Organizing Our Bathroom “Disaster Drawer”

Meet our disaster drawer. You may have seen a preview yesterday, but it really deserved the suspenseful dun-dun-duuuuun sound effect—this drawer was that bad. It looked like a wild animal had rooted through it. In the spirit of organization week (and for the sake of our sanity), it was time to fix it.

We don’t have a medicine cabinet because there’s a window over the sink—this is visible on our House Tour page. The shallow drawer directly in front of the sink is actually a false front, so the small skinny drawer to the side is the only practical spot for all the tiny essentials: floss, toothpaste, contact supplies, medicine, deodorant, hair and nail tools—everything that normally gets spread across several drawers or a separate medicine cabinet.

Despite the chaos, I knew the drawer could be organized. We’re minimalist about toiletries—my entire makeup collection fits in a small travel pouch of fewer than eight items that I keep in the car or purse, and we don’t use perfume or bath products that would take up space. Apart from a pot of diaper cream in Clara’s room and shower-only bottles of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner, this drawer held most of the household’s grooming and hygiene items.

The first step was emptying the drawer, wiping out the bottom, and taking inventory. I discarded expired medications and empty or unnecessary containers. Clearing everything out made it easy to see what needed to be stored.

I found two divided storage boxes at TJ Maxx for about $9 total. They’re likely meant for office supplies or jewelry, but they were the perfect height for this drawer. The key was creating zones so items wouldn’t slide around every time the drawer opened. I also reused a wooden toothbrush/toothpaste box we already had. Here’s what the drawer looked like after I placed the two organizers and returned the items.

Everything that belonged in the drawer fit back in, except for expired products and empty bottles. I grouped like items together: nail polish sits at the back right, razors at the front right, contact supplies on the left, and toothpaste and mouthcare remain in the wooden box (toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrushes, plus a pack of floss). A spare pack of floss is near the nail polish. The back left holds medicines and a small box of feminine products.

Some cubbies are assigned by owner. One middle cubby contains my small extras—an extra concealer and mascara that came as a two-pack (I only keep one in my travel pouch), hair-cutting scissors, a nail file, etc. The neighboring cubby is John’s morning routine: his hair supplies, razor, and contact case. The cubby to the right of that stores his shaving cream and aftershave. Keeping our things separated makes it easier to respect the system—John won’t have to rummage through my area, and vice versa.

Medication safety update: All medications are in childproof containers, and razor blades snap into a protective case that our daughter Clara (23 months old) can’t open. Clara can’t open non-childproof bottles or many Tupperware containers yet, and we keep our bedroom door closed when she’s not with us since Burger’s food is stored in there. In short, medications and sharp items are secured and out of reach.

Here’s the other side of the drawer—an oddly satisfying shot of miscellaneous bathroom items that now look tidy.

Success! The drawer stayed organized through an evening and a morning routine so far, so I’m optimistic. I gave John a firm look and asked him to respect the cubbies, and he’s been great about it. I’ll probably take a follow-up photo in a few months to see how the system holds up and report back honestly—either it’ll still look neat or it’ll have returned to chaos.

The only downside of this little victory is that organizing highlighted cosmetic flaws: scuffed cabinet lips and smudges that I didn’t notice before. Now I’ve added painting the cabinets and drawer faces to my someday-to-do list. One improvement often reveals the next, right?

For comparison, here’s the cabinet under the sink. You can see we’re pretty minimalist here too: an old box from John’s grandpa with a few items, our travel toiletry bag, and a basket holding a hairdryer, brush, curling iron, and a couple of other things. While organizing I noticed a few more dings and smudges (the blue arrows in the photo) to address someday—maybe not immediately, but they’re on the radar.

For now, I’m enjoying the small conveniences: being able to glance in the drawer to see if we need floss or razors, and grabbing deodorant without having to fish through a pile of other items. Little improvements like this make everyday routines smoother.

Tomorrow we’ll share a full rundown of the grooming and cleaning products we use to keep things simple—many of our picks multitask, which helps avoid storing a dozen different bottles. What organizing have you tackled lately? Have dividers or cubbies helped you tame a shallow drawer or tight space? Who’s tackling their bathroom drawer tonight? Also, full disclosure: I brushed and flossed after organizing—testing the setup felt like a good way to make sure everything was in its place.