Small Bathroom Storage Ideas: 20 Smart Ways to Find Space

Quick answer: The best small bathroom storage ideas use the space you're not using yet: the wall above the toilet, the gap under a pedestal sink, the inside of the mirror, the corners of the shower and the back of the door. Go up, not out. Pick slim, wall-mounted pieces, give every item a home, and clear out what you don't use. Do that and even a tiny bathroom stops feeling cluttered.

Most bathrooms aren't small because they lack space. They feel small because the space that's there gets wasted. A towel draped over the bath edge, six half-empty bottles on the sink, a pile of toilet rolls on the floor. I've lived in flats with bathrooms barely bigger than a phone box, and the fix was never a bigger room. It was better storage in the right places. This guide covers the small bathroom storage ideas that actually work, the ones that cost very little, the ones that are worth spending on, and how to plan it all so it looks tidy rather than crammed. Where it helps, I've linked the pieces we sell in our bathroom storage collection, and we offer free international shipping on every order.

Start Here: Clear Out Before You Buy Anything

I know this isn't the exciting part. But every one of the small bathroom storage ideas below works better if you start with less stuff. Take everything out of the bathroom. Every bottle, every towel, every spare razor. Put it on the floor of another room and sort it into four piles:

• Daily. Things you use every day: toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, deodorant, the towel you're using.
• Weekly. Hair masks, nail kit, cleaning spray, spare toilet rolls.
• Backup stock. The three spare shampoos you bought on offer.
• Bin. Empty bottles, out-of-date medicine, the hotel minis you'll never use, the face cream that made your skin itch.

Only daily and weekly items go back in the bathroom. Backup stock goes in a hall cupboard or under the bed. Old medicines are best taken back to a pharmacy if your area offers that, rather than thrown in the bin. This one job usually frees up a third of the space you thought you needed.

Measure the Room Before Trying Small Bathroom Storage Ideas

Small bathrooms leave no room for guesswork. A cabinet that's two centimetres too deep stops the door opening. A shelf at the wrong height becomes something you crack your head on. Before you buy, measure:

• Wall width above the toilet, and the height from the floor to the top of the cistern (including the flush button or handle).
• The width and depth around the sink, and the height of the pedestal or waste pipe if you're thinking about an under-sink cabinet.
• The space behind the door, and how far it swings.
• The inside of the shower or bath corners.
• Any wall space beside the mirror.

Write it down. Take photos. Then check every product's dimensions against your notes. Every listing in our bathroom collection gives sizes for exactly this reason.

The Best Small Bathroom Storage Ideas, Space by Space

I've grouped these by where they go, because that's how you'll actually plan them. You'll rarely need all of them. Pick the ones that match the spaces you have free.

1. Use the Wall Above the Toilet

This is the biggest wasted space in nearly every bathroom. There's often a metre or more of bare wall above the cistern. An over-the-toilet unit turns it into proper storage without taking a single bit of floor space.

Our 68 inch over the toilet cabinet in espresso is a good example. It stands over the toilet on two long legs and has four cubbies, a compartment with a door and a long open shelf. The towels go on the shelf, small bottles in the cubbies, and medicines or anything you'd rather hide go behind the door. It's 7.5 inches deep, so it doesn't loom over you, and there's 32.7 inches of clearance under the lowest shelf. Measure the top of your cistern before you order.

If you'd rather keep the floor completely clear, a wall cabinet does the same job. The farmhouse bathroom wall cabinet has two doors, an adjustable shelf and a drawer, and it's 24 inches wide, which suits most toilet walls. The small white bathroom wall cabinet (38 x 13 x 43 cm) is even more compact and has towel hooks underneath, so it doubles as a towel rail.

2. Swap a Plain Mirror for a Mirror Cabinet

A flat mirror does one job. A mirror cabinet does two, and it takes up exactly the same wall. Behind the mirror you get shelves for toothpaste, skincare, razors and medicines, all at eye level and out of sight. The medicine cabinet has been a bathroom staple for a long time for good reason.

