Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
akcorcoran_gw

Organizing your makeup drawer - share and pls show pics?

akcorcoran
10 years ago

Hi -

I have a shallow drawer (inside dimensions are 2 3/4" heigh x 19" wide x 16 3/4" deep) next to our sink and I'd like to put my makeup there, but my bottles (e.g. foundation) can't stand up. Kind of annoying once I discovered it.

I'd love to see how folks organize their makeup drawer? Not specifically to my width or depth, but especially if you have a similarly shallow drawer?

Thank you so much for any recommendations. :-)

Comments (9)

  • MiMi
    10 years ago

    I have that exact same drawer I believe.. I bought little black baskets (they also come in white), I think at Walmart or the Dollar General. I bought two different sizes. Some are about 2.5" wide and 10" long and the other are about 4" wide and 5" long. They aren't expensive or fancy but certainly keep everything organized. Just play with the arrangement of them in the drawer till you get something you like. For instance, one holds my toothbrush, paste and flossers. Another holds my eyeshadows and mascara, another my moisturizers etc... The way I have them arranged leaves a little gap on the side that my make up bottles fit just perfect. It's really easy to keep the drawer clean this way also and the baskets can be washed. I don't care how careful you are, they accumulate eye shadow dust, blush dust etc...so occasionally I run them thru the dishwasher. My husband has the same set up in his top vanity drawers with razors, contacts, tooth brushes and flossers etc....

  • MiMi
    10 years ago

    Here it is... A little messy today but you can get the idea

  • raehelen
    10 years ago

    One of my pet peeves is too shallow bathroom drawers! When I had my MB vanity custom made I actually did mock-ups with all my various bottles etc. to see how deep I needed each drawer. (Vanity is all drawers). Though it is still sitting in my living room...sigh...so can't give you a pic of it in action...

    Would those spice inserts that put bottles on an angle work? Since I assume you'd only need one across the drawer, could you or DH rig something up with a wedge for the first few inches, and then baskets like above, which I think are awesome! I have seen some really neat ones from a line called MadeSmart that have silicone bottoms to prevent things from sliding.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Madesmart containers

  • akcorcoran
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the ideas and pics, dbfirewife! It's especially helpful because I wear Mac makeup too so it's like looking into my own drawer!

    raehelen, I spent about an hour on the drawer dividers last night and thought about that spice angle drawer insert too, but this drawer is too shallow for even that! A bottle on that would hit the top, I think. Although, it would be great for my little "pots" of eyeshadow. :)

    It's a funny story about our vanity, actually. When it arrived, I was furious bc the kitchen planner who ordered all the bathrooms too had said that four drawers on a side were standard. That meant we had THREE useless drawers and one deep one on the bottom!!! I went nuts and insisted that they do something about it and never recommend that set up again. They acquiesced and changed out the two middle drawers to another deep drawer, which is sort of better but still not ideal. What people should have is a slightly deeper top drawer, a middle height middle and then deep lower.

    We still have the four in the middle section, between me and my hubby's sinks, and it's only 9" wide inside and 2" deep. Totally useless. I have two or three washcloths in it. Can't even fit a hand towel!

    I'm thinking first order of business then is to go through all my toiletries and purge and organize to see the shapes and sizes I need? Then measure and fit like a puzzle?

    I do like those Madesmart containers - wonder of they are short enough?

    PS One thing I did that isn't quite traditional - I put a tilt out tray and both sinks - we each keep our own toothbrush and toothpaste in there. I thought it was quite clever! ;-)

    Here is a pic - not a great one (and before glass pulls and knobs,) but you can see drawers. You'll probably say that I have a lot of storage but the top cabinet has become home to all my face products, hair, lotions, etc. it's too awkward for makeup - I'd like to see if all.

  • MiMi
    10 years ago

    Walmart has some little bins like the photo raehelen posted above. They are in the kitchen section and have several different sizes. I'm not sure about the height, if they would work or not but you might want to check them out. I originally started out with some Rubbermaid shelf liner, it's just white with gold flecks on it. Is it slick so I was thinking that would be easy to wipe out and keep clean, well things just slid around like crazy.. so I got the little baskets and they are slick on the bottom so.... I added a piece of the waffle weave shelf liner under them, they stay put now.

  • akcorcoran
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Found this one that uses a "spice rack" angle type of insert - seems like it would waste a lot of space and you've got more in there, dbfirewife. The reality is hardly every would you have one individual eyeshadow etc lined up like that? It does come in two depths - one of which would fit my drawer.

    I would love just ONE little row like that for the eyeliner pots. OK, now I'm obsessing.

    I think I'll just head to Target/Walmart and see what I see.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Makeup Drawer Organizer

  • MiMi
    10 years ago

    That does look nice but it is definitely for the makeup minimalist. Just one shade of eye shadow would be so boring!...lol

    I bet you will find just what you need and find you like using them other places. I also use them in my chest that holds my sewing supplies and in the utility room cabinet.

    Be sure to let us know what you come up with...Your bathroom is beautiful.

  • divotdiva2
    10 years ago

    Akcorcoran, I'm glad you made them change out the 4 shallow drawers to at least gain a couple of deeper ones. The men in the industry must have developed this standard - they think we have 18 lipsticks and a powder to put in a shallow drawer but have never had to store perfume, foundation, or cans of hair mousse!

    I think the closet organization stores are pricey with their products, sometimes you will find cheaper items at the hardware store and definitely Target/Walmart. You can get taller trays for the bottom drawer to hold stuff like hair gel, mousse, deodorant. You could also use a pull-out in the cabinet section for the really taller cans, hairspray and whatnot.

    Look on line at Ikea, they have organizers but also a drawer/shelf liner that keeps stuff from sliding. There's no Ikea near me but when I was in the mainland I went there and bought 2 rolls in preparation for our renov. I think it came in different colors, white, black, and clear - I just bought the clear.

    I don't have any photos to share yet since we've not started our project, and all of my makeup and care products are packed up in a rolling cart and boxes! Definitely purge all the old stuff.

  • divotdiva2
    10 years ago

    Akcorcoran, if you have the time, do a search on Houzz on "organized vanity drawers". You might find some good ideas there, when I tried that search there were over 11,000 photos!