When you have two teenage daughters, you have a lot of beauty and hygiene stuff laying around. There is only so much they can cram into and squeeze on top of their dressers and any other flat surface in their bedrooms. We needed a solution for all that clutter, and fast. It was important to make a bathroom organizer of some sort. I can’t stand seeing all manner of odds and ends lying around the house. Flat irons, curling irons, hot rollers, heat spray, hair spray, mousse, gel, maxis, minis, tampons, and on and on and on! I understand. I am a woman after all. Also, props to my gracious husband who endures all this estrogen and the clutter that comes along with it.
Finding the Best Location for a Bathroom Stuff Organizer
As mentioned many times before, space is a commodity we run short on in our home. Our house is plenty big enough for the inhabitants. It’s all the stuff that comes with us that creates a problem. So, the search for a storage solution began. The most logical location for toiletries and such is in the bathroom. But that was not optional in our mid-renovation powder and flush room. In other words, IT IS TINY! I had already installed a full-size sink just outside the bathroom to allow a little elbow room when brushing our teeth. There was one more small wall space available to the right of the bathroom in that same hallway. It would be my next area of consumption.
How to Make the Built-In Bathroom Stuff Organizer
I mounted a simple set of wooden shelves, salvaged from hand-me-down bedroom furniture to the wall. I measured and found room to build a couple of additional shelves above this for even more storage. Once everything was screwed in, caulked, sanded, and painted the same color, it looked like a single unit. Rather than taking the shelf to the floor, I opted to leave space for our doggy feeding station. This kept the dog bowls from being underfoot in already cramped quarters.
Organizing the Shelves
First, I filled the shelves as neatly as possible, with miscellaneous girl stuff. It was thrilling to have everything in one place, except that EVERYTHING WAS IN ONE PlACE! It had to disappear. I couldn’t bear the thought of all that stuff staring at me each morning. There was no way I nor the girls would take care to neatly put items back on the shelf after rushing to get ready and out the door. It MUST be covered.
The Best Way to Cover all the Stuff in the Built-In Organizer
A hinged door was a thought. But everything would just get thrown in together behind said door. Sure, I wouldn’t be able to see it, but I also wouldn’t be able to find it! Then I thought the unthinkable…drawers. I have never attempted making drawers before. Surely it would be a major undertaking with all the measuring, cutting, fitting and re-fitting, sliding, and not messing up. Or would it? I mean what is a drawer? It is a box with a bottom. Four sides and a bottom. Four pieces of wood and something flat underneath. I can do this!
Building Drawers to Put Inside the Built-In Bathroom Stuff Organizer
Dividing the shelf space evenly, I allowed an extra half-inch of clearance for the drawers to slide. Using thin pieces of wood, I glued and screwed together a very basic frame to divide the drawers. Next was like playing with building blocks. I purchased a few inexpensive pine boards at the hardware store and had them cut to length at no cost. Next, rectangles were formed by butting the ends together. I wood glued and tacked them together with finishing nails. After sanding them, I wondered what I’d do next. Yes. One major flaw of mine is jumping in without thinking things through. Thankfully, this is one of the times it turns out o.k. in the end.
Making the Drawers Slide Easily Within the Built-In Bathroom Stuff Organizer
The problem was I needed something to go on the bottoms. Something that would allow the drawers to move freely, yet add some structural support to the box. Wood would grip, scrape, and be loud when opening and closing the drawers. I could use drawer hardware slides, but it is expensive and I (ah hum) didn’t have the foresight to allow extra space for installing said hardware. I went to my downstairs stash and found some stiff frosted plastic shelf liner. This isn’t the flimsy stuff you put in drawer bottoms to make it pretty. This is a heavy-duty liner intended to be used on wire rack shelves. It keeps small objects from falling between the parallel wires. And it was the perfect solution.
Attaching the Slides to the Bottom of the Drawers
I went back to my favorite hardware store and bought a roll of this amazing liner. Using the outer bottom measurement from my box drawers, I cut the liner to size. I then used long staples to tack the liner to the bottoms. It helped create a more solid box and provided enough glide without extra friction and noise. I love the way it looks with all the little drawers installed. Now, I just needed to paint the fronts and add some hardware to make it easier to pull the drawers out.
Installing the Hardware
I found a superspectacular clearance on brushed chrome drawer pulls and brought the entire bag home. For something like $12 total, each drawer had its own pull. I had enough leftover to add character to the matching sink surround I built on the other side. I still have a few pulls leftover for another project! Never underestimate the power of a good clearance sale. Also, never underestimate your ability to make something. After all, it’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
The Finished Built-in Bathroom Stuff Organizer
Here it is all finished with the drawer pulls installed. This little project has made a huge impact on keeping things organized in our home. The small drawers allow us to compartmentalize all our small odds and ends rather than scattering them all about. It is easier to find things we need and clean up in a hurry. If you have a simple pre-assembled shelf and a few dollars for small boards, you can have your own organizer. You’ll soon wonder what you ever did before you had it.
Be sure to bookmark this page for more simple home improvement ideas you can make using things you already have. Watch helpful home improvement videos on the Sawdust and Cornbread YouTube Channel. There is a detailed video of this project here. Until next time.
~Lora Lea