The black mirror medicine cabinet measures 29 x 28 inches, has two mirrored doors and comes with a towel bar along the bottom, which saves you fitting a separate rail. If you'd like built-in lighting as well, the LED mirror cabinet comes in widths from 60 to 140 cm and has a light panel and an open shelf. Good lighting in a small bathroom makes it feel bigger, and it helps with shaving and make-up too.

Once you have a cabinet, keep the inside tidy with small boxes. The mirror cabinet organizer comes in small or large sizes and in clear or white, and it stops small items falling out every time you open the door.

3. Fill the Gap Under a Pedestal Sink

Pedestal sinks look clean, but they waste the space underneath. A cabinet designed to fit round the pedestal turns that gap into a cupboard for cleaning products, spare toilet rolls and hair tools.

Look for one with a U-shaped cut-out at the back so it sits around the pipe and pedestal. Our white pedestal sink cabinet (23.6 inches wide) has two doors, an adjustable shelf and a U-shaped cut-out. The 24 inch white under sink cabinet and the dark green under sink cabinet do the same job, and the green one adds a bit of colour if your bathroom is all white. There's also the white under sink vanity unit with a U cut-out and adjustable shelf.

4. Replace the Sink With a Vanity Unit

If you're renovating, or your sink needs replacing anyway, a vanity unit is the single biggest storage upgrade you can make. You get a sink and a cupboard in one footprint. A 30 inch vanity fits in many small bathrooms and gives you a lot of hidden storage.

Some options in our range:

• The gray 30 inch vanity with a ceramic top, two soft-close doors and a drawer, in gray or green.
• The 30 inch vanity with drawers, a vanity and ceramic sink combo in green or white.
• The 30 inch black vanity with three drawers, an adjustable shelf and a door.
• The 30 inch blue vanity with a solid wood frame, soft-closing doors and a retro look.

Drawers are better than doors for small items, because you can see everything at a glance. Doors are better for tall bottles and cleaning products. If you can get a vanity with both, you'll use it more. You'll need a tap too; our waterfall bathroom sink faucet comes in six finishes.

5. Put Shelves in the Shower Corners

Bottles on the edge of the bath or the floor of the shower get knocked over, collect slime and make the space look messy. A corner shelf lifts them off the floor and uses a corner that's otherwise empty.

If you rent or don't want to drill tiles, go for adhesive shelves. The punch-free corner shower shelf sticks on with adhesive plates and comes in black or white. Wire baskets let water drain away, which helps stop mould. For more space along a wall, the wall mounted shower caddy is available with an optional towel bar, so you can hang a flannel or a hand towel underneath.

6. Get the Soap Off the Sink

A soap dish on the edge of the sink sits in a puddle and leaves slimy marks. A wall-mounted soap holder keeps the soap dry and frees up the sink edge. The flip-down soap box mounts on the wall and comes in single, large or double sizes. The lid keeps splashes off.

7. Put Toothbrushes on the Wall

The toothbrush mug is one of the worst offenders on a small sink. It gets grimy at the bottom and takes up space you need. A wall-mounted toothbrush holder clears the sink completely. The UV toothbrush holder holds four brushes and has a toothpaste squeezer built in, so the tube lives on the wall too.

8. Give Toilet Rolls a Proper Home

Spare toilet rolls stacked on the cistern or the floor look untidy, and they get damp. A holder that stores a few spares keeps them close and dry.

• The toilet paper dispenser box covers the roll and has a shelf on top for your phone. It sticks on, so there's no drilling.
• The wooden toilet roll holder with shelf comes in black walnut or zelkova with a brass-tone bar, in single or double roll versions.
• The walnut toilet paper holder has a brass arm and a small phone shelf.
• The brass toilet paper holder with cover comes in polished gold or rose gold.
• For spares, the sheep toilet paper holder stores seven rolls and can stand on the floor or go on the wall. It's a bit of fun in an otherwise serious room.

A shelf above the holder sounds like a small thing, but it gives your phone somewhere to go that isn't the floor or the edge of the sink.

9. Use the Back of the Door

The back of the bathroom door is free wall space that moves. Over-door hooks hold dressing gowns and towels. An over-door rack with baskets holds hair tools and spare toiletries. Just check that whatever you hang doesn't stop the door closing or catch on the frame.

