I'm a clean surfaces gal so my vanity is pretty clear. I've got a box of tissues, a porcelain box that hold Olay foaming face cloths and a toothbrush holder filled with an assortment of toothbrushes. That's it for me.

DH has a bit more stuff on his vanity. In additon to toothbrush holder and soap dish he has a "station" for his razor to recharge and his ditty bag lives there since he travels so much.

If it's a "company's coming" day mine looks like this:

and DH's holds similar glass containers and a glass tray for his contact and shaving stuff. We hide most of the stuff in the little drawers and the medicine cabinets. The glass jars hold things we use daily like q-tips, cotton face cleaners etc. Each of us has a personal collection we display on top of the medicine cabinet so it's out of the way but still there for us to enjoy:

If company isn't coming you're more likely to find a comb or hair brush, thomas the train, baby shampoo, maybe a wash cloth not put away by DH, possibly socks...gad anything :oP Including:

In our victorian the guest baths have containers with the normal stuff you use daily on the vanities (soap, qtips, cotton, etc) as well as face cleaners for make up and some skin care items. DH and I don't share a bath because they're so small that it's hard to be organized but in mine I have a collection of antique medical jars (english pots) on an a hanging vanity from the victorian period and dh has his counters full of goober :oP it's hard to be organized with no storage and no space. I miss that big bathroom more than I can say LOL and now DH just gets it to himself...I can't imagine what he's left on the counters at this point!

OMG igloo...that looks like a CATastrophe!!! Love the cabinets and jars...just awesome.

I usually have the typical bathroom sets, hand towel, and decorative item if there is room.

Igloochic, are your cabinets painted or stained? I can't tell if it's brown or black or somewhere in between. I love them and I'm seriously thinking of painting my white cabinetry in the bathroom.

Igloo, I think this is the first time I've seen your bathroom in your Victorian. Are the cabs original to the house? Those have to be the nicest I've ever seen before! What great storage too!

Hairspray, makeup.. My master bathroom counter I keep bare because of that reason. I'm a total slop at the sink/mirror. I do clean the counters often!

My main bath has soap/napkins and a hurricane thing with moss and a white candle. This bathroom doesn't receive any hairspray and makeup use. :)

Guest Bath: Black tray containing small collection of very old cameras; a tall black-painted candlestick lamp and a bunch of very old family photos ....

Master Bath: Acrylic (clear plastic) tray containing perfume/aftershave bottles (and my face cream) sits in the middle section (Containter Store type) with my small brass makeup mirror and a toile-covered box of tissues. A small brass lamp in the corner.

As you can tell -- I use trays to corral various items and keep it easy to clean the counter ....

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Look at all those tidy, clean, open spaces. Sigh. Y'all have some clever solutions for keeping the essentials available and tidy.

Whitdobe cute idea for the Olay face things. I can do that.

I'm drooling over all that lovely storage, igloochic. All those little drawers, glass cabinets, and shelves.

I have a huge mirror over the long counter and double sinks. Maybe what we need is less mirror and more cute cabinetry/medicine cabinets.

Jan, I love the idea of trays to corral small items. Must think on this. I also love the old cameras and photos display. (Could we see a photo of it?) I'm a former pro photographer with a collection of old cameras stored away. What a cute display that would be! And a way to use the old photos I used to collect. (You'll remind me of this when I get ready to re-do the main bathroom when my son leaves home, won't you? Someday...)

Today's project is to clean and organize the cabinets and drawers in the master. If I add a pull out drawer to the shelves below my dressing area to store my hair dryer and curling iron, maybe I won't leave them on the counters all day. That would be a start.

So where do you store your hair dryer, curling stuff, make-up and stuff like that? For guys, the razors and such?

Thanks everyone. I'm inspired!

For blow dryers, etc., I store them under the sink. My dh shaving things are sitting on the counter top in our bathroom. No one uses that bath but us and I'm not going to try to hide it.

I did buy a "train case" for my makeup which is sitting on the counter. It's pink with black polka dots. :) So it looks cute sitting out and is very functional.

Guest bathroom:

And above the hanging towels in this bathroom:

Thank you, Jan! Saving this to my files.

I cleaned and tidied all the cabinets...anyone want to guess why there were five new fishing lures in boxes under Dh's sink? lol I'll pick up a Simple Human shelf for under my sink the next time I'm in town--for my hair dryer and all.

Now I can think about paint and decorating. Rubbing hands together in delight.