En casa guardamos los rollos de papel higiénico en una cesta al lado de la bañera.

En casa is the usual idiomatic way to say at home in Spanish.

• En casa = at home
• En la casa = in the house / inside the house

So in this sentence, En casa does not point to a specific building as an object; it describes the general idea of being at home. That is why en casa sounds more natural here.

For example:

• Trabajo en casa. = I work at home.
• Estoy en la casa de Ana. = I’m in Ana’s house.

Yes, here guardamos means something like we keep, we store, or we put away.

The verb guardar is very common in Spanish and can mean:

• to keep
• to store
• to put away
• to save

In this sentence, guardamos los rollos de papel higiénico en una cesta means that this is where they are usually kept or stored.

It is often more natural in Spanish to use guardar where English might use keep.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• guardamos = we keep/store
• The ending -amos tells you the subject is we

So:

• Guardamos los rollos... = We keep the rolls...
• Nosotros guardamos los rollos... is also possible, but it usually adds emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Nosotros guardamos los rollos en una cesta, pero ellos los dejan en el armario.

So the version without nosotros is the normal neutral one.

Spanish often uses the definite article more than English does.

Here, los rollos de papel higiénico means the toilet paper rolls, but in natural English we might simply say toilet paper rolls without the depending on context.

Spanish often includes the article when talking about familiar, specific, or contextually known objects. In a sentence like this, los rollos sounds natural because it refers to the toilet paper rolls in the house—the set being talked about.

Compare:

• Compré rollos de papel higiénico. = I bought toilet paper rolls.
• Guardamos los rollos de papel higiénico en una cesta. = We keep the toilet paper rolls in a basket.

Because de + noun is the normal way to express what something is made of or what type of thing it is.

• rollos de papel higiénico = rolls of toilet paper / toilet paper rolls

Using del would usually sound wrong here because we are not talking about the toilet paper as a specific separate thing. We are naming the type of roll.

This is very common in Spanish:

• una taza de café = a cup of coffee
• una botella de agua = a bottle of water
• un rollo de papel higiénico = a roll of toilet paper

Because papel higiénico is treated as the material/product, not as separate countable items in that part of the phrase.

The countable word is rollos:

• un rollo de papel higiénico
• dos rollos de papel higiénico

In English, we also usually keep toilet paper singular in phrases like three rolls of toilet paper.

If you said papeles higiénicos, it would sound unnatural here.

Al lado de means next to or beside.

The al is a contraction of:

• a + el = al

But in this expression, you should mostly learn al lado de as a fixed phrase:

• al lado de la bañera = next to the bathtub

More examples:

• al lado de la puerta = next to the door
• al lado del lavabo = next to the sink

Notice that when the next word is el, you get the contraction:

• al lado del espejo = next to the mirror
  (de + el = del)

Because Spanish normally uses an article with nouns like bañera when referring to a specific object.

• la bañera = the bathtub

So:

• al lado de la bañera = next to the bathtub

Spanish tends to use articles in places where English sometimes does and sometimes does not. Here, the bathtub is understood as a specific object in the bathroom, so la is natural.

Yes, the word order can change, but the emphasis changes slightly.

The original sentence begins with En casa, which sets the scene first:

• En casa guardamos los rollos... = At home, we keep the rolls...

This gives a slight topic emphasis to at home.

You could also say:

• Guardamos los rollos de papel higiénico en una cesta al lado de la bañera en casa.

But that version sounds heavier and a bit less elegant because en casa comes after a lot of other information.

So the original order is very natural because it introduces the setting first.

Yes, cesta is a very normal word for basket in Spain.

In different Spanish-speaking regions, you may also hear other words in some contexts, but cesta is standard and widely understood.

In this sentence:

• en una cesta = in a basket

That sounds completely natural in Spain.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• al lado de = right next to / beside
• junto a = next to / alongside
• cerca de = near / close to

So if the basket is directly beside the bathtub, al lado de is the clearest choice.

Examples:

• La cesta está al lado de la bañera. = The basket is next to the bathtub.
• La cesta está cerca de la bañera. = The basket is near the bathtub.

So cerca de is less precise than al lado de.

Because en is a very common preposition in Spanish and can express different kinds of location.

Here:

• En casa = at home
• en una cesta = in a basket

So the same preposition is being used in two different but related ways:

1. general location: at home
2. physical position: in a basket

This is normal in Spanish.

It is the present tense, first person plural:

• yo guardo
• tú guardas
• él/ella guarda
• nosotros/nosotras guardamos
• vosotros/vosotras guardáis
• ellos/ellas guardan

In this sentence, the present tense describes a habitual action: where the toilet paper rolls are usually kept.

So it means something like:

• we keep
• we usually keep
• we store

It does not necessarily mean the action is happening right now.

Most naturally, it describes a habit or usual arrangement.

• En casa guardamos los rollos de papel higiénico en una cesta...
  = At home, we keep/store the toilet paper rolls in a basket...

The Spanish present tense often covers both:

• habitual actions
• general facts
• actions happening now

In this context, it is almost certainly habitual.

Because in Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun.

• papel higiénico = toilet paper

This is the normal noun + adjective order:

• casa grande = big house
• agua fría = cold water
• papel higiénico = toilet paper

Also, in this case, papel higiénico functions almost like a fixed expression for the product itself.

Yes, but the meaning would be different.

• En casa = at home
• En el baño = in the bathroom

So:

• En casa guardamos los rollos... means this is what we do at home in general.
• En el baño guardamos los rollos... focuses specifically on the bathroom as the location.

Since the sentence already mentions al lado de la bañera, using En casa gives a broader setting first, which sounds natural.