The first Wednesday of the month is here, so it is time for another 10 minute decorating post! This month we are working on decorating our kitchens which happens to tie in perfectly with this month’s Household Organization Diet. Make sure to check out all of the links at the end of the post for lots of simple ways to beautify those kitchen spaces!
I am going to be sharing some ideas for a space that is not typically one that we spend much time on – those cupboards under the kitchen sink! It’s probably one of the cupboards that you actually use the most in your kitchen, so it might as well be organized and {somewhat} pretty!
Let’s get started!
- Empty everything out of the cupboards. This lets you see everything that is actually in there and gives you a chance to give the walls and floor of the cupboard a good cleaning. If the floor of the cupboards is in rough shape or you just want a little extra protection, line it with a shelf liner that can easily be wiped down.
- Go through everything that you have taken out of the cupboard and decide what you really need to keep. Get rid of old cleaning supplies that you don’t use or need, as well as any expired products. Try to pick cleaning supplies that can serve multiple purposes instead of having a different item for everything in the kitchen. Once you have paired down what you want to keep, you can then start grouping similar items together to give you an idea of what you need for storage. If you have deeper cupboards, a pull out drawer works great to be able to easily access items that are towards the back of the cupboard – if you can’t see things, you likely won’t use them! Look for storage items with smaller compartments to help keep all of the little things organized.
- I like to remove packaging as much as possible to save space and make everything more uniform. We buy our dishwasher tablets in a big bulk container, so I leave that out in the garage and just fill up this clear jar for under the sink. {These are obviously dangerous if ingested so please keep them safe away from little hands!} I also keep a lot of our bigger cleaning items in our cleaning closet rather than under the sink and just keep what I need in smaller spray bottles.
- Keep cleaning supplies in a portable caddy so you can easily take them with you to other areas of the house if need be. I love the J.R. Watkins line of cleaning supplies {especially the coconut!} and Mrs. Meyers is another favorite of mine. Our caddy holds a spray bottle of water {with some essential oils} to use with my microfiber cloths, a spray bottle of all purpose cleaner, and a spray bottle of 50:50 water/vinegar mixture, along with some dish soap, scrub brushes, cleaning toothbrushes, and cleaning cloths.
- The spray bottles pretty much all look the same so I made up some cute chalkboard labels to be able to easily tell them apart. I had some chalkboard vinyl left from our cleaning closet, and just cut out some circles to adhere to the spray bottles and then used a chalk pen to write on it.
- While our cleaning cloths are not actually stored under the kitchen sink, they are in a drawer right beside it so I thought I would still include it in this post. Go through all of your kitchen cleaning cloths and towels and discard old ones that are really worn or smelly. If they are still in decent shape, you can save them for rags {if you actually need more rags}. Use drawer dividers to keep cloths separated bu function – cleaning cloths, dish cloths, drying towels, etc.
- Use a tray to corral hand soap, hand lotion, and dish soap on the kitchen counter. It looks more organized and the tray will help to catch any spills. Both the tray and the dish soap pump were from the bathroom section at Target.
To see the cleaning closet with the rest of our cleaning supplies, you can check out this post….
Before you leave, don’t forget to check out these other beautiful ideas for decorating your kitchen…
I love the glass jar with the dishwasher tabs! Cute and easy. I’m thinking of making my own and have seen them displayed on the counter but I try to keep as little on the counter as possible. Thanks for the solution! I always want my spaces to be organized and beautiful!
I like my counters quite clutter free too!
Jen, I completely refused to have yet another under the sink melt down,so when I stumbled onto your post I was so happy that wonderful people like you can give frazzled people like me great pointers for organization!! Thank you for taking the time, these are some really helpful ideas.
Love your post! Love your organization under the sink. Got a little confused though when I saw this sentence “Use a tray to chorale hand soap, hand lotion, and dish soap on the kitchen counter.” I thought “What? She’s going to talk about singing?” LOL! CHORALE is a vocal musical group or a hymn with strong musical harmony. The word you’re looking for is spelled CORRAL.
On the other hand, I think I’d be singing too if my under the sink area looked this nice 🙂
lol! I guess that’s what I get for writing a post at 2:00 in the morning!;) Corrected!
