How to Quickly Organize Bathroom Drawers

I have tried several different ways to keep my bathroom drawers neat and tidy, but I always seem to end up with a jumbled up mess after just a couple of months, so this year I’m doing something new! I have come up with a way to quickly organize bathroom drawers that will help keep everything in order throughout the year.

The Ugly Truth

Okay, here is the embarrassing and ugly truth about what my bathroom drawers looked like not too long ago.🤦🏻‍♀️ I would venture to say that this is the worst they have ever gotten and clearly I had been ignoring this for a LONG time!

The good news is it only took me 1 HOUR to fix this!! Yep! 1 Hour of my life and these bathroom drawers were transformed! Scroll down to see how I did it.

Step 1 – Purge Any Expired Products

First things first, before you organize bathroom drawers, make sure you throw away products that are expired. When I researched the shelf life of bathroom products I was surprised to find that I had many things that were WELL PAST the recommended shelf life. I’m not talking months, but years! Below is a list of most things you probably have in your bathroom and the recommended time to keep them..

MAKEUP

• Concealer: one year
• Cream blush: one year
• Eyeliner: three months
• Eyeliner pencil: two years
• Eyeshadow: one year
• Foundation: one year
• Lip balm: one to five years
• Lip gloss: one year
• Lipstick: two years
• Liquid eyeliner: three months
• Mascara: three months
• Powder blush: two years
• Makeup sponge: one month

FACE PRODUCTS

• Eye cream: one year
• Face cream: two years
• Toothbrush: three months
• Tooth-whitening strips: 13 months
• Mouthwash: three years from the manufacture date

BODY PRODUCTS

• Bar soap: 18 months to three years
• Bath oil: one year
• Body bleaches and depilatories: six months
• Body lotion: two years
• Body wash: three years
• Loofah: six months
• Deodorant: one to two years
• Perfume: one to two years
• Sunscreen: three years
• Shaving cream: two years
• Disposable razors: every five to seven shaves

HAIR PRODUCTS

• Hair brush: one year
• Hair gel: two to three years
• Hair spray: two to three years
• Shampoo and conditioner: two to three years

OTHER PRODUCTS

• Medications: check the label
• Nail polish: one year
• Nail polish remover: indefinitely

Step 2 – Get Rid Of Anything You Have Not Used in the Last 12 Months

Here’s my general rule of thumb when it comes to “stuff” in my home. If I have not used it in the last 12 months, and it’s not something “special use” or sentimental, then I don’t need it.

I also decided that when it comes to bathroom “stuff”, that if I wouldn’t pack it for an extended trip away from home, then I also didn’t need it.

STEP 3 – Sort Everything into Categories

This was a game-changer for me. I sorted everything that I needed to store into five categories:

• Makeup
• Face/Skincare
• Haircare
• Body Care
• Extra Supplies

Step 4 – Contain It!

Once everything is sorted into categories, the most important part is to contain all of the items you have. Drawer dividers, plastic bins, organizers even deli containers are all great ways to put like items together in a container and then simply place the containers in a drawer.

I used a divided tray to organize my make-up drawer. This one happened to work perfectly for all of my smaller items and the larger eye shadow palettes fit in the back.

I prefer to keep my makeup brushes on the countertop and this pretty mint julep cup is the perfect container.

Plastic Bins and round deli containers work well to keep my hair products and accessories organized.

I used two bins in my “Face Care” drawer to organize my face serums, creams, and scrubs. and the extra space was used for masks and makeup removers.

Body care items were also contained in plastic containers with my eye care products tucked in the back of the drawer. I used the bottom two drawers for my hair care tools and extra bath supplies.

I also used a couple of decorative glass containers on the countertop to hold items that I use daily.

This entire organizing project took less than an hour and was so satisfying when it was done. The process of sorting all of my products by category and then containing them together was not only simple but will make a difference in my ability to keep everything neatly organized going forward. I hope this gives you some inspiration about how to quickly organize bathroom drawers and keep them tidy all year.