The Best Bathrooms for Families

Having a large family is a life-affirming experience, that is until Monday morning and the constant fight for precious bathroom time begins. If you’re quickly outgrowing your current living situation, but don’t have the money to renovate or build an additional bathroom, it’s possible to rethink your current lavatory to make it work for your family, no matter if you have five kids under the age of 12 or three rebellious teenage girls forever jockeying for bathroom cabinets and counter space.

Storage, Storage, Storage

The ultimate key to family harmony is storage and making the most of the space inside and outside of your bathroom. This doesn’t mean fitting the bathroom with an oversized cabinet vanity, although this is a great way to keep items organized if the room is large enough to support the piece. If necessary, take over a bathroom-adjacent closet and use it to store your family’s personal hygienic items, beauty products and towels. Small plastic storage bins are an excellent way to keep your children’s items separate and off the floor and countertop. Provide each of your children with a separate, labeled storage bin to house their personal products.

As a parent, indulge yourself by creating a separate storage area away from the children. Even if this comes in the form of your own cabinet, shelf or even drawer; you’ll be amazed at how much giving yourself a little separation will make when it’s your turn in the bathroom.

Think Vertically

You may not have enough cabinet space under the sink or a massive linen closet to store your towels, but this doesn’t mean you can’t create a little more storage in the space. The next time you perform a function of nature in the bathroom, scan the walls carefully and you’ll quickly realize all of the room’s unused vertical space. Hanging high shelves to store towels, toiletries and other incidentals not only maximizes your room’s space, it also keeps little hands away from items they shouldn’t touch, but can’t seem to stay away from.

Kid-Friendly Bathroom Design

Although it’s not the most elegant option, having kids generally necessitates turning your once beloved sanctuary into a kid-centric space complete with a push-button toilet lock and non-slip decals covering the bathtub floor. If you have little ones, plastic storage bins, suction cup toy nets and cabinet locks are the most effective way to keep all of their bath toys under control. Hanging organizers turn keeping your kid’s wet towels and dirty clothing off the floor into a game, without wasting floor space with a hamper.

Features to Avoid

Before kids, you may have had a luxury bathroom filled with a variety of creature comforts, including a cozy chair to apply lotion after the bath, an ornate cabinet to store your assorted bath salts or a bathtub strewn with candles that were enjoyed during your weekly bubble bath. Then, the children came and the chair was covered with crayon and the candles were unceremoniously knocked into a tub of dirty water. If you have five people and a single bathroom, kiss all the aforementioned unnecessary luxuries goodbye, because this former sanctuary is now for getting down to business. For a large family, this means that only the necessities will survive.

Creating a Schedule

Your bathroom is meticulously organized, but you still cannot seem to keep your kids from fighting when it’s time for school. The most effective way to keep the peace, while still preventing your bathroom from becoming a horrible mess, is to create an effective schedule. Provide each of your children with a set amount of time each morning in the bathroom, which includes any showering, primping and teeth brushing. If you have certain children that rise in the morning without a fight, place them on the schedule earliest. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your children will adapt to the schedule and how fast the fighting will cease.

Now that you have an organized space and the endless bathroom wars are at an end, it’s time to assign cleaning chores to each one of your kids. Keep in mind the children’s age and don’t overwhelm them with too many tasks. Instead, be realistic and make caring for your bathroom and keeping it organized a family affair.

 

This article was written by Ryan Tupper, who is a DIY consultant, plumber and contractor with over ten years of experience.