10. Hang the Laundry Basket on the Wall

A floor-standing laundry basket in a small bathroom takes up a surprising amount of space. A wall-mounted one doesn't. The wall-mounted laundry basket measures 38 x 28 x 30 cm and folds flat to 3 cm when it's empty. That's about as small as a laundry basket gets.

11. Add Hooks Instead of Towel Rails

Towel rails need a lot of wall width. Hooks don't. A row of three or four hooks on a short stretch of wall holds a towel for everyone in the house. Towels dry a bit slower on hooks than spread on a rail, so leave the door open or use the extractor fan after showers.

12. Roll Your Towels

Rolled towels take up less shelf depth than folded ones and look neat in cubbies and baskets. They're also easier to pull out without knocking the whole stack over. Matching towels make a small bathroom look calmer. Our minimalist 3-piece towel set comes in 12 colours, and the 6-piece cotton towel set comes in 21 styles. Browse all of them in towels and linens.

13. Fit a Tension Shelf Inside Cupboards

The inside of a cupboard is often one tall empty space with a single shelf. A tension shelf adds a second level without any drilling. The expandable closet shelf fits gaps from 29 to 95 cm and comes in standard or narrow widths. It works inside a vanity, under a sink, or even across a narrow alcove.

14. Use a Bath Tray

If you have a bath, a tray across it gives you a surface for a book, a phone or a cup of tea without needing a side table. The bamboo bathtub tray table stands beside the bath with an adjustable height and a rotating top, so it doesn't rest on the bath edge at all. Bamboo copes well with damp and looks warm against white tiles.

15. Add a Bench That Stores Things

A shower bench gives you somewhere to sit and a shelf underneath for bottles or towels. The bamboo shower bench with storage shelf has a slatted seat that lets water drain through. In a walk-in shower or beside a bath, it does two jobs in one footprint.

16. Store Things in Baskets and Boxes

Open shelves look great when they're tidy and terrible when they're not. Baskets and boxes fix that. Put similar things together in one box: hair things, first aid, nail care, spare toiletries. Label them if you share the bathroom. Clear boxes let you see what's inside; solid ones look calmer. Our storage and organization collection has more options for the whole home.

17. Think Vertically

Of all the small bathroom storage ideas here, this is the rule behind most of them. Floor space is precious. Wall space usually isn't. Whenever you have the choice, choose a taller, narrower piece over a shorter, wider one. A tall cabinet beside the sink, a ladder shelf, a narrow column of shelves in an alcove: all of these use height rather than floor. Fix tall pieces to the wall so they can't tip.

18. Use Corners Above Head Height

The top corners of the room are almost always empty. A corner shelf up high is a good home for backup stock and things you only need occasionally. Keep the heavy things lower down, though. Nobody wants a bottle of bleach falling on their head.

19. Add a Shelf Above the Door

A single shelf above the bathroom door is another spot people rarely think of. It's perfect for spare towels and backup supplies. You'll need a step to reach it, so don't put daily items there.

20. Use the Window Sill (Carefully)

If you have a deep window sill, it's useful space. Keep it for a plant or two and items that don't mind condensation. Avoid paper and anything that can go mouldy.

Small Bathroom Storage Ideas for Renters

If you rent, you probably can't drill, can't replace the sink and can't change the layout. You still have plenty of options:

• Freestanding over-the-toilet units like the espresso over the toilet cabinet. Check your lease about anchoring; some landlords allow a small fixing for safety, others prefer you use furniture straps.
• Adhesive shelves and holders, such as the corner shower shelf and the adhesive toilet paper dispenser.
• Tension shelves inside cupboards and alcoves.
• Freestanding under-sink cabinets that sit around a pedestal sink.
• Over-door hooks and racks.
• A bath tray or a stool for extra surface space.

When you move out, everything comes with you. That's a big advantage over built-in storage.

Small Bathroom Storage Ideas on a Tight Budget

You don't need to spend much. The cheapest changes often make the biggest difference:

1. Declutter. It's free, and it's the most effective thing on this list.
2. Move toothbrushes and soap onto the wall.
3. Add a corner shower shelf.
4. Put a tension shelf inside your existing cupboard.
5. Roll your towels and store them in a basket.
6. Add a few hooks behind the door.

