Do you have so many cleaning supplies without a great storage solution? Under the kitchen sink often becomes cluttered with supplies and it’s hard to even see what is under there.
Organize cleaning supplies based on the frequency of use and the type. Organizing your cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink will vary based on whether you have a drawer or a standard cabinet, but using bins, shelving units, and lazy susans will help keep everything in order and easily accessible.
For more detailed information about what you should and should not store under the kitchen sink, and how to organize based on your existing cabinet type (drawer unit, cabinet with shelves and without shelves). Keep reading below!
Declutter Cleaning Products You No Longer Use
Before creating any organized space, you need to determine if you still need all of the products. So take out everything from under the sink and see if there is anything that you don’t use and will never use.
Oftentimes we hold onto products that we don’t enjoy because we don’t want to waste them, but holding onto something you never use isn’t helping anyone and is just taking up valuable space in your home.
You may have a friend or family member that will gladly take that cleaning product from you. Or you can even list it for free on local Facebook groups.
If you are going to dispose of the product, make sure that you can safely drain it (more natural products) or determine if it needs to be taken to a waste disposal location.
Then see if you have anything that can be combined. Don’t combine two different products, but if you have a few partial bottles of Windex, for example, those can be combined into one container so that you can recycle the extra containers.
What Should Be Organized Under the Sink?
Any cleaning products that you actually use in the kitchen should be kept under the kitchen sink. Any other cleaning products should be stored somewhere else in your home; such as, in bathrooms, the laundry room, or a linen closet.
Cleaning products can also include dishwasher detergent, liquid dish soap, hand soap, and more. These are also used in the kitchen and can be stored under the kitchen sink.
Aside from cleaning products, you may also want to keep kitchen garbage bags, a compost bin and compost bags, and twist ties, as these are specifically for your kitchen garbage needs.
What Should Not Be Stored Under the Sink?
Don’t store sponges, cleaning cloths, or any other absorbent material under the sink, as they can get damp and moldy.
These should be stored in a drawer in the kitchen away from the sink. You want them to be easily accessible but ensure that they remain clean, dry, and free of bacteria.
Anything that you do not use in the kitchen area should be stored somewhere else in your home. Having only the supplies you need in the kitchen will make it easier to find and use up your cleaning supplies.
Organize Cleaning Supplies Based on Frequency of Use
Now that you only have what you use, organize your cleaning products based on how frequently you use the cleaning products.
You likely use an all-purpose spray/cleaner, wipes, oven cleaner, anti-bacterial spray, maybe a stainless steel cleaner for your appliances, and more.
These cleaning supplies that are used daily or weekly should be kept at the front of your cabinet so that you can easily grab them and see when they are getting low.
You may enjoy storing extra products so that you never run out of any cleaning products. If you have space, the extras should be stored at the back of the cabinet. Otherwise, you could create a space somewhere else in your home; such as, a linen closet or the closet in your bedroom.
Create an area that is specifically for extra cleaning products and keep it separate from everything else. If they are hidden behind clothes or bathroom items, they are easy to forget about.
Organize Cleaning Products Based on Type
Get some bins to store your cleaning supplies in and separate them out by the type. Put all like items in one bin.
One bin could contain your all-purpose cleaners. The next could store any dish cleaning products. Another bin could hold glass cleaning products and another for garbage bags and twist ties.
It can also be helpful to create a bin that contains the items that you use frequently. This way you can just pull out that bin and have everything that you need available on your countertop.
Since the plumbing takes out some usable space, make sure that you measure the space and what you are storing under the sink before you buy the bins.
Buying bins that have some flexibility to them can make it easier for the bins to squeeze into the space and curve around plumbing.
How to Organize Cleaning Supplies in a Drawer Unit
Drawer units are great because they are often quite large, the plumbing doesn’t get in the way as much, and there isn’t a bar down the center where the doors would bump up against in a standard cabinet.
Once the products have been sorted based on the type and the frequency of use, then you can begin storing in an organized way.
