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Under the Sink Organization

I hope your “under the kitchen sink” area never looks like mine did.  It had gotten so full of clutter, that I could barely get the door closed.  It definitely has not been a high priority area to keep tidy.  However, there’s nothing like company coming for a week, to motivate me to get the house in shape.  When that’s the case, no area of my house is safe from purging and cleaning.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

This is the horrifying before picture of my under the kitchen sink space.  It’s already an odd space because the sink is situated at an angle, which makes the under-sink space a triangle shape.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

If you can believe it, all of this stuff came from underneath my sink.  I had no idea what all was under there, and a lot of it I hadn’t used in a long time or forever.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

The first step was purging more than half of everything.  I saved one vase, and the rest went into a bin for the Salvation Army.  I did a little research on what to do with cleaning products I no longer wanted to use.  I found out that it’s a good idea to first read the product labels to see what each says about safe disposal.   Good Housekeeping said water soluble products can be poured down the drain in small quantities, with running water, but be mindful about not mixing products, even if you’re pouring them down the drain.  If you’re not sure about what to do with your unused cleaning products, the American Cleaning Institute suggests calling your local waste disposal facility.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I wiped it all clean under the sink, and since my old liner was worn, I put down a new thicker liner.  I scrounged around the house for items to use to organize what I wanted to put back under the sink.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I knew I wanted to include my garbage bags, since my kitchen garbage can sits right next to the sink on the floor.  After a little thought about how I could store and dispense them, I decided on my very heavy paper towel holder.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I did have to put my finger through the middle of the garbage bags, and pull out a couple from the center of the roll, so there was room to thread them on to the rod.

*If you have small children, make sure you keep plastic bags and cleaning products, etc., out of their reach!

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I also used adhesive hooks to keep some of my cleaning tools front and center on the back of the cabinet door.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

The toilet brush is reserved only for the kitchen to help me clean the garbage can.  😛

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

It’s great for reaching way down to the bottom of the garbage can.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I had a cleaning caddy and a shelf/drawer unit from my basement stash, and used them both to store the few cleaning products I had decided to keep.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

I’m so thrilled to be relieved of so much stuff that I wasn’t even using, and now my space is so clean, tidy and organized.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

If you decide to tackle your under the sink space, I suggest first taking everything out, and purging what you no longer use.  That makes it so much easier to organize what’s remaining.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

Then give it a good cleaning, and put things back in a way you can find them easily.

under sink organization, Under the Sink Organization, Joyful Homemaking

This quick redo took very little time, and since I used things I already had on hand, it cost me nothing.  I like that! Good luck with your space!  🙂

14 Comments

  1. You sink looks amazing and if I was going to tell the truth mine looks like yours before you cleaned it. So I need to do mine this week when we redo the bedroom. As for the Garbage Bags I am going to borrow your ideal.

    1. It was bad wasn’t it! It felt like a weight off of my shoulders to take care of it. Good luck with yours! šŸ™‚

    1. Mine was certainly disorganized before; it seemed the “catch all” for everything miscellaneous! šŸ˜›

    1. I know it sure felt good to get rid of so much I wasn’t using, and it makes me want to be more thoughtful about what I purchase in the future, so I don’t waste things.

  2. That looks so very pretty! I don’t keep cleaning supplies under my kitchen sink, but I do keep garage and recyling bags as well as a kitchen garage and recyling bin. I used to keep light bulbs under there to, but recently I moved them because it didn’t fit well.

  3. really like the common sense approach. and the caddy can go from space to space for cleaning. will definitely get on the floor to clean out the dark space

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