Our 17 Favorite Hacks To Keep Nail Polish Organized

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You don't have to be a nail technician to have a full-blown obsession with nail polish. A collection of these small, colorful, affordable bottles can quickly get out of hand. After all, OPI's I'm a Bubble Bunny is a completely different shade of pink than Baby, Take a Vow, right? And you adore them both. It's easy to accumulate a plethora of nail polish in any given hue. Before you know it, you've collected a veritable rainbow of bottles. For any nail enthusiast, a growing collection is a sign of a life well-lived. But without a system to keep track of them all, your stash can become chaotic and distract from your DIY mani-pedi spa day. Organizing them means investing in bespoke items, like nail polish cases, acrylic bins, and display cabinets, or repurposing egg cartons and clear travel bags.

While some nail polish is cheap, the high-quality, name-brand stuff is anything but. If you prefer the latter, it's important to take care of your investment, and that begins and ends with storage. To keep nail polish from leaking or the color from separating, bottles should be stored upright and out of direct sunlight. That can be easier said than done, especially if space is limited. Thankfully, there are lots of savvy ways to organize your beauty room. For example, you can display your current favorite polishes on a desktop acrylic riser or tuck them away in a drawer inside a clear travel bag. No matter which organizer you choose, it will tame your polish chaos, keeping those bottles within reach and ready right when you need them.

Standalone acrylic drawers are a practical organizational solution because they make it easy to find exactly the color of nail polish you need. The transparent walls, base, and lid ensure no hue is left forgotten in the back of the vanity cabinet. Many acrylic drawers are stackable and untippable, like these Vtopmart 12.1-Inch Wide Clear Stackable Storage Drawers. With many sizes available, you can find one that fits neatly on your bathroom countertop or on open bedroom shelving. Plus, transparent acrylic drawers double as décor with all of those cute polish colors on display.

Shelf risers consist of a series of stair-like tiers. The graduated design means you can see each nail polish bottle on each shelf at a glance — no more digging around for the right shade hiding at the bottom of a makeup case. Transparent acrylic shelf risers put the focus on the polish colors. The result? Better visibility, faster selection, and a collection that no longer feels overcrowded. The affordable Aisiderk Three-Tier Acrylic Countertop Organizer costs about $10 and is the perfect size for most nail polish bottles.

Install floating shelves, and you can turn your nail polish collection into colorful wall décor and free up drawer and countertop space. Choose narrow shelves that are just a little wider than the largest nail polish bottles. Once mounted to the wall, you can organize your collection by color, brand, or finish — either way, you'll create an aesthetic display. If you're crafty, you don't need to buy a new shelf. Instead, DIY a long floating shelf for the wall that looks like a pro custom build.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've no doubt heard about the viral IKEA ALEX Drawer Unit. If you don't already own one, you need to. The slimline unit is perfect for storing a large collection of nail polish. The drawers are roomy enough to fit clear inserts or acrylic trays, which will keep all those bottles upright and in place, even when you're pulling the drawers in and out. This versatile piece can even grow with your expanding collection since it comes in multiple sizes — with or without casters.

Who doesn't love storing their nail polish bottles in a clear case made specifically for that purpose? Each bottle is nestled snugly into its own slot. The Iasheng Nail Polish Organizer Case is one such example. It holds up to 48 bottles and costs a little under $22. A case keeps your stash all in one place, is grab-and-go, and reduces stress — you don't have the added worry of accidental spills going all over every bottle. It's a great option for homes with limited storage space.

You can easily transform a display cabinet into a really pretty accessory for the home that just so happens to also hold your polish collection. It's a relatively quick and easy way to declutter and curate all those bottles. It makes picking out your next nail color faster and doubles as décor. Hang the cabinet on a wall so it doesn't take up too much of your precious countertop space in the bathroom, or set it atop your dresser in the bedroom.

Acrylic bins are useful in more places around the home than just your pantry or fridge. They're the ideal option for organizing nail polish bottles. The transparent walls give you a clear line of sight to everything in your collection, even at a distance. Plus, they come in an enormous range of sizes to accommodate collections small and large. Add more bins or rearrange what you have as your collection grows or you discard old bottles. Organize bottles by brand, color, or finish, and add signs to each bin.

