12 Items You Shouldn't Store In The Bathroom, According To Pros

While most things are best in moderation, when it comes to storage space, the more the merrier. You can never have too much storage, and confronted with overstuffed cabinets and too many mementos, many of us wish we had more of it.

When looking for a good place to hide spare items and overstock, don’t set aside these things just anywhere, warns certified professional organizer Alyssa Trosclair. Often, she says, people may turn to the bathroom as a site for storage that’s out of sight and out of mind. However, the bathroom is a hard-working part of the home, often met with heightened levels of heat and humidity from hot showers, and may not be well-suited to safely house your stuff. If possible, Trosclair advises to keep a lot of storage out of the bathroom. 

“Don't store anything in your bathroom unless you are using it in your bathroom,” she recommends. It’s not an ideal place for assorted storage, but even some things that are used in the bathroom will preferably be stored elsewhere when not in use.  

Here are 12 things not to store in the bathroom according to Trosclair and two more organization professionals. If you do not have the luxury of ample storage outside of your bathroom, and have no choice but to keep these things there, be sure to wash or replace them regularly to avoid negative side effects like mold, mildew, ruin, and rust. 

Linens And Towels

Sheets and blankets should be stored outside the bathroom when possible, as should towels because all are vulnerable to mildewing. However, as towels are often used in the bathroom, this is a more common concession to keep there. Still, professional organizer Melanie Caffee warns against taking the extra step backwards and keeping your spare sheets right alongside your extra towels.

“Fabric items can mildew and even though a door on a closet would help, if you have them next to your towels, there's a good chance your linens could absorb moisture when you grab a new towel,” Caffee says. “Extra linens should be stored in a separate closet or in dressers near the bed.”

If a separate closet or dresser outside the bathroom is unavailable to you, then Trosclair advises being diligent in cycling through your linens and washing them regularly to fight any mildewing, molding, or weathering from the moisture. Don't, however, leave linens in the bathroom that are out of your normal household rotation and could sit there for years and years. This may yield additional, creepier, and crawler results. 

“If a client has eight or so towels and they're rotating them every other week and washing them all, then it’s fine to keep them there,” she tells us. “But, if you have towels for your kids and your grandkids stored there, they're prone to mildew. You may also be surprised years later to find evidence of rodents in linens. I've seen it a lot.”

Clothes

Like linens, clothes may also become a breeding ground if kept in the bathroom’s heat and humidity. Trosclair advises against using your bathroom for closet overflow or for storing out-of-season clothes that won’t be touched for months until the weather shifts.

Medicine

Many medicine bottles advise that the formula needs to be kept in a cool, dry place. Those are words rarely used to describe the bathroom. It may seem counterintuitive, but often, medicine should not actually be kept in the medicine cabinet, unless it’s built to keep out moisture, our experts say. This is especially important in small bathrooms with little ventilation, says Caffee. Medicine should also not be kept in low bathroom drawers or cabinets that kids may wander into for safety reasons. Check your medicine bottles for more specific instructions.

Extra Razors

Metal tools like spare razor-heads and tweezers can rust in the bathroom’s humidity and are best stored elsewhere. Trosclair suggests that if you have one pack of razor refills that will be finished within a couple months, they probably won’t have time to rust, but larger stocks of overflow that you might not get to for longer should be stored somewhere cooler and dryer. The same rule applies for metal office supplies like staples and paper clips, which Trosclair says that she has also seen stored haphazardly in the bathroom with poor results.

Electronics

The bathroom is no place for storing electronics, unless they’re waterproof. Otherwise, pricey electronics may gain water damage from humidity or direct water contact, our experts say.

“If you are going to put an electronic speaker for music in your bathroom, you may want to invest in a waterproof speaker because of the humidity and in case it falls in the tub, sink, or toilet,” says pro organizer Matt Celentano.

Jewelry

Ideally, Trosclair says, you should store jewelry outside the bathroom. Unless you have a vanity with a sealed drawer, jewelry is left a little too close to open drains for our comfort levels and humidity may cause tarnishing. However, while Trosclair recommends storing the bulk of your jewelry elsewhere, keeping a few everyday pieces in the bathroom isn’t too big of a risk if that’s what’s most convenient for you. If worn every day, your jewelry won’t actually be spending too long in the humidity.

Certain Cleaning Supplies

Often, cleaning supplies may be banished under the sink, and for the most part, Trosclair says this is just fine. However, some chemical formulas are supposed to be stored in cooler, dryer places (check the bottle!). Plus, Celentano warns against keeping bulk paper towels and tissues in the bathroom for too long, where the humidity may wear these products down before you even open them.

Makeup

We’re sorry to say, but the bathroom may not be the best place to keep your makeup. On a short-term basis though, Trosclair says you’re probably in the clear. If you’re using a few products regularly and keeping them in the bathroom, then any given product will probably be used up and replaced before the heat and humidity can really take hold. However, long-term makeup storage is ill-advised.

“I have some clients who have tons and tons of makeup that they’re not using and it's not being rotated out. I would not store that in the bathroom,” says Trosclair. “For people who have just their daily makeup or daily products, we absolutely store it in the bathroom and we really haven't had any negative results because they're using it constantly.”

Anything From The Kitchen

Anything not used in the bathroom shouldn’t be stored there, our experts agree. While it may seem obvious, Trosclair stresses that nothing from the kitchen should ever be kept in the bathroom. This applies to food as well as entertaining overflow that needs to be stored away.

“Food's not going to do well with that humidity and you are attracting rodents,” Trosclair explains. “I've also seen people with entertaining pieces like extra platters or silver in there. You don’t want those with the heat and humidity, either. Anything from the kitchen should not be mixed with the bathroom for sanitary purposes, too.”

Photos And Media 

“One thing that should never ever go in the bathroom is a photograph—photographs on the wall or photographs that you are storing in a photo album or in a photo box,” shares Trosclair. “The heat and humidity will affect photos. They will stick together and won’t do well in that environment at all. If you have a framed photo on the wall, you may notice over time when you go to remove that photo from the frame, that it will actually have stuck to the glass.”

Similarly, she advises against keeping any kind of film or CDs in the bathroom where they may be damaged by the moisture. So, the bathroom is definitely not the place to keep any home videos for safekeeping. 

Like photos, books and magazines may also stick and ruin from the heat and humidity. Many people like to keep a collection of books or magazines by the toilet, but be sure they’re volumes you’re not too attached to, or cycle them out with other issues to preserve their integrity. 

Memorabilia

Southerners love our mementos and heirlooms—sometimes to the point where our homes are overflowing with them. Still, Trosclair recommends keeping any memorabilia out of the bathroom for long periods of time. It would be a tragedy to lose sentimental artifacts due to misplaced storage.

“Things you're storing from your past typically won’t be things that you’re pulling out and using often,” she says. “So, anything that stays in your bathroom for a long period of time will tend to build up mold and mildew because you're not pulling it out and it's not breathing. It's just sitting in that heat and humidity.”

Heirloom Furniture

Painted wooden furniture, like many antique and vintage pieces are, may warp and peel in the heat and humidity. Likewise, Trosclair tells us that particleboard pieces won’t hold up against the bathroom’s conditions, either.