Make the bathroom shipshape and easy to use through group storage!
Advisor on Organizing Storage and Concierge for Straightening Up
Mayumi Nakayama, inbloom, Inc.
Having appeared on programs such as Fukaii Hanashi on Nippon TV and Asaichi on NHK, Ms. Nakayama is an advisor on organizing storage who is in the spotlight right now. Featured in a great many other TV shows and magazines, Ms. Nakayama provides simple storage tips, as a storage pro, conducting storage seminars, offering suggestions on and supervision of the arrangement of rooms in apartments, and more.
[Points in organizing the bathroom]
You keep a whole lot of small items in the relatively small space of the bathroom, so storage can be a real hassle, right? What I found in interviews, though, was that when you take everything out and have a look at it, you find that there are a lot of things you don't need that are taking up space, so you can sort out the things that you don't need from the things you do need and get rid of the former things. For the endless supply of gift towels and the like, sort them as the ones that you use and as stock items. If you don't have a place to keep the stock items, put them in trunk room storage, along with the items from other rooms that wouldn't fit in the closet. Get rid of the things that you don't need to create a neat and tidy space.
—Do you have any of these items? —
- Cleaning agents that were good to buy, but that you haven’t used well
- Nearly empty and long unused bottles of cosmetics and hair care products
- A ton of new towels jam packed into storage space
- Hair pins and hair accessories scattered here and there
- An excessively large stock of soap and shampoo
The three key points for bathroom storage
1. Put things away rather than leaving them out
When you take things out, they get dirty right away because of the soap, water, and dust. In order to clean well, make efficient use of the linen closet, storage space under the sink, and so on, and keep your bathroom items there.
2. Be aware of group storage and pursue ease of use
When you group your things by application—such as cleaning goods, hair care sets, make up sets, and the like—or by user, you will improve efficiency and ease of use.
3. Be aware of appropriate amounts, and revaluate excess stock items
I see a lot of households that have an excess of stock items. While people have various reasons—such as, “I buy in bulk at big box stores,” “I bought them on sale at the local drugstore,” “I get anxious unless I have extra stock,” and the like—you should change your mindset, and consider a single stock item to be enough, with the idea of “one stock item, one use.” Even though it may cost a bit more, buying just enough to meet your needs means you don’t have to worry about where to put excess stock, and you can enjoy a neat and tidy space every day.
[Various tips on bathroom storage]
The bathroom gets dirty easily, so make every effort to put things away properly and keep the space neat and tidy. If you have open shelving, the colorful bottles of cosmetics and hair care products would look messy, so arrange them in white or translucent storage cases to create a neat and tidy impression.
—For drawers—
Sort things according to how frequently you use them and keep them in the drawers with the most frequently used items in the top drawer, and on down in descending order.
You don’t have to bend over to use the top drawer, so it is really easy to access. Be sure to keep only the most frequently used items here—such as the hair dryer that everyone in the family uses every day.
I used these baskets
Kitchen trays (slim/wide)
These are simple plastic cases that are available at 100 yen shops (equivalent to dollar stores)
You can move the partition plates among slots two centimeters apart and adjust the location to fit the items that you want to store in the cases. Though they are designed to be used for kitchen storage, they are also useful in the bathroom if they fit in its drawers. These trays are washable, so you can feel easy in using them in the bathroom which gets dirty easily.
—For double doors—
For space with double doors, use racks and shelves in order to make full use of the height. Be sure to note that some storage goods might not fit, depending on the location and shape of the drainpipe from the sink.
Certain specialized racks can be used to fit around the drainpipe, so I recommend that you use this type (Photo 5). They are available at hardware stores/home centers, or online, and prices start at just under \2,000.
—Group storage by application—
You keep a whole lot of small items in the bathroom, so store them in groups sorted by application.
Sort into plastic baskets that you can find at 100 yen shops (equivalent to dollar stores) according to the size of the items you put in them. A group of travel goods stored in a plastic basket is shown in the photo. This grouping makes it very easy for you to get ready to travel in a snap.
It is similarly smooth and easy to take out use and put away things that you have grouped by application—such as make up sets, hair care sets, cleaning sets, and the like—so avoid just leaving things out.
I used these baskets
Name baskets
These plastic baskets are simple, they come in a great many sizes, and they are highly generalizable, so you can use them in any location throughout the house. They are washable, which is particularly convenient in areas that get wet and dirty easily, such as the bathroom or kitchen. These baskets are ideal for group storage, and you can find them at 100 yen shops (equivalent to dollar stores).
—Group storage by user—
This picture shows stock items sorted by user, such as his (husband’s), hers (wife’s), and laundry. It is easy to search for and manage your stock items when you store them by user because only the one user handles them.
Advisor on Organizing Storage and Concierge for Straightening Up
Mayumi Nakayama, inbloom, Inc.
Director of inbloom, Inc (Director of the Operations Department for Organizing Storage Services)
After more than 30 years of living in an untidy home, Ms. Nakayama suddenly encountered an “organizing storage” concept and overcame her problem from childhood of not being able to throw away or put away things.
With inbloom, Ms. Nakayama launched an organizing storage business based on this experience, and she conducts organizing storage services and seminars for private homes and corporations as well as offers suggestions on and supervision of the arrangement of rooms in apartments. She has made numerous appearances in the media.
【Books】
Shueisha: Putting your Mind in Order through Rules for Putting Away and Rules for Discarding
Shogakukan: Tidying Techniques for Men who Add to the Collection and Women who Never Throw Things Away