What if owning more of something could actually simplify your life? Sometimes, having a few extra everyday items (like hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and hairspray) in convenient places throughout your home can help your family get ready faster and make busy mornings a little less hectic. It’s an anti-minimalist approach that might just be worth trying!
When we think about organizing our homes and simplifying our routines, we often hear the same advice:
- declutter
- get rid of excess
- stop buying things you don’t need
And while I agree with that advice most of the time, I think there are other times when having more than one of the same item can actually make your home and life run more smoothly.
One of those times is busy mornings when everyone needs to get in and out of the bathroom multiple times to get ready, do their hair, brush their teeth, go to the bathroom, etc.
The bathrooms quickly become a bottleneck with people waiting outside, pounding on the doors, rushing those inside, and getting frustrated while waiting.
But what if everyone didn’t need to use the bathroom to get ready?
One simple solution is to keep duplicates of your everyday morning essentials in several locations throughout your home. It might seem a little anti-minimalist, but it can make a surprisingly big difference in how smoothly your mornings go.
You Don’t Need to Minimize Everything
I’m all for getting rid of unnecessary clutter and keeping only what we use and need. However, I don’t think owning just one of everything is always the most practical approach for a busy family.
Sometimes, having a second (or even third) version of something saves time, reduces frustration, and makes everyday routines easier.
Think about the items you use almost every morning: hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairspray, deodorant, combs, hair ties, and other personal care products.
Most of us keep these things in the bathroom, which makes sense. But if someone else is using the bathroom, does that mean everyone else has to wait?
Not necessarily!
Instead, consider keeping a few duplicates in other convenient locations around your house. That way, family members can get ready in different areas without having to wait for the bathroom to become available.
Our kids have toothbrushes in multiple bathrooms, and we keep hairbrushes, sprays, and supplies in all 3 bathrooms, the laundry room, and even a hallway closet so people always have access to the items they need, even if the bathrooms are full.
What Items Could You Keep in Multiple Locations?
You don’t need to duplicate everything in your home. Start with the small, inexpensive items you use frequently and that are easy to store.
Here are a few ideas:
Toothbrushes and toothpaste: If your family has a bathroom shortage in the mornings, consider setting up multiple toothbrushing spot anywhere you have an extra sink and a little (hygienic) storage space. We keep toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss in all 3 bathrooms and above the laundry room sink.
Hairbrushes and combs: Keep one in each bathroom, in bedrooms, in the laundry room, or even one in a hall closet (along with a mirror). If someone is using the bathroom, you can brush your hair somewhere else.
Hair spray and styling products: Keep a second can of hair spray, mousse, or other frequently used products in a bedroom or another spot where you typically get ready. You won’t need to wait for the bathroom just to finish styling your hair.
Hair ties, clips, and bobby pins: These are inexpensive, easy to lose, and useful in multiple places. Keep a small container in the bathroom, another in a bedroom, and perhaps a few in a mudroom drawer. We have designated places for hair accessories all throughout our home — this started when I did the kids hair while they were eating breakfast, and it’s sort of stuck ever since!
Deodorant, lotion, and other daily essentials: If you regularly get dressed in your bedroom, it might make sense to keep a spare deodorant and bottle of lotion in there instead of having to return to the bathroom for every last step.
Diapers, wipes, and other baby essentials: We always kept a stash of diaper changing supplies in a cute basket on every level in our home. This saved us lots of stairs when we had multiple kids in diapers at the same time!
The goal isn’t to fill every room with duplicates. It’s to identify the items that frequently cause a backup in the bathrooms and make them available somewhere else.
Find Convenient Places to Keep Your Extras
You don’t necessarily need a dedicated vanity or a large amount of extra storage space… but you do need a designated space; otherwise, the items will sit out and look like clutter.
Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Dresser Drawer: Keep a hairbrush, hair ties, deodorant, and other items you use while getting dressed in a small drawer of your dresser.
- Hall Closet: Use a small basket, shoebox, or container for extra hairbrushes, combs, and basic grooming supplies.
- Linen closet: Store a few extra personal care items in an organized bin.
- Kitchen pantry: If you have a designated shelf or drawer away from food, you could keep a small basket of non-food household essentials here, too.
- Another bathroom: If your home has more than one bathroom, stock both with the basics your family needs.
- Mudroom Shelf: This is usually the last place you are in your home… which means it’s the last place you might remember something you forgot to do (like brush your hair or use the lint roller). Keep a few essentials on a mudroom shelf or in an over-the-door shoe organizer (like we do) for last-minute emergencies.
Choose locations that make sense for your family’s routines, because the best organizing system is the one that works with the way you actually live.
Make It Easy to Get Ready at the Same Time
One of the biggest benefits of keeping duplicate supplies is that it allows multiple people to get ready simultaneously.
