# Bathroom Storage Ideas: 20 Ways to Make Room, Even in a Small Bathroom > Use the wall above the toilet, the back of the door and the space under the sink, with shelves, hooks, a slim cart and clear bins by category. Check expiry dates when you organize the bathroom cabinet and keep medicine and cleaning products out of children's reach. Hoardo keeps the dates and tells you when toilet paper runs low. Published 2026-11-09 by Hoardo. Original: https://www.hoardo.com/articles/bathroom-storage-ideas Most bathroom storage ideas come down to one problem: the room is small, damp and used by everyone, and the things in it are small, many and half used. Three nearly empty shampoo bottles, a drawer of hotel soaps and medicine that ran out of date last year. Clear that out first, then use the walls, the door and the space under the sink, and a bathroom holds what it needs. This guide covers 20 bathroom storage ideas, small bathroom storage ideas, how to organize a bathroom cabinet step by step (the under-sink cupboard and the medicine cabinet), and what's better kept somewhere else. ## 20 bathroom storage ideas ### Walls 1. **A shelf above the toilet.** The most wasted wall in most bathrooms. A floating shelf or an over-the-toilet unit holds towels, spare rolls and a basket of everyday things. 2. **Floating shelves beside the mirror.** Shallow ones, 10 to 15 cm, 4 to 6 inches deep, for the things you use every morning. 3. **Towel hooks instead of a bar.** Hooks hold more towels in less wall, and kids actually use them. 4. **A towel ladder.** Leaned against the wall, it dries several towels in the width of one. 5. **A wall-mounted cabinet.** Closed storage above the toilet or beside the sink for things you don't want on show. 6. **Magnetic strips inside a cabinet door.** Tweezers, nail clippers and bobby pins stay put. ### The shower and the bath 7. **A corner shelf or caddy.** Shampoo, conditioner and soap where you reach for them, not on the edge of the tub. 8. **A recessed niche.** If you're renovating, a niche in the shower wall takes bottles without sticking out. 9. **A tension pole caddy.** A pole from tub to ceiling with shelves, no drilling. 10. **One bottle of each.** The backup bottles go under the sink, not in the shower. ![Inside an organized under-sink bathroom cabinet: clear bins, a two-tier pull-out drawer around the pipe and a first aid box](https://www.hoardo.com/guides/bathroom-cabinet.jpg) *Under the sink: clear bins, a pull-out drawer around the pipe and the first aid box in one place.* ### Under the sink and in drawers 11. **A U-shaped drawer or a two-tier pull-out around the pipe.** The pipe takes the middle, so the storage goes around it. 12. **Clear bins by category.** Hair, teeth, skin, first aid, cleaning. You pull out the bin, not every bottle. 13. **A turntable for bottles.** A lazy Susan brings the bottle at the back to the front. 14. **Drawer dividers.** Toothbrushes, razors and makeup each get a section, so the drawer doesn't become one mixed pile. 15. **Door-mounted racks inside the vanity.** The back of the cabinet door takes a hair dryer holder or a small rack for cleaning bottles. ### Anywhere there's room 16. **A slim rolling cart.** 15 to 20 cm, 6 to 8 inches wide, it slides into the gap between the toilet or the vanity and the wall. 17. **Over-the-door hooks or a rack.** Robes, towels, or a pocket organizer for hair tools. 18. **Baskets for towels and spare rolls.** Woven baskets on an open shelf look tidy and hide the mix. 19. **A basket per person.** In a shared bathroom, each person's things in their own basket or bin, taken out and put back as one. 20. **A spare stock bin.** Toothpaste, soap and toilet paper you bought in bulk in one bin, in the hall closet or under the sink, so you can see when it's running out. ## Small bathroom storage ideas In a small bathroom, the floor is gone before you start, so go up and go behind. A shelf above the toilet and one above the door hold what a cabinet would. Hooks on the back of the door replace a towel bar. A slim cart takes the gap no cabinet fits. A mirror cabinet instead of a plain mirror gives you storage where you already look. Then cut down what lives in the bathroom at all. Keep the things used daily there, and move backups, spare towels and bulk packs to a hall closet. A small bathroom holds this week's bottles, not this year's. - **Choose a vanity with drawers**, not one deep cupboard. Drawers bring everything into reach. - **Use the corners.** Corner shelves fit where nothing square will. - **Keep counters almost clear.** A tray with three things looks tidy. Ten loose bottles don't, and they're harder to clean around. ## How to organize a bathroom cabinet The under-sink cupboard and the medicine cabinet fill up the same way: a bottle at a time, with the old ones never leaving. Here's how to reset them in an hour. 1. **Empty the cabinet completely.** Put everything on a towel on the floor. 2. **Check the dates.** Medicine, sunscreen and cosmetics all have expiry dates, and old medicine can work less well. Put what's expired aside. 3. **Get rid of old medicine safely.** Don't throw it loose in the trash, and don't flush it unless the label says to. Many pharmacies take old medicine back, and the FDA's site lists take-back options in the US. 4. **Wipe the shelves and check for leaks.