Then, when you're ready, put the bigger money into the one piece that gives you the most storage: usually an over-the-toilet unit, a mirror cabinet or a vanity.

Small Bathroom Storage Ideas: A Quick Planner

Small Bathroom Storage Ideas That Also Make the Room Look Bigger

Storage and space can work against each other. Add too many pieces and the room feels crowded. A few rules keep it feeling open:

• Keep the floor as clear as you can. The more floor you can see, the bigger a room feels. Wall-mounted and leggy pieces help.
• Match the colours. Storage in the same colour as the walls, or the same finish as each other, blends in. Lots of different colours and materials make the room busy.
• Use mirrors. A large mirror, or a mirror cabinet, bounces light around and makes the room feel deeper.
• Hide the clutter, show the nice things. Doors and boxes for everyday mess; open shelves for rolled towels, a plant and a candle.
• Light it well. A dark bathroom always feels smaller. An LED mirror cabinet adds light right where you need it.
• Don't fill every wall. Leave at least one wall fairly empty so the eye has somewhere to rest.

The same thinking applies to other rooms. Our guide to living room layout covers keeping walkways clear and choosing the right size furniture, and our home office setup guide goes through storage for a small workspace.

Dealing With Damp: Keep Your Small Bathroom Storage in Good Shape

Bathrooms are humid. That's hard on furniture, towels and anything made of paper or untreated wood. A bit of care keeps your storage looking good for years:

• Ventilate. Run the extractor fan during and for a while after showers, or open a window. Steam that hangs around is what causes damage and mould.
• Wipe splashes. Water sitting on shelves and ledges is the main cause of swelling and stains.
• Know your materials. Many bathroom cabinets are made of MDF, which is stable and takes paint well. Its weak spot is water getting into raw edges, so keep the finish intact and wipe up spills. Bamboo, sealed wood, plastic and powder-coated metal all handle damp well.
• Let towels dry. Hang them spread out after use rather than bundled on a hook, and wash them often.
• Keep things off the floor. It makes cleaning easier and stops items sitting in damp.
• Use wire or slatted shelves in the shower so water drains away.

Safety Tips for Small Bathroom Storage

• Anchor tall units to the wall. A tall, shallow cabinet can tip forward, especially when its doors are open or it's loaded at the top. Use the wall fixings or anti-tip straps.
• Keep heavy items low. Big bottles and cleaning products go on lower shelves or in base cabinets.
• Lock away medicines and chemicals if you have children, or keep them high and out of reach.
• Keep electrical items away from water. Hair dryers and straighteners should be stored dry and unplugged.
• Check fixings on adhesive shelves now and then, especially in hot showers. Don't overload them.
• Use the right wall plugs for your wall type when you drill, and avoid pipes and cables behind tiles.

Real Small Bathrooms We Hear About

"My bathroom has no cupboards at all."

A common one in older flats, and a good test of small bathroom storage ideas. The answer was an over-the-toilet cabinet for towels and toiletries, a mirror cabinet over the sink, and a corner shelf in the shower. Three pieces, and everything had a home.

"There's nowhere to put anything near the sink."

A pedestal sink with nothing around it. An under-sink cabinet with a U cut-out sat round the pedestal and swallowed the cleaning products and spare rolls. The toothbrush and soap went on the wall.

"I rent and I'm not allowed to drill."

Adhesive corner shelves, an adhesive toilet paper dispenser with a shelf, a tension shelf inside the only cupboard, and a freestanding over-the-toilet unit secured with a strap the landlord agreed to. Everything goes with them when they move.

"Towels are everywhere."

Two people, six towels, one short rail. Hooks on the back of the door for the towels in use, and the spares rolled and stored on the open shelf of an over-the-toilet unit. A wall-mounted laundry basket for the dirty ones.

"It looks messy no matter what I do."

Too many products on show. Clearing out the old bottles, putting daily items in a mirror cabinet and grouping the rest into matching boxes made the biggest difference. Nothing new was needed except the boxes.