Of course, this will save time, but it will also reduce the number of times you have to tell someone to hurry up, remind a child to move faster, or scramble because you can’t get into the bathroom when you need it.
When everyone has access to the things they need, there’s less waiting and less frustration.
Some things still need to happen in the bathroom. But if you can move even a few steps of your morning routine elsewhere, you may find that your whole household flows more smoothly.
Don’t Let Minimalism Become Inconvenient
I appreciate the idea of owning fewer things. Less clutter means less to clean, organize, and manage. But I don’t think the goal should be to own as little as possible at the expense of convenience.
If buying a second (or third) hairbrush means your children aren’t arguing over the bathroom, or keeping extra hairspray in your bedroom saves you from rushing back and forth every morning, that extra item may be worth having.
Sometimes, the simplest solution isn’t to find a better way to share one item. Sometimes, it’s just to go out and buy another one.
This works in other areas of your home too!
You might keep scissors in the kitchen, bathroom, and office.
You might store various cleaning supplies on different floors, or basic household tools in more than one convenient location.
Having what you need nearby can save time and make everyday tasks easier.
The key is to be intentional. Duplicate the things that genuinely improve your routines, rather than buying extras simply because you can.
A Simple Morning Organization Project
If your mornings tend to feel rushed, take 10 minutes to think about the items your family uses most often.
Ask yourself:
- Which items do we frequently have to wait for?
- What do we always seem to be searching for?
- Which parts of our morning routine could happen outside the bathroom?
- Would keeping a duplicate of a few everyday items make our mornings easier?
Choose two or three items to start with, and find convenient places to keep them. You might be surprised by how much difference such a small change can make.
You don’t need a complete bathroom renovation, a complicated morning routine, or a perfectly organized home. Sometimes, all you need is another toothbrush in the right place! 🪥
Remember, the goal of organizing isn’t simply to own less. It’s to make your home work better for you and your family.
And if stocking up on a few extra bathroom essentials helps everyone start the day with a little less rushing, I think that’s a perfectly reasonable trade-off.
I’d love to know if you follow this anti-minimalist advice!
Debbie says
I never thought of this even though I’ve done this exact thing for a few things around our house. Items such as pens, scotch tape, scissors, hand lotion, Sharpie, and now even a Dyson cordless vacuum are things we have double or multiple of. It does save us time going up and down the stairs and having to go to the office or the laundry room just to get that specific item to use on the main floor.
Andrea says
see, you’re so organized and efficient, you do it without even thinking about it! hehe 🙂
Margaret says
Even though my house is small (720 sq ft) I find it very helpful to have multiple brooms and dustpans. I always thought “overkill”, but I was wrong. It’s so much easier to keep the floors uncrunchy if I don’t have to go fetch the broom every time. For me, it’s one set in the bathroom, since my cat could litter-kick for the Olympics, one in the dog room, and one in the kitchen. With a brush and dustpan handy it’s also easy to clean off a raised surface to get the crumbs and dog hair before they land on the floor in the first place.
Means I can get by with a quick dry mop every day, and only have to vacuum every couple of weeks, even with a long-haired dog and a long-haired cat.
Preventative maintenance for the win.
Andrea says
hehe — I laughed when you mentioned your cat kicking the litter in the Olympics!
Yes, I think there are definitely times it makes sense to have more than one of something! Thanks for sharing your story 🙂
Roxanne says
I recently moved all of our cleaning supplies from our mudroom/laundry room to the coat closet right by our front door. Our house floorplan just makes it easier to get the supplies I need from that location. I put everything up on a high shelf so that guests can still retrieve their coats, but we recently had some people over for dinner and one of them asked “Why is there Windex in your closet?” 🙂
Pixie508 says
I buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk, so there’s more than would fit in our linen closet (although I keep a few rolls of both in there, just in case we have an urgent situation) – we store it in my 2yo’s closet. He has a huge closet and almost no clothes in there (his clothes are in his dresser). We also keep all of our wrapping supplies in there.
And our grilling utensils have a case, and we keep them in the laundry room, which is right off the kitchen.
Andrea says
that sounds reasonable 🙂
Angela says
Makes perfect sense to me – our little container of tattoos is in our bathroom cabinet too! Just hopped onto your site for a bit of morning inspiration before I tackle the organization of my nemesis – paper piles in my office. : )
Andrea says
oh boy — hope you had a successful day of paper organization 🙂
Jodi says
We keep our grilling things in the laundry room. I’ve gotten some funny looks but since our grill is on a cement slab outside the laundry room door and we have a split level house with the kitchen being upstairs, it sure makes a lot more sense to have it in the laundry room.
