wicker basket folded towels on shelf

Let’s face it. Every day should be a day for mothers. Unless your mother is anything like Joan Crawford… in which case, this is awkward (and let’s hug). Whether you’re a dog mom, a single mom, a mom of six, a grandmom, or have a mom… this bathroom organizing article is for you. Here are 10 ways to transform your bathroom into a spa (or at least a spa-like experience) any one would love.

1. When You Don’t Know Where to Start, Micromanage

Take it from a person who put the “O” in OCD… if you are feeling overwhelmed and out of control in the Life Department, the best thing you can do is fixate on one little thing. I know it sounds counter-intuitive – and the opposite of relaxing. You’re busy. And stressed out. And the last thing you want to do is clean out your makeup drawer. But I’m telling you, obsess about one thing for 30 minutes and you’ll feel like a new woman.

I can almost hear your skepticism. But here’s what you do:

Set a timer for 30 minutes (and do this during a time when you won’t be interrupted). You are only going to tackle one drawer or shelf. Take the drawer out and dump its contents in the middle of the floor. You’ll need an old toothbrush (not your significant other’s), a new cotton swab, some paper towels, your favorite cleaning product, and reckless abandon. Scrub every inch of the inside of said drawer. Then wipe dry and put it back in its place.

Now touch and make a deliberate decision about every single item that goes back into that drawer. Nothing goes back in until it has been cleaned within an inch of its life. You’ll even go so far as to clean under caps and lids. Discard anything that you don’t love and use. Touch, make a deliberate decision about, and clean everything until your pile is no more. If you want to be really OCD and still have time on the clock, you can arrange things alphabetically by color. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I promise you when you focus so intensely on a small, repetitive task that involves little thought, something magical starts to happen. Your mind starts to relax. Your anxieties are eased. And fresh, creative thoughts that you thought were gone and buried will start to surface. I’m telling you, obsessive-compulsives know how to relax. Even if it is just for five minutes at a time.

Lives have been changed by cleaning out just one drawer. Don’t underestimate the power.

2. Like With Like. And Baskets, People, Baskets

One of the easiest ways to eliminate or greatly reduce visual noise is to make sure that all your hair products are living with all their friends. Hair products go with hair products. Face products go with face products. Body washes, powders, perfumes and lotions go with other body washes, powders, perfumes, and lotions. And so on.

I know that sounds like a given, but you’d be surprised how many people have several different places for the same categories of things living in one room. No me gusta.

Round up everything in your bathroom that falls under the same category, like “Big Texas Hair,” for example. And put everything that falls under this category in the same visually stunning basket or bin. It is infinitely easier to maintain one basket o’ hair products than 27 wayward cans of hairspray.

3. Uniform Bottles

Commercial products come in packaging meant to catch your eye. They are designed to be visually stimulating. Use uniform bottles in the bath and shower to create a calm state of mind. Keep a hidden stash of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes in your linen closet or bathroom cabinet to refill uniform bottles you use on a daily basis. Label and voilà.

4. Take Care of Your Candles

You know why some people get away with 90% of the bleepity-bleep-bleep they get away with? That’s right… because they smell amazing. I can just walk into the Nordstrom cologne department and forgive every one within a 10-mile radius. I don’t even have to know them. They’re just forgiven.

It’s the same with candles. Nothing screams – or quietly whispers, “ultimate spa experience” like the smell of a great candle. Or 27 great candles. But candles need TLC. Nothing ruins the mood like a bunch of mismatched, misshapen candles with an inch of black crusty stuff hanging off the tip of the wick.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Here’s what you do.

First, consider tea lights. They’re the low-maintenance member of the candle family – and give you big bang for your buck. They burn clean and evenly, and you just toss them when they’ve burned out.

The best tea lights I’ve ever found are at Dee Jay’s Candles in Fort Worth, Texas. (Don’t worry, you can order online.) I highly recommend the French Vanilla, Simply Clean, or Eucalyptus.

If however, you prefer votive candles, don’t fret none. There’s a way to care for and maintain these, too. Go to the store of your choice and pick up a few uniform glass votive holders for under $1 each. Invest in high-quality votive candles.

