Right, so picture this: I’m standing in our tiny bathroom in Bulwell at half past seven in the morning, and I’ve just watched my entire skincare routine cascade off the windowsill like some sort of beauty product waterfall. Moisturizer bottle bouncing off the toilet seat, serums rolling under the radiator, and my favourite cleanser – the expensive one I’d been saving up for – now leaking all over the floor. I mean, honestly. The bathroom’s barely big enough to turn around in without whacking your elbow on something, and here I am playing toiletries jenga every single morning.
That was my breaking point moment. You know when you just think, there’s got to be a better way than this chaos? Well, turns out there absolutely is, and I’ve spent the last couple of years figuring it out through trial and error. Mostly error, if I’m being completely honest.
The first proper game-changer was discovering magnetic strips. Yeah, I know, sounds a bit random, but bear with me. You know those magnetic knife holders you see in fancy kitchens? They’re brilliant for small bathrooms. I picked one up from Screwfix for about a tenner and stuck it inside our medicine cabinet. Now it holds all the fiddly metal bits – tweezers, nail scissors, those tiny bottles of eye drops that used to disappear into the cabinet void. Freed up an entire shelf, which in a bathroom our size feels like winning the lottery. Just make sure you get a proper strong one, not like the first cheap thing I bought from the pound shop that couldn’t hold anything heavier than a safety pin.
But the real revelation was the back of the door. That dead space that just… sits there doing nothing? Complete waste. I found this over-the-door shoe organizer – clear plastic pockets, about fifteen quid from Argos – and it’s transformed how I store everything. Hair stuff goes in the top pockets where I can reach it easily, skincare products in the middle section, and all the random bits like nail files and travel-sized bottles at the bottom. Everything’s visible, nothing gets shoved to the back and forgotten about, and Danny can actually find things now without shouting through the house asking where I’ve hidden the paracetamol.
The shower was proving to be a proper nightmare though. Those tension pole caddies that everyone raves about? Complete rubbish in our setup. Kept sliding down the tiles like they’d given up on life entirely. I’d hear them crash down at stupid o’clock in the morning and have to fish shampoo bottles out from behind the toilet. Not exactly what you want when you’re trying to get ready for work.
So I bit the bullet and installed proper corner shelves – the type that screw directly into the tile grout. I know, I know, drilling holes in a bathroom feels like crossing some sort of DIY line, but they’ve been rock solid for over two years now. Sometimes you just have to commit, you know? Cost about twenty pounds for two shelves from B&Q, and the peace of mind knowing my shampoo isn’t going to launch itself across the room is priceless.
What really opened my eyes was thinking about every single bit of wall space as potential storage. I found these suction cup hooks that actually work – miracle of miracles – and they’ve been holding my razor, loofah, and a little mesh bag for hair bobbles. The secret is making sure your tiles are bone dry and spotless before you stick them on. Learned that lesson the hard way when my first attempt ended with everything clattering into the bath at three in the morning. Scared the life out of both of us.
Floating shelves above the loo have been absolutely brilliant too. Two narrow ones from IKEA, maybe twelve pounds each, and they hold spare toilet rolls, some candles because why shouldn’t a tiny bathroom have some atmosphere, and a wicker basket with guest supplies. Installing them was more faff than I’d expected – had to borrow my mate’s stud finder and everything – but totally worth the effort. Just make sure they’re deep enough that stuff doesn’t slide off every time someone shuts a door with a bit too much enthusiasm.
The medicine cabinet got a complete makeover as well. Those wire shelf insert things that double your storage space? Genius invention. Picked up a set from Wilko for about eight pounds and suddenly I could fit twice as much behind the mirror. Daily vitamins on the middle shelf, prescriptions up top, plasters and antiseptic cream at the bottom. It’s like having a proper little pharmacy tucked away there.
Under the sink was an absolute disaster area until I discovered stackable storage drawers. These brilliant plastic units that slide in and out like proper drawers but don’t need any complicated installation. Cleaning supplies in the bottom one, hair straighteners and curling tongs in the middle drawer, backup supplies on top. No more army-crawling around the bathroom floor hunting for toilet duck.
Here’s something I wish I’d figured out years ago – clear containers make everything look about a million times more organized. I transferred cotton wool, cotton buds, bath salts, all that sort of thing into glass jars from the charity shop. Suddenly instead of having random packages cluttering up the shelves, everything looked intentional. Plus you can actually see when you’re running low on stuff instead of discovering you’ve run out of cotton pads at the worst possible moment.
Towels were proving to be another headache. Our bathroom’s so narrow that a proper towel rail would make it feel like a corridor, so I went for hooks instead. Behind the door, next to the shower, even a small one inside the medicine cabinet for flannels. They don’t take up any visual space but hold everything we need, and towels dry better hanging on hooks anyway.
I’ve become a bit obsessed with things that do double duty. My bath caddy holds soap and razor but also has a slot for my tablet – don’t judge, sometimes you need Netflix with your bubble bath. The little bathroom stool provides somewhere to sit but also has storage inside the seat for backup supplies. Even managed to find a toilet brush with a hidden compartment for cleaning tablets, which feels unnecessarily fancy but I love it anyway.
The biggest thing I learned is that literally every surface counts. Back of the toilet has a tray with hand cream and air freshener. The windowsill – thank god we actually have one – holds a couple of small plants and my rings when I’m in the shower. There’s even a narrow shelf above the door frame for things I don’t need every day but want within reach.
Not everything worked though. Those spinning corner tower things that promise to organize your entire life? Too bulky for genuinely tiny spaces. Tried adapting spice racks for the inside of cabinet doors but they made the doors too heavy and the hinges started sagging. And those suction cup corner shelves that look brilliant in the reviews? They collapse the second you put anything heavier than a travel-sized bottle on them. Complete waste of money.
The real win isn’t just having more storage space – it’s that our bathroom actually feels bigger now. When everything has a proper place instead of being scattered across every available surface, the whole room breathes better. My morning routine went from frantic searching and general chaos to actually being quite civilized, and honestly? That’s made getting up for work about fifty percent less stressful. Sometimes it’s the small victories that make the biggest difference.
