Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Works For Me Wednesday: Bathroom Organization

Yay, I'm back - sort of! We got moved in on the 6th, but I've been busy, busy trying to settle in and unpack. Yikes, we have a lot of stuff!

This week I thought I'd share my latest stroke of brilliance for bathroom organization. We lost having a medicine cabinet as well as a built-in toothbrush holder in the main bathroom when we moved. Not that the toothbrush holder really worked like it should - modern toothbrushes don't fit the old fashioned holders, so all the toothbrushes had to lay across the holder rather than fit into the holes.

At any rate, we no longer have that. I knew I needed something to both take the place of what we had, as well as offer better organization anyway.

During one of my many trips to CVS where I had a lot of Extra Bucks to burn, I bought a wire utensil/napkin caddy. These are intended to sit on a table to hold utensils and napkins, usually for picnics or potlucks. I had a much different idea in mind:


Since there are 3 utensil compartments, it works perfectly for the three of us who use that bathroom the most. It also features folding handles, which I have folded inward instead of outward, thereby creating 3 sections in the large area. (Although these "sections" don't have walls.) I placed a dark colored washcloth underneath to catch drips from the brushes.

It only cost me a dollar on summer clearance, it organizes perfectly, and it will wash easily when the time comes for that. That certainly Works For Me!

Shameless plug for a friend: a friend of mine has two shirt designs in a "Woot Shirt Derby" contest - the winner gets the joy of seeing their design printed and sold as a Woot shirt. If you have ever bought anything at Woot (you must be a previous purchaser to prevent gaming of the vote system) would you please consider logging in and voting for one or both of her shirts? (You can vote for as many shirts as you like, but only one vote per shirt.)

"They Always Attack At Night" and
"Good Night Moon"

Just click on the little button that says, "I'd want one". And if you do go vote, thanks! It will mean a lot to her to see her designs do well.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clever, very clever. I've been mulling over solutions to the same problem. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

That is a great idea--next time our local dollar general puts them on clearance (for 50cents or so at the end of summer) I am grabbing a few--I just realized they would also be great for paint brushes and as school caddies (we homeschool and have pencils, crayons, etc EVERYWHERE!)

Phyllis Sommer said...

this is such a good idea! i have very little bathroom storage too and i am totally going to use this. i feel inspired! thanks!

Lady Why said...

Excellent idea!!! And, don't you love those Extra Care Bucks?!

Karla Porter Archer said...

I'm definitely doing this!

Great idea!

Blessings,
Karla

Kathy in WA said...

Thanks for sharing! I love hearing how other people deal with clutter.

Duckabush Blog

orneryswife said...

Great idea!
TM

M said...

Very good idea...I like this because traditional holders - cup like, get all moldy on the bottom!

Llama Momma said...

Fantastic idea!! I've been having a problem w/ our toothbrushes for awhile now...well, since the noisy boys came along...

I'm buying two of these today!!!

SAHMmy Says said...

Good idea--I especially love the washcloth detail--great preventive measure! I've been getting grossed out lately with our standard toothbrush cups--I've taken to washing them daily--what a pain! I'll have to look for a mesh container like yours. Thanks for the tip!

Anonymous said...

That is such a good idea! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Found yor blog via WFMW. Glad I did.

Nikki said...

I really love your bathroom caddy idea. We have had toothbrushes laying across the top of the toothbrush holder as well because they don't fit. And now all six toothbrushes are in the same bathroom (to prevent toddlers from wiping the bathroom floor with them or overdosing on toothpaste) we really need a better system. So I thank you!

Anonymous said...

Great idea. Its always hard to find a good place to put those things that you use all the time without cluttering up the bathroom.

Jennifer said...

That is great! I live organizing like that, it makes life so much easier!!

Anonymous said...

That is an awesome idea. We just moved too and lost storage. I actually have one of those things too that I put in storage.

Anonymous said...

great minds think the same way:)))
I have used a similar thing for my kitchen to store spoons, knives and forks in it.