Every clean home needs a clean bathroom! However, small bathrooms can easily become cluttered with dirty clothes, scattered beauty products, and containers full of essentials.
Putting all your stuff away, or stuffing them in drawers, doesn’t always help. You may be wondering, how do you store things in a small bathroom?
Well, the key to organizing a small bathroom is to give all of your bathroom essentials a designated spot. If you think there is no room to store things in a tiny bathroom, you need to get creative with your storage units.
You can build over the toilet storage, open bathroom shelves, or bathroom vanities to keep your space neat. Tag along as I’ll help you get better ideas to store things in your small bathroom.
How Do You Store Things in a Small Bathroom?
Since bathroom essentials are used regularly, they are expected to get messy. We barely get time to put everything in place while rushing to school or work! Our vanity looks like a dumpster after getting dressed for a party!
The solution is to keep the things in the designated easy-to-reach spots after use. There are many spots to add cabinets or shelves for your bathroom must-haves in large bathrooms. However, for small bathrooms, the options are limited.
You’re lucky if you manage to find some space inside the shower space or next to the sink. Adding storage cabinets in a tiny bathroom is nearly impossible.
There is one clever solution, though… Did you know the space above your toilet is a great spot for small bathroom storage ideas?
Over the Toilet Storage
An over-the-toilet storage unit is an innovative way to create extra storage in a small bathroom space. The space above the toilet is usually unused and empty. It is a great space for some cabinets or shelves.
Over the Toilet Cabinets
A closed cabinet is an excellent idea if you utilize the space above the toilet to organize your bathroom necessities. Open shelves in a small space are great, but a closed cabinet space with doors or drawers is best to hide the bits and bobs and the unattractive necessities.
A bathroom cabinet should be approximately 2-feet or 24-inches above the toilet tank. The shelf over the toilet tank can be designed in different ways to use the wall space above the toilet.
Built-in Cabinet
If you are building a new bathroom or have the liberty of renovating the space, a built-in cabinet above the toilet is the best solution for a small bathroom organization. A wedge of wall space becomes the ultimate storage container for toilet paper, hand towels, small items, glass jars to hold cotton buds, and whatnot.
Closed Cabinet
Instead of a built-in cabinet, you could install a floating cabinet as a modern over toilet storage solution. You can spot them at hardware stores or your nearest Target or Bed Bath and Beyond.
Hutch Storage
If you live on a rental, a built-in cabinet on top of toilet storage may not be the best solution. A hutch-style cabinet is a smart storage solution utilizing vertical space. With hutch storage, you get a cabinet look without installing extra cabinets.
You’re in luck if you find a hutch that fits the space perfectly. If luck doesn’t favor you in such a way, you may have to fashion a customized hutch.
You could also repurpose an old or thrift armoire into a cabinet space. Take off the doors and drawers from the bottom, and keep the sideboards tall above the toilet seat. Paint the unit as desired and fill it with your essentials.
Over the Toilet Shelves
Now, if you like to keep your space neat with every item easy to reach – you can avoid cabinets and aim for shelves. Open shelves make it easy to reach your items also give you a chance to decorate your bathroom with plants and decorative pieces.
Multi-Purpose Shelves
Different kinds of shelves can be used as elegant over the toilet storage – metal shelves, rustic shelves, wooden shelves, high-rise shelves, low-profile shelves, and many more. In addition, storage can be different by places like – office, farmhouse, private bungalow, or public.
Metal units are common and typically the most lightweight of the options. A metallic floating shelf not only serves as a towel bar or toilet paper holder but also gives an attractive aesthetic to your bathroom.
There is no standard size for over-the-toilet storage units. You can fashion them in the size that fits your bathroom. You can also buy a modern over toilet storage unit from hardware stores or furniture stores.
Also, you can get slim wooden racks or leaning ladders for a minimalistic look. It’s a compact solution, and you can find different tiered options to organize your bathroom.
Floating Shelves
If you don’t have enough floor space for a standing shelving unit, you can mount floating shelves on your wall above the toilet. Floating storage shelves are functional, and they’re stylish.
You can fit floating shelves in almost any small space. Add some brackets or bulky hardware to make them look more stylish.
There are endless options you can choose from, starting from hanging shower caddies to glass shelves. Floating shelves come in many shapes and sizes. You can place almost any type of shelf above your toilet tank to fit your bathroom aesthetic.
DIY Shelves
The DIY projects have to be the most cost-effective and fun small bathroom storage ideas! Your options are endless. You can craft up some storage shelves yourself for your stacks of towels, bottles of shampoo, and bars of soap. Here are some of our favorite DIYs you can try:
- Wooden floating shelves are the simplest DIY solution for bathroom storage. They can be built in any size you need them to be.
- Photo ledges can be used as shelving storage space above your pedestal sink, counter space, or over the top of the toilet tank.
- Boxed frames on the wall can create a clean aesthetic modern solution for your space.
- Black pipe shelves are all over Pinterest. Am I right? It gives your bathroom an industrial aesthetics while being a sturdy storage space on the bathroom wall.
- Basket storages are not exactly shelves but serve the same purpose and make your bathroom look boho and classy. It can be an excellent towel storage container or toilet paper rolls container.
The DIY options are endless! You can choose almost anything as a storage idea that can hold your bathroom essentials.
Final Words
Honestly, bathrooms are the hardest rooms to organize while avoiding unnecessary clutter and keeping the most-used items easy to reach. Of all the bathroom storage ideas, one of the most efficient uses of bathroom space would be getting yourself an over the toilet storage.
Now that you know ways you could utilize the space above your toilet for a storage solution, I hope you got the answer on how do you store things in a small bathroom.
As you know, there are simple and easy solutions to store your amenities other than the medicine cabinet. Enjoy your de-cluttered bathroom space!
