Under the Kitchen Sink Organization
Do you ever look at the area under your kitchen sink and think that it could use a little TLC? There’s a lot of stuff down there in such a cramped space, easily becoming cluttered with dish detergent, cleaners, and other household essentials, some of which you may be wondering if it’s still worthy to use. True, this area can be one of the most challenging spaces in the home to keep organized due to the pipes that can get in the way. But help is here! With a little effort and creativity, you can transform this space into a functional and organized storage area.
The first thing you want to do is to sort through your items. That means taking everything out from under the sink and sorting through it while grouping all the alike items together. Keep items that you use frequently, donate or dispose of items that you no longer need, and relocate items that belong elsewhere in the house.
Next? Start with a clean slate! A thorough cleaning will give you a better view of the area and help assess what items you need to keep.
So you’ve grouped everything together and it looks like it’s taking shape. Great job! Now use products to optimize the space to make it easy to find things and easy to put things back. But remember to work around those pipes! Here’s the lineup of our favorite products to use in these limited spaces:
THE BASICS
Clear containers such as the clear acrylic ones from The Home Edit make it easy to see what items you have. Their open-front bins and drawer bins are designed to be stackable to take advantage of vertical space, making this a great way to store small items like dish towels and scrub sponges in one area.
Storage containers like The Container Store’s multi-purpose bins are another great option to store tall items such as cleaners, dish soap, sponge brushes, and garbage bags. They come in different sizes (small to extra-large) so you can combine them to maximize the organizational space under your kitchen sink.
Turntables are a great way to easily access items anywhere under the sink. Use one to store items like disinfectant wipes and spray cleaners. They come in lots of sizes and materials, and those from Copco have high-rims and non-skid surfaces that offer the bonus of preventing things from falling and spilling.
THE EXTRAS
If your under the kitchen sink cabinet has extra room for these organizers, go for it! They will make your cabinet even more useful and convenient for you.
This Cleaning caddy will hold all the supplies you need for quick clean-ups. This can include all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, paper towels, and a scrub brush. This one from Youcopia is our favorite!
Cabinet door organizers or hooks make it a breeze to store items like spray bottles and cleaning cloths. Even simple spring clips like those from Command secured behind the cabinet door keep gloves ready and available for your next cleaning project.
Pull-out drawer and cabinet organizers are designed specifically for under-sink storage. Multi-leveled, durable, and made to easily push-pull with one hand to bring items to you. Some can even be adhered to the side wall to save even more space! Many styles and designs are available to fit your budget.
Now that you’ve got the right products and grouped your cleaning essentials in them, if it’s not obvious what the categories are by simple glance, label them when it makes sense. They sell very nice at-home label makers that make it easy to do on your own! We love the portable and lightweight Brother P-touch Cube, which allows you to design and print labels from your smartphone or desktop using Bluetooth technology. Choose from a wide range of fonts, frames, and symbols to style labels your way.
THINGS TO ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND
Placement of hazardous items
If you have small children or pets, it's important to keep hazardous items like cleaning solutions or pesticides out of reach. Consider placing a baby or pet lock on the cabinet or storing these items high up on a shelf.
Keep it tidy
Make it a habit of regularly putting things back where they belong and wiping down the area to keep it clean and free of spills. With labeled bins, this should be easy!
Don't overstuff
Resist the urge to overstuff the space under the sink. Keep only the essentials and donate or discard items you don't use. Remember clutter creates chaos!
Organizing under the kitchen sink seems a daunting task, but with a little determination and eye for the right products, you can commend yourself for a job well done on turning it into a thoughtfully structured and purposeful area, well-organized with supplies you use and ready for you when you need them. And with regular assessment and periodic housekeeping, everything down there will always be available every single time you look below to clean again!