Good Morning :)
How did you get on with Yesterday's task of Decluttering and Organising your Worktops? I bet there is a vast improvement, not only with visual clutter but in their function of them too.
Today's Task is to Declutter and Organise the Under the Sink Cleaning Supplies Cupboard
Have you looked under
your kitchen sink lately?
Is it a space that
you avoid looking at because it's stuffed full of so many odds and ends it never
seems tidy? If only organising the space under the kitchen sink was as simple as organising
the kitchen sink.
Go on, take a peek. Do you have mountains of cleaning supplies
that you bought because you liked the smell, or even on the off-chance that you
may just use them? Are there sponges
galore and a plethora of tea towels, not to mention the carrier bag chaos in
there, all that before the other items start jumping off the shelf to be freed.
The cabinet under
your kitchen sink is a good place to start decluttering and organising. Thanks
to the maze of pipes down there, it is often one of the most easily cluttered
spaces. The key to organisation is to find a system that
works for you. You need your under-sink cupboard to be functional and
maintainable once you achieve this, that will help you get and stay organised.
Begin by removing everything that is under the sink so you
can assess what you have been hiding there. I find it easier when I group like-for-like items – dusters in a pile, sponges in the other etc. Do you have multiples of anything? More than 2? If so, consider donating them to the food bank. They always need items like these, if they are unused.
I think 2 of any cleaning item is the limit - 1 in use and 1 spare. Otherwise, you just become overwhelmed with products, if there is a new product you want to try - Better get cleaning and hurry up and use the old one - Joking.
I gave the cupboard and shelves a quick wash down. I thought I might as well do it whilst everything was out already.
Place an absorbent mat in the cupboard first - Optional
It's a good idea to lay an absorbent mat on the shelves and base of the cupboard, this will absorb any future leaks and spillages. Condensation and water droplets can form in the cupboard because it gets quite warm in there -especially if you don’t use a plastic bowl. Laying a mat underneath everything it will make cleaning easier next time.
Personally, I don’t have a mat under my
items because I have storage boxes that I keep things in, so a mat would get in
the way of sliding the boxes out.
Set up a cleaning caddy with your essential items
Now that we are decluttering and organising the under-sink
cupboard, it’s the perfect time to gather and declutter all of your cleaning
items together. This makes doing daily
chores so much easier, as you don’t have to keep popping back into the kitchen
when you forgot something you needed – Is it just me?
A cleaning caddy with a handle that can be carried around the
house and then slotted back into place in the under-sink cupboard is ideal. I love mine, it's just so handy. It doesn’t even have to be an expensive
one. I got mine for less than £5 in The
Range and it's BIG. I store all of my cleaning products for downstairs here, and I have another one upstairs for my bathroom and toilet
cleaning products.
Decant into your own cleaning bottles
You can transfer your cleaning products
into a clear plastic bottle and label them yourself, this will help the cupboard
look more organised as it will reduce the visual clutter. I have done this with my washing up liquid and handwash that I keep on the sink, did you notice them on Day 1 of the challenge? It does look a lot tidier. I have also decanted some spray bottles and labelled them up using my handy dandy Cricut Machine.
Make use of awkward gaps by using a tension rod
When organising
a small kitchen, maximising all accessible storage is key. Fitting a
tension rod in your under-sink cupboard is a good way to make use of all the
space. You can hang your spray bottles on the rod and turn those awkward gaps on either side of the sink into useful storage space.
Because my cupboard has a gap in the backboard, I use this to hang up my spray bottles. It used to annoy me that gap - but I turned it into something positive - now it holds my oven cleaner and super-disinfectant spray. Once I finish using the bottle of oven cleaner I will not be replacing it, I will use my recipe for cleaning the oven that is more environmentally friendly - not to mention smells so much better.
Group similar items in boxes
Group similar items
in boxes to avoid items becoming scattered and getting lost in the back of the
cupboard. For example, you can Washing powder
tabs, fabric conditioner, and scent boosters a in box. When you next come to do the laundry you will thank
yourself for taking the time to organise under the sink. It is better to use boxes
that don’t have lids and make sure you label them, so everyone knows where the
items are meant to go – just in case someone decides to help with the washing
up 😊
As you can see, I have a box for all my shoe-polishing equipment (polishes, brushes and spray cleaners. I keep a pack of spare laces and I put insoles at the side of them in the cupboard, so that way if anything shoe-related is needed, everyone in my house knows where they can find them, should I not be home. I also have a box for my scrubbies and one for my tea towels
Add hooks to the inside of doors
One of the best ways to organise the under-sink cupboard is simply
just to add some hooks to the inside of your cupboard door, this is an ideal place
to hang microfiber cloths, dusters and tea towels. This allows you to quickly
grab the items when you need them. Just make sure you leave enough clearance
space for when the door is closed.
How do I organise my kitchen cupboard under the sink?
I predominantly use
my under-sink cupboard for storing my cleaning supplies such as washing up
liquid, sponges, scrubbies, rubbish bags, rubber gloves, drain cleaners, and
all-purpose cleaners.
I also store my
iron under the sink, I know it's not a great place to keep it (due to the electricity and water) But, to be honest, I really do struggle for storage space.
Under-sink storage
is a handy place to store items that you'd rather not have on display but
reach for frequently. Keep your cleaning supplies and other household items
under the sink, but be aware of what you shouldn’t store under your sink for
hygiene and safety purposes. If you have
children in the house – please take care storing bleach and other harsh
chemicals – unless you have a child lock on the cupboard.
If you're storing
your tea towels and dish clothes under sinks, wash them fairly regularly to prevent
the build-up of mould, which can grow in dark places.
Do you have a microfibre addiction? Let me know in the comments below if you have cleaning product that you can't get enough of. Don't forget to Tag me in your before and after posts #GoDeclutter30DayChallenge