12 Game-Changing Tips for Organizing Under Your Kitchen Sink

Is your under-sink area a jumbled mess of cleaners, sponges, gloves, and who knows what else? Do you waste precious time rummaging around through the chaos trying to find what you need? If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.

The space under the kitchen sink tends to easily become disorganized since it's out of sight. But with some clever organizing tricks, you can transform that messy cabinet into a functional storage spot for all your daily cleaning essentials.

Start By Measuring Your Under Sink Space

Before shopping for any storage solutions, take a few quick measurements of the entire under sink area from top to bottom, side to side, as well as depth. This allows you to select organizing products that will properly fit the unique dimensions of your cabinet. Be sure to account for pipes, the garbage disposal, or any other built-in obstacles when taking measurements.

Categorize Items By Frequency of Use

Now take everything out of that cabinet and categorize items into groups:

• Daily use: Dish soap, sponges, cleaning brushes
• Weekly use: Disinfecting spray, trash bags
• Occasional use: Backstock of cleaning wipes, extra sponges

This method ensures your most frequently used supplies are most accessible. Designate prime real estate on shelves or in drawers closest to the cabinet opening for daily use items. Reserve back corners and higher shelves for products used less often.

Install Shelving for Efficient Vertical Storage

Don't let that narrow cabinet width limit your storage capabilities. Install shelving, mesh racks, or tension rods with hanging bins to take advantage of all available vertical space from floor to ceiling.

Wall-mounted shelves with adjustable brackets allow you to customize shelf height. Hang multiple tension rods at varying levels to store items of different sizes. Shelving that wraps around pipes and the garbage disposal prevents wasted space.

Optimize Floor Space Under the Sink

While vertical storage maximizes height, you can also better utilize all available floor space at the bottom of the cabinet. Consider these options:

Use Cabinet Doors for Extra Storage

An often overlooked space, cabinet doors provide prime real estate for conveniently storing frequently accessed items. Consider these handy door storage ideas:

• Over-the-door racks or mesh hangers for trash bags, scrub brushes, gloves
• Adhesive mesh pockets to stash small bottles of dish soap or hand sanitizer
• Tension rods with hooks installed lengthwise across the inside of doors is great for washcloths or towels

Door storage allows you to easily grab what you need without digging around messy cabinets. This is especially convenient for top shelving that may be hard to reach.

Invest in Quality Organizers

When shopping for organizers, beware of flimsy products that won't stand the test of time. Spend a bit more on solidly constructed storage solutions made to handle heavy daily use and liquids without corroding, cracking, or falling apart.

Consider these heavy-duty organizers perfect for under sink use:

• Tiered pull-out drawers providing easy access to items in the back of the cabinet
• Turntables or lazy susans that allow you to access items at the back of deep cabinets
• Metal shelving with adjustable brackets to customize configuration
• Rust-proof bins and buckets able to contain leaks or spills

Separate Trash Bags into Their Own Dispenser

Cleaning supplies often share under-sink space with boxes of trash bags, which can quickly turn into a messy situation. Bags fall over, spill out, andmix with other items. Solve this dilemma with a dedicated trash storage system:

• Hanging trash bag dispenser - Easy tear-off rolls attach via tension pole
• Side-mount garbage holder - Built-in rack stores boxes flush against the cabinet wall

Keeping trash bags separated in their own dispenser prevents spillage messes and misplaced bags hiding in corners.

Use Slim Organizers for Small Items

Under sink real estate comes at a premium, so make the most of every inch with space-saving elongated organizers perfect for narrow cabinets. Stand upright containers vertically to store more in less surface area.

Try these slim organizers for small items:

• Narrow vertical divider shelves for sponges, scrub brushes, cleaning bottles
• Slim canisters for dish soap, hand soap, brush holders
• Narrow paper towel holders mountflush sideways against wall

Accessorize for Enhanced Function

With your under sink cabinet now neatly organized, finish it off with helpful accessories that improve functionality:

• Magnetic spray bottle racks mount to walls to free up precious shelf space
• Sponge holders provide designated spots so they dry out and don't smell
• Brush caddies keep handles upright and bristles contained

By giving everything its own designated storage spot, you'll eliminate the chaos of bottles and brushes rolling around causing leaks or getting damaged.

Maintain the Organization

Set up an under-sink space that functions efficiently for your needs today but make organization a routine habit rather than a one-time project.

Follow these maintenance tips:

• Regularly purge expired products or unnecessary backups
• Frequently wipe down surfaces to control mold/mildew growth
• Re-assess storage when purchasing new products or supplies to keep everything fitting neatly

Staying on top of continually fine-tuning your organizational systems prevents gradually slipping back into disarray.

It is possible to take back control of that chaotic under-sink space with some clever storage tips and quality organizers. Start by editing down to the essentials used most often, then implement specialized solutions for trash, cleaning gear, and backup supplies.

Follow the guiding principle: Like items grouped together and a place for everything. Wire shelving, stackable bins, over-the-door storage, and slim organizers all allow you to customize an organization method tailored to your unique space and needs.

Set up an intuitive system with daily-use cleaning supplies at eye-level and trash bags or backup items higher up or below. Lastly, accessories like spray bottle racks, sponge holders, and brush caddies put the finishing functional touches on your newly tamed under sink space.