Heather Ratliff says
Our grilling utensils are in our laundry room, too! While not terribly convenient to the grill, the laundry room is right next to the kitchen and I have hung them at ceiling level to keep them out of the way but accessible.
Pixie508 says
Ours are in the laundry room too! It’s right off our kitchen, and we have the extra storage in there!
Jen F says
I have 4 cats, so I buy the BIG bags of dry food. I break those down into plastic containers and I put those, plus their canned food, in a double door cabinet next to my sink. The last 1/3 of that cabinet is devoted to my vitamins & suppliments. They’re both right next to the sink (where I rinse out and dry and refill kitty dishes) and since that is one of the first places I am in the morning, it works for me.
Last year I went on a HUGE buying binge of Bath & Body Works stuff. A weird cabinet under the breakfast bar is now home to all my 3-wick candles, and stand alone cabinet in the dining room now holds all my lotions, body butters, bath gel, hand soap and body sprays (not enough room in the linen closet for them). Weird place to keep them, but it was unused storage space and at least I have them organized (by season) and easy to grab when I need new ones.
Andrea says
sounds super organized to me 🙂
Emily says
We store our grilling tools in the mudroom too! Ha! 🙂 My mudroom also doubles as extra pantry space so right next to the shoes and coats is a shelf with all my canned goods and extra boxed mixes.
Heidi says
I had a friend who stored her favorite hammer (for kitchen/household projects) underneath all the kitchen linens/towels so her husband wouldn’t grab it and use it for his projects in the garage. 🙂
Andrea says
haha — that’s great! I know others with similar “hiding places” for things they don’t want their husbands or children to find.
JJ says
I totally relate!
ShellyL says
I have known of people who stored their teeth-brushing supplies and/or hair styling supplies in the kitchen to make mornings easier. I don’t, nor do I think that would work for our family, but it is unique. If it works for those particular families, then so be it. I like your concept here, Andrea. 🙂
Andrea says
I also know people who keep toothbrushes in the kitchen (for some reason, this kind of grosses me out though). They also put their tooth brushes in the dishwasher EVERY day!
Christine from The (mostly) Simple Life says
Love this! Organization is all about what works for you. It’s so personal.
Since we moved into an apartment, I’ve had to put things in odd places because there’s not enough storage in the right places. My biggest pot is in the entryway closet (but at least it’s next to the kitchen). All of our spices and teas are in a dresser in the dining room. I’m not thrilled with these solutions, but we’ll only be here for 9 months, so it’s no big deal and it works fine.
Andrea says
yeah, spices outside of the kitchen would be tough for me too! At least it’s only 9 months and at least you actually HAVE a temporary system. That’s better than living out of boxes the whole time!
Brenda says
We keep the box of bandages, tube of antibiotic ointment and some paper tape on the end table next to the chair I typically sit in during the evening. Then after showers I can re-apply band-aids, as needed, when skin is dry enough to stick. This started as being lazy on my part a few months ago, but then after a while it made sense to keep them near where they were used, so I added a basket to the table and now they belong there. I have 2 accident prone boys who play outside all the time so we use a lot of band-aids. And, now I don’t wander around looking for wherever I left them when they’re not in the bathroom where they used to belong.
Francie says
The faux tattoos are super cute, Andrea!You are completely right there is no right way to organize, I had to learn this the hard way. http://www.supersimpleways.com
Sherry says
Extra boxes of cereal are stored in our mud-room lockers. We have a pantry for all our extra/stock-up food, but it’s downstairs. In the morning, if the kids run out of cereal, NOBODY wanted to go downstairs to get the next box. So, we had an extra shelf in one of the lockers which was the right size for even the largest of cereal boxes and…voila, nobody complains about having to get the next box of cereal! Strange…yes! But, wow, did it save a lot of frustration in the mornings! Thanks for your posts 🙂
Andrea says
This is such a great example of weird storage solutions that work wonderfully for your own home and family!
Carole says
Many boxes of Wheat thins/crackers are stored in bottom of our grandfather clock next to the piano in the living room.
Andrea says
haha — that’s a good one!
Stel says
Our shoe polish is outside on the verandah, in an old-fashioned small tin trunk, so it looks decorative – and because shoe-polishing has to be done outside!
Ann says
I just want to know where you get all the cool temporary tattoos!
Andrea says
we’ve purchased some from the Dollar Store, but we get SO many as little gifts when we do things around town — library, churches, community things, etc.
John Jethro says
Reading about unusual storage ideas reminded me of the time I had to reorganize a craft room overflowing with supplies from different hobbies. Finding creative ways to keep everything accessible made a big difference. During one of those organizing sessions, I was browsing wannabeinkdotcom/collections/under-breast for design inspiration and realized how useful good organization can be. A little creativity often solves everyday challenges.