everything, and only bring back things you completely can’t do without in a bathroom.
- Change your shopping habits: Though starting with good intentions, many aspiring minimalists backslide because they did not get to the root of the problem; i.e. their shopping habits. A good rule of the thumb is to get rid of one thing for every item you bring in. Also, avoid having multiple iterations of the same thing, eg. lotions of different scents. In short, impulse shopping should be your enemy.
- Reduce your decorations: A potted plant will look great in the bathroom, but 5 of them are just junk you should not have.
- Don’t be sentimental: As much as that may be difficult, sentimentalism is the enemy of minimalism. Be ready to dump in an instant anything that gets in your way.
- Organize everything: Use baskets and other storage solutions to keep everything organized.
- Tidy up regularly: Minimalism is a journey and whether you like it or not, things sometimes just add up. You should be faithful to your cause and restore your bathroom to its default minimalist settings as often as you can.
3. Utilize your vertical space
When they are short on acreage, architects and builders always look up. There is absolutely no reason why the same concept cannot be applied in your small bathroom.
Of course you are not going to rip out your ceiling and build upwards. However, most bathrooms tend to have at least 3 walls.
That is enough space to triple your storage space, if you know how to use it.
We have previously looked at small bathroom wall storage ideas. There is a lot of inspiration there.
Not only can some of them provide practical storage solutions, but they also double as décor pieces.
These hanging crochet baskets for example also serve as statement pieces.
When it comes to wall storage, you are only limited by your imagination. We’ve seen very creative designs of floating shelves, rope supported shelves, ladder-basket storage combos, and so many other useful ideas.
It is however key to keep your minimalist mindset even as you embark on populating your bathroom wall with all manner of storage items.
Only have the most essential products, and if you find yourself with so much that it can’t fit in 2 of the above baskets, plan a trip to the dumpster.
All in all, your bathroom’s vertical space can go a long way in decluttering the rest of the space, especially the floor area.
4. Make use of bathroom organizers
It may not feel like it, but storage baskets and other organizers go a long way in tidying up a space, even if you only have a few items.
Bathroom essentials like shower gels, hand wash, lotion, shampoo etc. should never be left free standing.
It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy. A simple plastic box, or a crocheted tray like this one will go a long way in transforming your tiny bathroom.
Not only do organizers serve a practical purpose, but can also serve as a showcase for your toiletries. Will work well if you want to impress your friends with your favorite skin care products, make up, perfume etc.
Some shelf organizers can even be suction-mounted on a wall, which will give you even more space for more of your products.
5. Use creative storage
Living in a tiny house requires a lot of creativity and constant innovation. But even after trying your best, your bathroom could still be too small to be a meaningful space.
This is where you should start exploring more ideas that are out there, in order to live comfortably.
One that works well is having a cart. A shelf with wheels gives you the flexibility of moving it away from where it’s not needed.
For example, you can just roll it to the shower area so you can use the sink and vice versa, or roll it out of the bathroom completely when you need more space.
These carts are ultra-cheap, and for as little as $30, you can grab a cute steel or plastic one like this one.
This is just one creative storage idea, but there are many others. Don’t be afraid to try things out.
6. The door is your friend
The door is another vertical space that should not be ignored. Just like the walls, it provides plenty of usable vertical space.
By attaching a few hooks on the door, you can immediately create storage space for all your towels. No need to have bulky shelves taking up valuable space.
Hooks are minimalistic, and will therefore not interrupt your general theme. On top of that, they are incredibly cheap.
Here are some adorable bathroom hooks that we saw and loved.
Hanging baskets and organizers can also be accommodated on the door.
You are not short on options when it comes to this, and we’ve seen so many supported by screws, hooks and suction. Others are simply hang over the door.
Here are a few cute examples.
One key advantage of using your bathroom door as storage is that both sides are available. For example, you could hang your toiletries on the inside, and the towels on the outside.
Because the door is ever swinging, you should ensure the organizer is fixed well, and don’t store items that may be prone to breakage.
7. Make use of your vanity storage
The vanity alone can solve all your bathroom storage needs, but you need to plan and design it accordingly.
While building the bathroom, install a vanity that comes with shelving, or other functional storage. Your options are unlimited, and ideally, this should be factored in your house construction cost.
A pedestal sink, as minimalist as it looks, is not your friend in a small bathroom. It occupies a substantial space, without leaving much underneath for storage.
Here are 2 cute vanities that would fit and look great in your tiny house bathroom.
8. Make use of your shower area
This may come as a surprise, but the shower area makes a great storage space. We have seen many creative examples of how people have transformed theirs.
Using suction, you can attach organizers on the shower wall or cubicle glass. Hanging the organizer from the shower head is another way of doing it.
You can create enough storage this way that you’ll not need any other storage for your toiletries.
Check out these concepts.
9. Clear out your countertop
The bathroom countertop tends to be the messiest part of the bathroom. This is by virtue of it being the most used area, with the most products.
How the countertop is presented can say a lot about the owner. You certainly don’t want your friends talking behind your back.
It is actually pretty easy to organize the countertop. Items like toothbrushes and toothpaste will look amazing hang on the wall in a plastic organizer like this.
Other toiletries like hand wash and skin care products can be stored in cute baskets or trays like these ones.
Do this and you’ll have a whole new bathroom countertop.
10. Clear out your medicine cabinet
Going back to the minimalism, one area that can really use a makeover in most bathrooms is the medicine cabinet.
You should clear out all the expired or never/rarely used medication – something a lot of people don’t do.
In fact, you only leave behind the medication you use on a daily basis. Anything else can be stored in other storage spaces in the house.
Not only does this help declutter your small bathroom, but it’s also advisable because many drugs don’t interact well with humidity.
11. Don’t overdo with the knick knacks
Yes, we all love a few potted plants and other decorative knick knacks in our bathroom. However, having an excessive amount will make your already tiny space look even smaller.
The aim is to leave as much empty space as possible, an almost Scandinavian feel. Therefore, have as few knick knacks as possible, or avoid them all together.
If you hit the jackpot with the organizers and other storage option, they should double as both practical and decorative, eliminating the need for other less useful objects.
12. Switch out product containers
Switching your toiletries from their store-bought containers to your own re-usable ones is another great way to make your bathroom look organized.
Bathroom products come in bottles and containers of all shapes and size. In your bathroom, this can look rather messy.
You can achieve a high-end hotel vibe by having uniform bottles that hold all your products. Your design options are unlimited, but most come in either plastic or glass.
Here are some cute ones I’ve fallen in love with.
If you’ve loved this guide, you will also love these 8 tips to make your tiny house cozy.
