When we moved into military housing nearly two years ago, I almost wept upon stumbling on the bathroom.
It was white, small, and had a shower nozzle that could positively blast the skin right off you.
In other words, it was not exactly "Home Sweet Commode," if you know what I mean.
But, the worst part of it all was that, save one tiny, inch-deep medicine cabinet haphazardly stucco-d up onto the wall over the sink, there was nary a bit storage of space.
In fact, let's just say it: After you stuck our two sticks of deodorant, floss, and tweezers in the medicine cabinet? There was absolutely no room left.
Anywhere.
Ask this girl and this girl. They visited me two weeks after I'd moved in. They saw the complete lack of cabinets and storage space.
For a woman who is married to a man who would buy stock in Q-tips if I let him, this was Bad news with a capital B.
So, what to do?
To be honest, I was so bitter about the whole bathroom, or lack thereof, that I simply didn't know. I was stuck.
Or, rather, I was constantly cleaning up said lack of a bathroom, as unexpected company would arrive, and it would be mad-dash to pick up my make-up teetering on the sink, our razors sitting on the closed toilet, and the magazines my husband seems to collect and left scattered all over the ugly white-tiled floor.
And then we had a baby.
Do you know how much stuff a baby requires for her daily bath? Especially a baby like mine, who takes baths like the Queen of Zanzibar, thanks to her very sensitive skin. (People, there is frankincense and myrrh in her bath lotion. Frankincense and myrrh!)
I had to come up with something. And I had to come up with it fast. I was simply too tired of stepping on my husband's Q-tips and tripping over those precious, but quite entangling, little hooded baby towels.
And, thus, our tote system was born.
Everyone in my family now has a fabric, water-proof tote.
In the tote, they cram all their little bath hopes and dreams, i.e, soaps, razors, lotions, and imminent amounts of Q-tips. (Have you picked up on how much my husband's Q-tip over-usage annoys the mess out of me?)
Ella's tote, for instance, has her eczema lotions, her sensitive-skin soaps, her wash-cloths, and her hooded towels.
The tote resides on the toilet tank or a little stool we placed in the bathroom while said person is using the restroom.
Then, after bathing and all other bathroom business is over, the tote returns to it's rightful place: My hubby's and mine reside in our linen closet; Ella's lives on a hook on her changing table.
Those three totes, along with a few hooks outside the shower for damp towels and some suctioned shelves inside the shower for shampoo and conditioner, have made our teeny, tiny, no-storage-whatsoever bathroom, livable.
And thank the good Lord above, I will never have to step on another Q-tip again.
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So, tell me, what are the biggest issues you face in keeping your bathroom organized and neat? And what are the best tips you have for keeping your bathroom neat and clutter free?Post below, or better yet, post over at BlogHer's Life Well Lived feature, where all of us are discussing the tips and tricks to keeping our lives organized. There's also a chance to win a $250 sweepstakes, so while you're there, make sure to enter.
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Don't forget to take a gander at my Two Truths and a Lie, posted yesterday. I'll be revealing my answers Monday!***
Happy Thursday, everyone!
