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Gone are the days when bath supplies consisted of a bar of soap and a washcloth! Bathers now can use shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, loofa mitts, bath puffs, back brushes, bath oil pearls, bath salts, and many similar items. Especially in a home where several people use the same tub and shower, the bath supplies can almost take the bathroom over. With a few simple solutions, however, you can take control of that bathroom again.
Check to see how much storage space is already available in your shower/tub area. Do you have a tub surround with molded in shelves? Chances are they are not large enough to store much more than a bar of soap.
Storage solutions for bathrooms can be found in two sections of the department store. Look around the laundry baskets and storage solutions, but also look in hardware near the toilet seats and plumbing supplies. You will find a variety of bath shelves, racks, and hooks.
Bath organizers attach to the tub walls in several ways. There is the classic organizer that hangs over the shower head. These have the disadvantage of swinging and needing to be balanced. A shampoo bottle here must be balanced with a body gel bottle there or the rack will hang crooked! In addition, they often slip off the shower head. A rubber band wound around the shower head can help keep the rack from slipping, but what about the swinging problem? Fortunately, there is a design on the market that combines the over the shower head placement with suction cups to hold it in place.
Other organizers, hooks, and racks attach to the wall by either suction cups alone, or adhesive strips. Suction cups can vary in the amount of weight they can hold up. Hooks held on by adhesive strips are strong enough to hold a wooden bath brush without coming loose. Hooks are handy for mitts, washcloths, and a shower squeegee for easy wall wipedown.
Before purchasing a bath organizer, take a good look at your tub surround. If it is perfectly flat in the corners, a corner organizer may be a good choice. If it has a design molded in, however, a corner organizer may not fit. See also if there is room for the organizer above the molded-in soap dish or shelf.
Bath organizers feature many innovative storage solutions. Some have special hooks for toothbrushes and razors. Some are designed for upside down storage of bottles for ease of use. Shop for the features that will work for you.
A different option for organizing bath products is to provide each member of the family with a tote for his or her own supplies. The tote can be carried back to the family member's bedroom or stored on a shelf in the bathroom. These totes come in plastic, chrome, and other materials in a variety of sizes. Plastic and chrome are good choices because the tote will probably get wet. Having totes to carry extra supplies back to bedrooms can really help the space problem in a small bathroom.
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