** Under the sink, look at the pipe and the cabinet floor for damp. A shelf liner makes the next spill easy to clean. 5. **Group what's left.** Daily things, first aid, medicine, hair, cleaning, spare stock. 6. **Put things back by how often you use them.** Daily things at the front and at eye height. Spare stock at the back or in another room. 7. **Put cleaning products and medicine out of children's reach.** A high shelf, a latched cupboard or a child lock on the under-sink door. Up and away, and out of sight. 8. **Label the bins and note the dates.** A bin labeled "First aid" is found in a hurry. Dates you've written down are dates you'll actually check. ### Where to keep medicine The bathroom cabinet is called a medicine cabinet, but heat and humidity from the shower can damage many medicines. The FDA suggests a cool, dry place instead, such as a dresser drawer or a kitchen cupboard away from the stove, the sink and hot appliances. Wherever it is, keep it up high and out of children's reach, and check the label: some medicines need the fridge, and the label always wins. Keep a basic first aid kit where you can get to it quickly, and if you have one for the car or an emergency bag, check its dates too. The [emergency kit checklist](https://www.hoardo.com/articles/emergency-kit-checklist) has what to put in one. ## What not to keep in the bathroom A bathroom gets warm and steamy several times a day. Some things don't like that: - **Medicine**, as above, unless it's what you take every day and the label allows it. - **Spare paper goods in bulk.** Toilet paper and tissues soak up damp. Keep a few rolls in the bathroom and the big pack in a hall closet. - **Electronics you care about.** Spare chargers, an electric toothbrush's spare base, a hair dryer you rarely use. Damp is hard on them. - **Towels and bath mats in a closed cupboard while still damp.** They get musty. Let them dry on a hook first. - **Jewelry and watches.** Humidity tarnishes silver. A small dish for the rings you take off is fine; the collection lives elsewhere. - **Things nobody uses.** Gift sets, hotel soaps, the bottle of something that didn't suit you. Use it this month, give it away or let it go. A fan that runs during and after a shower, and a door left open after, keep the whole room drier and everything in it lasts longer. ## Keep track of the bathroom's spare stock and dates The bathroom is where you find out you're out of toilet paper and the pain relievers ran out of date in spring. That's what Hoardo is for: a free app where each cupboard, drawer and bin is a numbered box with a list of what's inside, and the things with dates remind you before they run out. *Drawer #6 in Hoardo: the pain relievers and the allergy tablets with their expiry dates, and the plasters.* 1. **Make a room for the bathroom**, and one for the hall closet if the spare stock lives there. 2. **Add each cupboard, drawer and bin as a numbered box.** "Under the sink" is #5, "First aid and medicine" is #6. 3. **List what's inside**, with a date on medicine and anything else that expires. Turn on "Notify me?" and Hoardo emails you before the date and shows it in the app. 4. **Set a low-quantity alert** on what you buy in bulk, like toilet paper: tell me when it's down to four rolls. *Three rolls of toilet paper left under the sink: Hoardo's email says it's running low.* You can share the room with your family, so whoever takes the last roll can see it's the last one. For the other small, busy rooms, see [laundry room organization](https://www.hoardo.com/articles/laundry-room-organization) and [storage ideas for every room](https://www.hoardo.com/articles/storage-ideas). **Never run out of the basics List what's in each cupboard, put dates on medicine and get an alert when stock runs low. Free, every feature included.** [Start free](https://www.hoardo.com/login) ## Questions about bathroom storage ### How can I add storage to a small bathroom? Use the walls and the door: a shelf above the toilet, a shelf above the door, hooks instead of a towel bar and a slim rolling cart in the gap beside the vanity. Then move backups and spare towels to a hall closet. ### How do I organize under the bathroom sink? Empty it, check for leaks and throw out what's expired. Use a U-shaped or two-tier pull-out drawer around the pipe and clear bins by category, and put a child lock on the door if cleaning products are kept there. ### Should you keep medicine in the bathroom? Often not. Heat and humidity from the shower can damage many medicines, and the FDA suggests a cool, dry place such as a dresser drawer or a kitchen cupboard away from the stove and sink. Keep it out of children's reach, and follow the label if it needs the fridge. ### How often should I clear out the medicine cabinet? Check the dates at least once a year, and get rid of expired medicine safely: many pharmacies take it back. In the US, the FDA's site lists take-back options. ### How do I keep track of expiry dates and spare stock? Write them down where you'll see them. In Hoardo each cupboard or drawer is a numbered box, medicine gets a date with a reminder before it expires, and a low-quantity alert tells you when toilet paper is down to the last few rolls. ### Is Hoardo free? Yes. Hoardo is free, with every feature included: rooms, numbered boxes, QR labels, reminders, search and sharing with your family. There's no paid plan.