Trim your wicks to 1/4″ before you burn them. And trim your wicks to 1/4″ before every burn. Burn them for an hour for every inch they are in diameter, so one inch is about one hour to keep them even.

And here’s a magic solution to make every votive or jar candle in your bathroom scream “spa getaway” even if they’re looking a little “labor camp getaway” right now. First, get the labels cleanly and completely off the glass. Peel them off slowly, use a product made for removing adhesive, or wash the outer surface using hot water and soap.

Then, if they’ve burned down ugly and unevenly, place them on a cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest setting (that’s 170ºF for most ovens). After all the wax has liquefied, turn the oven off and wait for the candles to cool back to a solid state. They’ll be perfectly even.

Then trim your wick. (Do you see a recurring theme here?) Wipe off any black soot from previous burns, and voilà… good as new!

P.S. Now, your kitchen smells amazing, too. Just make sure to remove any paper and/or adhesive solution before placing in the oven. Or your kitchen will smell like a fire extinguisher.

5. Conscious Collections

Add just the right amount of visual stimulation with purposeful pieces.

6. Divide and Conquer

No spa bathroom is complete without a customized design for all the things that fill you with glee and serenity. That would be my band name if I ever started one – Glee and Serenity. But all the band members would look really stressed out.

When it comes to drawers, create a sense of order with drawer dividers. They come in a variety of mediums and sizes. If you’re going for a spa-like feel, try these bamboo dividers from The Container Store.

7. Breathe Life Into Dead Space

There’s profound beauty in empty, uncluttered space. But you can also utilize the dead space in your bathroom/spa in a way that won’t feel cluttered. In fact, if done correctly, it can actually make the space feel more open and expanded. Use a tension curtain rod to hang cleaning supplies under the sink. Or store all your spa supplies using this behind-the-door storage system that folds flush when not in use.

8. See the Potential for Innovation

One of my favorite things to behold in design and organizing is upcycling. Upcyclying is when you take something currently living in your home – at item that just isn’t serving a purpose in your life anymore – and transform it into something for which it wasn’t originally intended.

I once worked with a client who had a lot of purses. One of them was a beautiful, vibrant-colored woven bag she’d bought 20 years earlier on her honeymoon. She obviously loved it, it just didn’t serve its original purpose anymore. The straps were “hanging by a thread” but the bag itself was in pristine condition.

This client’s bathroom was next on our list of spaces to organize. We both looked at each other at the same time, she ran and got a pair of scissors, and snip-snip, off came the straps. Then we turned down the edge and essentially made it into the most perfect basket for washcloths ever. Every single time she went into the bathroom, it brought back good memories and made her smile. Best bathroom organizing moment of my life.

You can do the same in your bathroom. Find creative ways to organize, store, and feature the little things that make your bathroom yours. Or a vintage cake pedestal turned into a showcase spa stand. Or install a magnetic bar typically used for knives in the kitchen, inside your bathroom drawer for bobby pins and metal hair clips. I know, right?

9. Sort and Purge

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No space in your home should be more than 75% full. This is especially true of bathrooms and bedrooms… the places you go to retreat. Keep your bathroom spa free of anything and everything that stands between you and tranquility.

Take time every month to sort and purge beauty products you don’t love or use, old make-up or nail polish, tattered linens, expired medicine, long-ago-abandoned hair care products, old toothbrushes, old/twisted/clogged/bent tubes, and anything with the word ointment on it.

Consolidate almost-empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner into new bottles. And if you need to squeeze out the last bit of that moisturizer you spent $125 on, I have two words for you: tube key. What’s a tube key, you ask? It’s $3 of “It’ll change your life.” That’s what it is. It’s a metal key that goes on the end of any tube so you can squeeze out every milliliter of product. You can see it here.

10. Even If No One Else Sees It, You See It

Remember, even if no one else sees it, you see it. And you are the most important person in this establishment.

P.S. I would like to say Happy Mother’s Day to my sweet mom, who endured years of my fingers under the bathroom door. Nobody loves you like I do!