A Step-by-Step Plan for Putting Small Bathroom Storage Ideas to Work

1. Clear out. Take everything out and sort it into daily, weekly, backup and bin.
2. Measure. Above the toilet, around the sink, the shower corners, behind the door.
3. Pick one big piece. Over-the-toilet cabinet, mirror cabinet or vanity, whichever gives you the most storage in your space.
4. Add the small helpers. Corner shelf, soap holder, toothbrush holder, toilet roll holder.
5. Organise inside. Boxes, tension shelves and organisers so the space inside cupboards works.
6. Style the open bits. Rolled towels, a plant, maybe a candle. Keep it simple.
7. Keep it up. Do a five-minute clear-out once a month so clutter doesn't creep back.

Small Bathroom Storage Ideas by Type of Bathroom

Not every small bathroom has the same problem. A guest toilet needs different storage from a family bathroom that four people use every morning. Here's how I'd approach the common ones.

The Guest Toilet or Cloakroom

These are often the smallest rooms in the house: a toilet, a tiny basin and very little else. Guests need a hand towel, soap, spare toilet roll and somewhere to put a phone. That's about it. A wall-mounted soap holder, a toilet roll holder with a shelf, a hook for the hand towel and a small wall cabinet above the toilet usually covers everything. The small white wall cabinet with hooks is ideal here because it gives you a cupboard and a towel hook in one. Keep cleaning supplies elsewhere so the room stays fresh for visitors.

The En-Suite

En-suites are usually shared by two people and used at the same time of day. The main fight is over the sink. A vanity with drawers, or a mirror cabinet with a shelf each, stops one person's things spreading into the other's space. If you can, give each person their own drawer or box. It sounds petty, but it ends a lot of arguments.

The Family Bathroom

Lots of people, lots of towels, lots of bottles, and probably bath toys. Here, sheer volume matters. An over-the-toilet unit plus a vanity, a wall-mounted laundry basket, hooks for everyone's towel, and a shower caddy for each person's products all help. Colour-coded towels make it easy to see whose is whose. Bath toys go in a mesh bag or a basket that drains, and get emptied out to dry now and then.

The Shared Flat Bathroom

When you share with flatmates, everyone needs their own space and nobody wants to buy furniture for a place they might leave. Give each person a caddy or a box they can carry in and out, use adhesive and freestanding pieces, and agree on where shared things like toilet roll and cleaning spray live.

Where to Store Specific Things in a Small Bathroom

Hair Dryers and Straighteners

These are bulky and their cables get tangled. Keep them in a drawer or a cupboard under the sink, unplugged and cool, with the cable loosely looped. A small basket or a holder on the inside of a cupboard door keeps them together. Never leave them near water.

Make-Up and Skincare

Small items get lost easily. Clear organisers, like the mirror cabinet organizer, let you see everything at a glance. Keep what you use daily at eye level and the rest in a drawer.

Cleaning Products

Under the sink is the natural place, in a cupboard with a door. If you have small children, add a child lock or store them somewhere higher.

Medicines and First Aid

Bathrooms are warm and damp, which isn't ideal for every medicine, so check the packaging for storage instructions. Many people keep daily items in a mirror cabinet and the rest in a cooler, drier cupboard elsewhere. Wherever they go, keep them out of children's reach.

Spare Toiletries

Keep one spare of each thing in the bathroom and the rest of the backup stock somewhere else. A high shelf or a box on top of a cabinet works well for the one spare.

Towels

The ones in use go on hooks or a rail. The clean ones go rolled on a shelf. Anything beyond two sets per person probably belongs in a linen cupboard outside the bathroom.

Choosing the Right Materials

Common Mistakes With Small Bathroom Storage Ideas

• Buying before measuring. The most common and most annoying mistake. Measure twice.
• Too many small pieces. Five little shelves look busier than one good cabinet.
• Too much open storage. Open shelves only look good when they're tidy. Most bathrooms need some doors.
• Ignoring the door swing. Check that the bathroom door, cabinet doors and shower door can all open.
• Blocking the toilet cistern. Over-the-toilet units need enough clearance to lift the lid and reach the flush.
• Not anchoring tall pieces. Tall, shallow units need fixing to the wall.
• Forgetting ventilation. Storage packed with damp towels and no airflow gets musty.
• Keeping everything. Storage only works if you're storing things you actually use.

