Ideas for stretching the bathroom for individuals, large and small families in bathrooms

“It’s weird,” I thought. “We have ten people in two bathrooms at home. At the beach, we often have 20 people using one bathroom. Why does half the number of bathrooms for double the use work better? It seems like it should be terribly clogged.” Pun intended, of course.

Over the years I have reflected on this situation and seen again and again that it is true; one bath at the beach works even better than two at home. By implementing these bathroom stretch ideas learned at the beach, you can stretch your bathroom without adding anything!

The most important principle is simply that on the beach bathroom use is limited to things you can only do in a bathroom: personal hygiene, bathing, and using the toilet. At home we use the bathroom for much more. We do our makeup, do our hair, take vitamins, do our nails, and many other things in the bathrooms that don’t have to be done there. We also tend to store things there, such as medicines in “medicine cabinets”. In fact, many people even continue to read material next to the bathroom, calling it the “library.”

If you want to learn from the beach with me, you could sum it up by saying, “Move.” Here are 7 moving ideas:

1. Keep a few common Band-Aids in an easily accessible place. I have a small wooden basket with a leather handle that holds about a hundred Band-Aids (I have a few Spiderman and plain ones in there) and a tube of antibiotic ointment that hangs on the side of an iron shelf system near my kitchen. This keeps quick fixes out of the bathroom, and if they need a sink and paper towel, they’re close by.

2. Keep prescription and over-the-counter medicines out of the bathroom. Stuff for stomach aches, diarrhea, sore throats, itchy eyes, and itchy eyes don’t need to be kept in a bathroom. A container or shelf near water is good, as many need to be taken with a sip of water.

3. Take out your other medicine items, too, like heating pads and thermometers.

4. Set aside your hair care items and store them in a separate place. Try to keep your heated curling irons, curling irons, and blow dryer along with a comb, brush, mirror, water bottle, and hair accessories (barrettes, clips, hair ties, etc.) in another location. All you need nearby is a mirror and a power outlet.

5. Designate a “quick fix spot” near the exit door. Keep a hairbrush, comb, hairspray, and a mirror near the door you tend to run out of. This is also nice to have when an unexpected visitor comes and the bathroom is in use.

6. No need to put on makeup in the bathroom. Keep your beauty potions and toiletries somewhere with good natural light along with some baby wipes and a mirror.

7. If possible, consider placing a wall and door to separate the toilet and tub from the sinks. This greatly increases the efficiency of the bath.

If you have few bathrooms, you may also be short on bathroom storage space. In this case, try storing extra bathroom supplies (toilet paper, tissues, hair, and makeup) elsewhere. You can get creative and do little things to help keep up with what is needed without using the bathroom as a storage place too. I keep a nice tin in each bathroom that holds 3 toilet paper rolls. One of my 3 year old’s jobs is to keep them stocked with at least one roll.

There you go; seven practical ideas to stretch the bathroom learned on the beach for large people in families and small ones in bathrooms. You don’t have to remodel or spend a dime. You can stretch your bathroom without adding anything!