Looking for a new way to use your empty egg cartons instead of recycling or trashing them? Then this DIY hack is for you. It turns out that most nail polish bottles fit perfectly into the individual cups in egg cartons. The bottles stay upright, reducing spills and cross-contamination. It's hard to believe we didn't think of this idea earlier! While this nail polish bottle organizer isn't fancy-schmancy, it's a budget-friendly fix that will work for as long as the cardboard holds up.

You're going to love the idea of using clear travel bags to store your nail polish collection. Their compact size and transparent walls make digging through a random assortment of beauty products to find that one color feel like a thing of the past. Transparent travel bags keep your bottles organized and ready to grab on the go. These lightweight, portable cases work just as well in your bathroom vanity drawer as they do in your gym bag or glove box. They embody the trending clean girl aesthetic, which favors polished minimalism in fashion and beauty.

A shadow box lets you get super creative with your nail polish display, transforming a mundane storage problem into attractive wall décor. You can paint and decorate the outside of the box to match your interior aesthetic or highlight the brands or bottles on each shelf. Target sells a Hearth & Hand Wall Mounted Acacia Wood Display Box for about $35 that would be perfect for rustic or minimalist spaces. The frame keeps dust from accumulating on your bottles, something that's even better if you add a glass door. Peruse thrift stores to find something totally unique.

A rolling cart gives you lots of flexibility — it's perfect for anyone who regularly needs to move their nail polish collection from room to room. Most carts boast multi-tier shelving, which lets you separate your bottles from your tools, supplies, and accessories while keeping everything within easy reach. Add more functionality with small acrylic organizers to keep, say, your glittery polishes separate from all your shades of red. If you're a DIYer, you could even turn a simple rolling cart into a drawer set for more versatile organizing.

Do you prefer to keep your nail polish collection in a drawer? Then you need a flexible drawer organizer insert designed specifically for nail polish bottles. Say buh-bye to spilled polish and messy drawers and hello to systematic organization. These inserts, like this acDesign 40-Piece Gray Drawer Divider for about $22, consist of a grid of walls forming squares perfect for nail polish bottles. Plus, they come in a near-endless range of sizes to fit pretty much any drawer, from vanity to closet drawers. These cool inventions make finding and selecting your polish quick and easy.

Whether you're doing an at-home mani-pedi session with your besties or you're prepping your tips for a weekend trip to the beach, a carry caddy keeps your nail polish in one convenient spot, upright, and browsable. Plus, the handle makes it easy to grab your entire collection and take it where you need it. These caddies are a great option for small homes or anyone who prefers a stress- and clutter-free nail experience. The iDesign Recycled Plastic Cosmetic Organizer Tote costs just under $20.

If you feel like channeling your inner '90s girl, then head to the store for an adorable Caboodle. The instant nostalgia of this cute product is guaranteed to add joy to your life, and the container just happens to be a great option for nail polish bottle storage. Modern Caboodles are lightweight, roomy, and the ideal setup for a transportable polish collection, whether you're carrying those bottles to a different room in your house or somewhere else entirely. They come in a slew of colors — choosing which you like best will be the hardest part.

A lidded storage box is a go-to option for storing nail essentials, including a nail polish collection of any size. They come in different dimensions, so you can definitely find a box suitable for small or large collections. A snap-lock lid keeps dust, grime, and possibly also curious children away from your precious bottles, and some boxes even have handles for easy transport. Best of all, once you close that lid, you can tuck the box neatly away on a shelf in your closet or bathroom vanity.

You may already be familiar with lazy Susans. They make serving food easier at the dining table and streamline spice organization in the kitchen. Did you know you can use these nifty turntables to organize your nail polish? They're decluttering game-changers, giving you a 360-degree view of your entire collection. You'll no longer have to dig around for that perfect pink shade hidden in the bottom of a drawer. With one spin, it'll be in your hand before you can blink.

A narrow bookshelf is one of the best storage solutions for large nail polish collections, especially when you want the bottles to be the highlight in a room. The great thing about these slim, tall pieces of furniture is that you can fit them into a disused corner or spot along the wall without wasting precious square footage. Elevate your polish collection — quite literally — with options like the IKEA Billy Bookcase ($49) and the super skinny George Oliver Fulda Space-Saving Storage Shelf Bookcase from Wayfair (about $67).