Love all your tips and your kitchen is always so beautiful to look at!
Jenn, what great ideas! I”m going to try a few of them for sure!
Thanks Susan!
SUCH great tips! LOVE that adorable soap pump and tray and those chalkboard labels are brilliant!
Jenn, Oh my! I adore you kitchen and all you WONDERFUL ideas! I’m almost chemical free in my home and love your cleaning ideas. I use oils in my products too! what a fabulous 10 Minute Post!
My under the sink cabinet is jealous!
Love this post – this is on my To Do List! Great motivation to get me under there! Was wondering where you got your glass spray bottles? I’m in Ontario Canada so these lovely looking GLASS spray bottles seem to be hard to find. Or maybe I’m just looking in all the wrong places! Thanks!
I know! I had the hardest time finding glass spray bottles too, but I like them so much better than the plastic ones. I ordered these ones on line from Clean Mama. I had it shipped to the States since I am so close to the border but I think she ships to Canada too.
Great! Thanks! I know Clean Mama so I’ll give that a try.
Is Clean Mama in Etsy? Really want the glass bottles! Love your organization under the sink, I’m now on the hunt to replicate as much as possible!! I’m in Ontario as well!
If you go to her blog, Clean Mama, you can shop from there {It’s listed under Clean Mama home}. The shipping to Canada is a little pricey though. I actually had mine shipped to the States since I live so close to the border. Darn Canadian shipping charges!! 😉
Great ideas! Just a question, in one of your first pictures it shows on the right side higher up, 3 angle arms usually used for shelving, what do you them for?
They are just extra supports for the counter. 🙂
Thanks, I now realize that your sink and counter makes sense. I have some people you those items to hang cloths to dry or to hang other things.
Looks lovely, if only at my house too, sigh. Thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
I do agree with all of the ideas you have introduced on your post.
They’re really convincing and will certainly work.
Still, the posts are very quick for novices. May you please extend
them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.
Is there something specific that you are wanting more details about? I’m always happy to answer any questions!
I love it! I’ve never thought cleaning supplies can look so organised and stylish even. Great tips, Jenn, thanks! This will almost make cleaning more fun :))
Anything that helps to make cleaning easier! 😉
I love this! I feel like I always organize under there and then in 2 days it’s a mess again!
These are some really great tips! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Love how you can make a dingy place like under the sink look amazing! I’ve pinned for later.
Thanks!
My under-sink cupboard makes me crazy! You have given me great ideas to finally get that space really organized without bottles falling over and scrubbers all over the place. I’m going to organize it today, just after my new sofa arrives!!!
Mary
Ohhhhh… a new sofa! Lucky you! Have fun organizing and then you can relax on your new sofa!
I wish my cabinet under the sink was this organized, it looks great! Mine is such a cluttery mess!
Love all the tips on this post! Where did you get the pull out drawer? What is the teal looking sponge in the middle compartment of the pull out drawer.
I got the pull out drawer from London Drugs {which is a Canadian company if you are not from here}. I’ve also seen them at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, and Homesense and I’m sure the container store would have something similar as well. The teal sponge is just a sponge – they’re from Target. 🙂
what size mesh pull out drawer did you used. I want to do the same thing for my under the sink area. Can I buy the drawer dividers anywhere and what was your called?
The mess pull out is about 8 1/2 inches x 15 inches. I think I purchased my drawer dividers at The Container Store. I would think Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond would have something similar as well.
I cant find that tray that sits next to your sink anyway in Target. 😩
Oh boo! It was from a couple of years ago. I have also seen similar ones at Home Sense {or Home Goods if you are in the States}. World Market also often has some really cute little trays.
Very nice job and you made it so pretty..clever use of jars. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Elizabeth!
What a great article with so many helpful ideas. I am obsessed with the target bathroom/ soap tray. It’s exactly what I need in my kitchen. Its obviously not at target anymore, as I’ve spent hours searching 😔 I can’t find anything similar online, I need the mix of wood and ceramic. Any tips on where to find something similar?
I’ve seen a similar one at World Market. You could try there!
Where did you find your soap dispenser?
It’s from Target in the bathroom section. 🙂