How to Organize a Half Guest Bathroom

The half-guest bathroom is the one most of your guests will use.

This being said, it’s the one you should always make sure is clean and organized.

You also want to make it inviting and comfortable by keeping it well-stocked with only the necessities.

Always keep your guests in mind when arranging this bathroom.

Think about how you feel when you use someone else’s bathroom.

You wouldn’t want to do your business only to find out that there is no toilet paper or a towel for drying your hands.

With that, let’s get decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your half-guest bathroom and make it comfortable for your guests.

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Organizing Your Half-Guest Bathroom

Empty and Purge

First things first.

If you are using this bathroom for storage, let’s find another place for that.

Let’s make this bathroom look like a bathroom.

Start by emptying the bathroom.

Remove everything including any stuff under the vanity, on shelving, and/or in a medicine chest.

Now, I love saving samples of creams, toothpaste, and floss, and have them available for my guests.

However, if you have lots of samples, let’s whittle that pile down.

You can donate samples to homeless or women’s shelters.

They’d really appreciate it. 

Does your decor need updating?

Donate anything that is in decent condition. If it’s not, then trash it.

Avoid Keeping

Things I do not keep in my half-guest bathroom: cleaners, prescription drugs, and magazines/reading material.

Since I don’t expect my guests to clean my bathroom, I keep cleaners for this bathroom in a caddy in my garage.

This gives me more room for other things I absolutely need to keep in there.

However, I do keep this plunger/toilet brush caddy in here, just in case.

If you don’t want your guests to know your medical conditions, then don’t leave prescription drugs in there.

This is also dangerous if your guests have children and teens with them.

It becomes an open-door policy on your meds.

These items really should be kept in a dry place.

You can keep things like aspirin (make sure they are childproof) and perhaps some bandages.

Now, I don’t know about you but leaving reading materials encourages one to ‘take their time’ in your bathroom.

When you have lots of guests, this can be inconvenient and you’ll have to reroute your guests to another bathroom that may or may not have been cleaned and stocked for their convenience.

Clean Your Guest Bathroom

Now that your bathroom is empty, give it a good clean.

Clean the toilet and sink inside and out.

Wipe down and dust all surfaces including the walls, shelving, light fixtures, mirrors, baseboards, wall decor, and windows.

Then sweep and mop the floors.

At this point, your bathroom should look and smell clean.

If you have any rugs or toilet tank/seat covers, throw them in the washer.

If you have a toilet brush caddy, pour some all-purpose cleaner into the base and let it soak for a while.

After a few minutes, dump the cleaner and rinse the brush in the toilet with a clean flush.

DIY and Touch-Ups

Looking at your bathroom are there any touch-ups needed?

Perhaps it could use a coat of paint.

See if it needs a little fixing here or there or a total overhaul.

If it needs work, then now is the time to put a plan into action.

You can use our printable project planner to help you along.

Click here to get access to this free PDF.

We just finished renovating our half-guest bathroom.

It had this awful wallpaper and the fixtures were outdated, ugly, and bulky.

I still have some more decor to add to it, but here are the latest pics.

Organizers for the Guest Bathroom

Now, it’s time to decide on what kind of organizers you need for your bathroom.

Look at your keep-pile of items you removed from the bathroom.

You may need a vanity organizer or just some simple baskets and bins you already have on hand.

If you are using this bathroom for guests only, then you shouldn’t have too much to organize.

However, if you are using this bathroom for yourself as well then consider getting on-wall organizers or shelves to take advantage of vertical space.

Once you have picked out your organizers, make sure you keep personal stuff out of sight.

For example, if you keep a hairdryer in there because it’s where you dry your hair, then keep this in your vanity.

Only leave out things your guests would need such as an extra roll of toilet paper or an air freshener spray.

Because we don’t have an outside bathroom for pool guests, our half-bath has to accommodate this.

We keep sunscreen and bug spray under the sink.

Maintenance

Finally, let’s talk about things you need to do to maintain your organized half bath or guest bathroom.

First, you want to always keep it well-stocked.

Always make sure there is at least one extra roll of toilet paper; more if you are entertaining guests. 

To keep it smelling nice, use a scented plug-in freshener.

Also, make sure there is a way to dry one’s hands.

If you use fancy hand towels for decor only and don’t want your guests to use them, then make sure they have another obvious way to dry their hands.

You don’t want your guests wiping their hands on their clothing because your fancy hand towels are off-limits.

For my lady guests, I keep some feminine products in there, just in case.

I also have some first aid items on hand such as bandages, Neosporin, and peroxide.

Keep your bathroom clean by doing so weekly.

If you are planning to have guests, you want to make sure it is clean and stocked the day before.

And avoid storing items in there that do not belong there.

As I said before, our half-bathroom is also used by pool guests.

So, on those days, I keep a small laundry basket in there so people can put their towels and swimsuits in them.

I also lay out absorbent bath rugs to keep the floor dry.

And every so often, I go in there and dry off the toilet seat.

I don’t mind this so much since it means my guests are using the bathroom to “go” instead of the pool.

Let’s Get Organizing Your Half- Guest Bathroom

Well, this is it.

Now, it’s time to put these steps into action and create a beautifully organized bathroom.

If your bathroom is very small, read my post, How to Easily Organize and Maintain a Small Bathroom, which can help you deal with limited space.

Need help with your children’s bathroom?

Click here to read that post.

Have guests that are planning to visit for a while?

Click here to get your home organized for your overnight guest.