An Example: Putting Small Bathroom Storage Ideas Into a 1.5 x 2 Metre Bathroom

To show how this comes together, picture a typical small bathroom: about 1.5 by 2 metres, with a bath along the long wall, a toilet and a pedestal sink side by side on the short wall, a door in the corner and a small window. No cupboards. Two people use it.

Here's how I'd fit it out:

• Above the toilet: an over-the-toilet cabinet like the 68 inch espresso unit. Rolled towels on the open shelf, toiletries in the cubbies, medicines and razors behind the door.
• Above the sink: a mirror cabinet, so the daily skincare and toothpaste live behind the mirror rather than on the basin.
• Under the sink: a cabinet with a U cut-out round the pedestal, holding cleaning products and spare toilet rolls.
• On the wall by the sink: a toothbrush holder and a wall-mounted soap box, leaving the basin edge completely clear.
• In the bath corner: an adhesive corner shelf for shampoo and body wash.
• Beside the bath: a bamboo tray table for anyone who likes a long soak.
• Back of the door: two hooks for dressing gowns and two for towels in use.
• On a free bit of wall: a foldable wall-mounted laundry basket.
• Beside the toilet: a toilet roll holder with a shelf for a phone.

That's nine pieces, but most of them are small, and almost nothing touches the floor except the toilet unit's legs and the under-sink cabinet. The room ends up with more storage than many bigger bathrooms, and it still feels open.

How Much Should You Spend on Small Bathroom Storage Ideas?

It depends on how long you'll be in the home and how much storage you need. Small helpers, like a soap holder, toothbrush holder, corner shelf or tension shelf, cost little and make an immediate difference. Mid-range pieces, like an over-the-toilet cabinet, an under-sink cabinet or a wall cabinet, give you a lot of storage for a moderate price and can move with you. Vanities and LED mirror cabinets cost more and usually involve plumbing or electrical work, so they make most sense when you own the home or are renovating anyway.

A sensible approach is to spend on the one piece that solves your biggest problem, and fill the gaps with inexpensive helpers. You can always add more later.

Frequently Asked Questions About Small Bathroom Storage Ideas

How can I add storage to a small bathroom without drilling?

Use freestanding pieces like an over-the-toilet unit or an under-sink cabinet, adhesive shelves and holders, tension shelves inside cupboards, and over-door hooks.

What's the best storage for above the toilet?

An over-the-toilet cabinet or a wall cabinet. Choose one deep enough for towels but shallow enough not to crowd you, and check the clearance above your cistern.

How do I store towels in a small bathroom?

Roll them and keep them on an open shelf or in a basket. Use hooks for the towels in use. Store extra sets outside the bathroom if space is very tight.

Are open shelves or cabinets better in a small bathroom?

A mix works best. Cabinets hide everyday clutter; open shelves keep the room from feeling closed in and are good for towels and a few nice things.

How can I make a small bathroom look bigger?

Keep the floor clear, use wall-mounted storage, add mirrors and good lighting, keep the colours consistent and don't fill every wall.

Is MDF furniture OK in a bathroom?

Yes, if the finish is sealed and the room is ventilated. Wipe up water and avoid letting raw edges get wet.

What should I do with spare toilet rolls?

A holder with storage, a basket on a shelf, or a freestanding roll holder. Keep them off the floor so they don't get damp.

How do I stop shower shelves getting slimy?

Use wire or slatted shelves that drain, don't overcrowd them, and wipe them down when you clean the shower.

Do you ship bathroom storage internationally?

Yes. We offer free international shipping on every order. See our shipping policy for delivery times and track your parcel on the order tracking page.

The Bottom Line

The best small bathroom storage ideas aren't about cramming more in. They're about using the space you already have: the wall above the toilet, the gap under the sink, the inside of the mirror, the shower corners and the back of the door. Clear out first, measure carefully, pick one big storage piece and a few small helpers, and keep the floor as clear as you can.

When you're ready, browse our bathroom storage, vanities and sinks, shower and bath, toilets and accessories and towels and linens collections. If you're not sure something will fit, get in touch with your measurements. Please read our return and refund policy before you order, and visit our FAQ if you have questions.

Written by the Easy Life Markets team.