Use Bins to Sort and Store Cleaning Supplies
You can use more sturdy bins since they won’t need to bend around anything.
Put any dish cleaning products on the side that is closest to the dishwasher for easy access.
Any oven cleaning products should be closer to the oven.
If you keep garbage bags under the sink, they should be stored closer to where the garbage can is.
Larger bottles of cleaning products don’t even need to be in bins. They could be lined up in the drawer in a way that you can see what your options are.
Smaller cleaning containers should be in bins that aren’t very tall so that you can easily read what the product is. Keeping small items in bins is great so that they don’t get pushed to the back and forgotten.
Put bigger containers in taller bins so that they don’t fall over constantly when opening and closing the drawer.
Drawer Separators for Like Items
There are also drawer separators that you can use for lining up similar size bottles.
Most all-purpose spray bottles, Windex, and other spray bottles can easily line up along the side of the drawer. Then use a drawer separator on the other side of the bottles to keep them from shifting around or falling over.
Create another space with the separators for smaller containers.
Best Way to Organize in a Cabinet Without Shelves
If you have a cabinet that doesn’t have shelves, create your own levels for storing different size cleaning products.
Make sure to get one that is deep enough to properly hold your larger bottles but also one that is lifted up higher so that you can actually use the space underneath.
Create Levels for Cleaning Supply Storage
U-Shaped Expandable Storage Unit
The under sink organizer below works perfectly under the kitchen sink because you can adjust the height of the stand and it expands so that you can work it around your plumbing.
These organizers are great for creating a level so you can store cleaning products that are under 12” below the unit and everything else can go on directly on the unit.
It expands to 20” wide, meaning you could easily fit two bins in between the unit to organize even more cleaning supplies.
The under sink organizer can either go along the sides and the back of the cabinet, or you can turn it so that it goes along the sides and front of the cabinet.
Having the products along the front will make the products more visible, but may limit what other bins and organizers you can use in the cabinet.
Metal Expandable Shelving Unit
The expandable shelving unit below is another great option for creating levels in your cabinet.
This unit provides a solid space to store your cleaning supplies throughout the entire cabinet and also takes into account the plumbing. It has a space in the center that opens up to fit your plumbing.
Organize Cleaning Supplies in a Cabinet With Shelves
Having a cabinet with shelves can sometimes limit what you can store in the cabinet. Many cleaning supplies are tall, so require more space.
See if you can move the shelves up or down in order to make more space. Otherwise, the following suggestions should work for most cabinets.
Storing Spray Bottles
If you have a lot of spray bottles, consider putting two small curtain rods on the inside of either door and then hang the spray bottles from the area that you compress. This will take up less space in your cabinet and allow for easier access.
Spray bottles also tend to be fairly tall and don’t always fit well on shelves.
Use a Lazy Susan for Cleaning Supplies
Lazy susan’s work well in so many spaces in the home, including as storage for cleaning supplies. There are many different sizes to choose from and they allow for easy access to all of your cleaning supplies.
The lazy susan below is 12″ and fits 7 standard size cleaning bottles.
Similar to a bin system, you could buy several smaller lazy susans and organize based on the type or the frequency of use. Or, you could get a bigger lazy susan and put the frequently used products on the outside and the products used less frequently in the center.
Just make sure that you take the plumbing into account when purchasing a larger lazy susan. You want to make sure it can spin freely when it is full of products and the plumbing isn’t knocking over some of the bottles as it spins.
Bins for Smaller Items
You will likely have less space on top of the shelf, so this is a great space to store smaller cleaning products in bins. Then when you need to use the products, you can just pull the bin out and grab what you need.
Bins are also nice for liquid products that may leak from time to time. The bin will catch the leak so that you can just wash out the bin, instead of cleaning product getting all over the cabinet.
In Summary
Cleaning supplies are a necessary part of life and we tend to collect many different products. Making sure that you are only keeping what you love and will use again is essential to keeping under the kitchen sink organized.
Create a solution that works for the space that you have. Drawer units make the products easier to access but with the right sorting and bin organization, a standard cabinet with doors can work just as well.
