Sharon, A Nurse Practitioner
After a home renovation, it’s sometimes difficult to decide the best way to set things up in a new space. Sharon and her husband had hired someone to remodel their master bathroom. Now that the work was completed, she needed some help deciding how to best arrange all of the small appliances, toiletries, and makeup. We decided to work on this project virtually.
We started by discussing what Sharon had already done. She had removed all of the items early in the remodeling process so that the contractor could pull out old bathroom cabinets and work on the new ones. As she pulled items out, she donated or discarded anything she wasn’t using. She put the items she used regularly into portable containers to allow her to get ready in another space until the renovations were complete. Everything that was used only occasionally was placed into a large bin to be sorted and arranged later.
Then she showed me the new bathroom arrangement using FaceTime. All of the new cabinets and drawers gave her a lot of flexibility in choosing where to place items. We knew that choosing the best placement for items would greatly simplify her morning and evening routines. I instructed Sharon to sort all of the supplies into these categories: items used every morning, items used every evening, and items used occasionally. More items were discarded during this sorting process which she completed on her own.
Once this step was completed, we were able to choose one convenient access area for storing items used in her morning routine and another for her evening routine. Items used only occasionally were placed in an area not quite as easy to access. The only items that would be kept on the bathroom counter were items used multiple times a day: hand soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Everything else was placed inside a drawer or cabinet. Small items were corralled into small open containers that could be pulled out and then replaced after use.
The contractor had built some specialty cabinets and drawers that allowed her to store her hair dryer and curling iron or straightener in a drawer where it could also be plugged in. The cabinets have adjustable shelves. All of these features in addition to the organization have created a functional and beautiful new bathroom that Sharon is really enjoying!
