Your Bathroom Needs a Phone Shelf
In a moment that changed my life forever, I was standing at Target looking at toilet paper holders. I like the freestanding holder as it doesn’t have a “front” or “back” for the roll debate; you just pull from whichever side you prefer. But for some reason, all free-standing TP holders had a small shelf on top. This is stupid, I thought. What would you put on that shelf anyway?
But these were my options, so I bought a holder with a shelf. On the way home, I thought about what I could wear for him. Hand soap dispenser because we never found the right place for it? No, it might drip. Small ornamental plant or artificial flower? Too high maintenance. I would just leave it blank and see what came to me.
So the shelf was empty. The first time I used the bathroom after that, I pulled my phone out of my pocket so it wouldn’t fall on the floor or (uh huh) in the toilet as I pulled down my pants. The small shelf was a convenient place to put it. I’m going to miss this once I figure out what we’re going to post here, I thought.
You see where this is going. After a few weeks, I realized that I put my phone on this shelf every time I go to the bathroom. It also came in handy for a water bottle, or a book, or whatever item I had in my hands as I walked to the bathroom. It took me a while to figure out that this is what it’s for .
And of course, if you search Amazon for “bathroom phone shelf”, you’ll find plenty of options. Freestanding toilet paper holders have a phone shelf. Wall-mounted toilet paper holders have a phone shelf. There are even small freestanding shelves that you can buy and attach to the wall for this purpose.
You can of course make or designate your own. (I realized I used the window sill in our other bathroom as a dedicated phone shelf for years; I just never thought of calling it that.) So, whether you’re buying a phone shelf or just making room in an existing bathroom. furniture you already have, give yourself and your guests room to empty their pockets before you sit down.