Organizing Your Medicine Cabinet on the Cheap

If your bathroom medicine cabinet is a disheveled mess, it is probably affecting how long it takes you to get ready in the morning. It’s also likely that the chaos is ruining your products and bumming you out every time you pull out your toothbrush.

The good news is that this is one area of the home that can be made over without spending much money on organizational products. Today I’m going to give you tips on how to organize your medicine cabinet using items you may already have laying around the house. These cheap ideas will make over your cabinet in a quick afternoon! >

Step #1: Remove Everything From the Medicine Cabinet

Begin by taking everything out of the medicine cabinet and dividing all items into these categories:  mouth care, nail care, hair care, make-up, first aid products, pain relievers, skin care, etc. You might have different categories than I do; it all depends on your bathroom storage habits. As you look at this crazy array of products that came out of your medicine cabinet, consider putting only items that you use at least once a week back in the cabinet. Everything else could find a new home either in the bathroom cabinets or in the closet. Things you only use once in a while certainly don’t need to be taking up precious space in your little medicine cabinet!

Once you have everything removed from the medicine cabinet, decide if you want to make it a nicer-looking space. A little bit of contact paper can line just the inside back wall of the cabinet. It’s cheerful, it’s refreshing, and it will make you happy every time you look at it.

Step #2: Put Important (and Bigger) Items in First

First of all, if it’s not already there, move your toothbrush into your medicine cabinet. My toilet is in its own little room with a door, separate from the sink, so my toothbrush is not directly in the same room as the commode. However, many bathrooms have the sink, counters, and toilet all in one room. Think about having your toothbrush out on the counter in a holder and then the toilet is flushed in that same room. Little droplets of toilet water float through the air and land on your toothbrush…Yuck!  

A cute coffee mug can fit on one of the shelves inside the cabinet to hold your toothbrushes and toothpaste. If you use dental floss packaged in a small plastic container, toss that in there as well. I like the individual floss picks so I store mine in a small mason jelly jar rather than in the plastic bag they came in. The shelves in most medicine cabinets are adjustable so a tooth care mug will probably need to go on the bottom shelf. Just make sure to adjust the placement of the shelf above it high enough, leaving room to remove brushes and toothpaste easily.

On that same bottom shelf you can stow all your other tall bottles and tubes.  Tall products typically include face cleanser, moisturizer, hair care products, and maybe anti-perspirant. Now, one side of the bottom shelf is tooth care and the other is face and body care.

Not only are mason jelly jars great for storing dental floss picks, they can also be used to store cotton swabs and cotton balls. Keep the lids off, and you’ll always have easy access to these items. Everything is stored in a pretty yet practical way and it’s easy to see when it’s time to refill your jars.  

Ironically enough, one of the things that you may consider not putting back into your medicine cabinet is medication. But, it’s a medicine cabinet you say! The problem is that many medications can be altered by the steam and humidity created by a hot shower or bath so you may want to create a medicine cabinet in your kitchen that will keep your medications and vitamins safe. 

Step #3: Use Small Bins to Collect Small Items

Small drawer organizers are great for catching all kinds of little things in your medicine cabinet. You can find these in the kitchen organizing area at your local Target or Walmart, or if you’re like me, you already have a few of them hanging out in the office and kitchen. These little bins measure approximately 2-inches wide by 3-inches tall, and come in varying lengths.

You can use these little trays to organize small, like items into easy-to-grab compartments. One bin can store all your nail care stuff like nail polish, nail files and clippers, and nail polish remover wipes. Another can be filled with first aid items including bandages, Neosporin, first-aid tape, pain reliever, eye drops, and so on. Another one yet can store make-up essentials.

Remember to use your label-maker to clearly mark what belongs in each bin, and there will be no confusion for anyone who needs to access those items.

Step #4: Use the Door

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of little things that can wreak havoc on any kind of organizational system I put in place inside my medicine cabinet. Hair ties, bobby pins, and barrettes can end up everywhere! But I was determined to bring order to this chaos. A solution I’ve used starts with finding a few small metal boxes with see-thru lids. These can even be emptied spice rub tins from the grocery store. Using a roll of magnet tape (it’s magnet on one side and sticky backing on the other side), put a strip of magnet on the bottom of each tin so each can easily adhere to the inside of the metal cabinet door. Store hair ties in one and barrettes in the other, then attach a strip of that same magnet tape to the inside of the door so your bobby pins just stick right to that magnet. Easy peasy!

Finally, look for small, sticky-backed plastic hooks that can be attached to the inside of the cabinet door. Items like your eyelash curler, small scissors, and a small mirror can hang here for easy access and clutter-free storage.

Organization doesn’t have to cost money. Just invest a little bit of time and creativity and you’ll be amazed at how you can whip that medicine cabinet of yours into shape. Once you have your medicine cabinet organized, you’ll be surprised at how many times you want to open it up just to peek in at the new pretty system. Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face every morning and night!

Until next time, I’m the Domestic CEO, helping you love your home.

Medicine cabinets and mason jars images courtesy of Shutterstock.