Basic Kitchen Organizing Part 8 – The Sink Cabinet

What is lurking in the cabinet under your kitchen sink? If we weren’t all so storage space poor, I would lobby hard for everyone to keep this and all other sink cabinets completely empty. I have seldom opened one that needed to be organized that was very friendly.

Time to dig in and get it over with.

Consider getting a set of rubber gloves and laying out split garbage bags and/or newspaper on the floor before you start. Go ahead and pull everything out. Get a dry rag and wipe out any dust and debris then wash the inside of the cabinet with a soapy rag. (Remember always dry dust before adding any water to prevent dust mud that is harder to clean.)

While the cabinet dries, round up supplies you may need as you sort through your stuff. Grab an empty laundry basket to hold items that you decide can be moved elsewhere, maybe another for items to donate. Grab a trash bag and toss as you go.

Cleaning supplies and other chemicals.

If you have chemicals and cleaning supplies under there that you have had for a long time, you need to know that many do have expiration dates and there are often specific guidelines that need to be followed for their disposal. Take a minute to read this article on expiration dates and this article for instructions on getting proper disposal information before you begin. If you can verify the chemicals are still good, take a minute to mark the expiration date on the containers with a permanent marker as you find it. This will make it easier to see when you use the product or when it comes time for another clean out. There is no need to go through that trouble again.

(Make sure to check the charge date on your fire extinguisher, too if you find it under the sink.)

Look over all of the chemicals that are left. See if you can reduce the number any.

• Do you have duplicates that can be eliminated or combined?
• Do you have different ones that perform the same job?
• Do you have cleaners that you bought to try, used one time and chose not to use again?
• Have you given a thought to getting rid of the harsh chemicals and trying ‘green’ alternatives? Now may be a good time.

Set them aside out of your way for now. Later you can call up a friend or a local shelter to see if they want the additional cast offs.

Before you wipe your keepers off and put them away, take a minute to determine if each one should or could be kept somewhere else. If so put them in the laundry basket for now instead of in the cabinet.

Everything else.

Try to sort everything else into specific categories.

• Look for multiples and duplicates that can be eliminated.
• Look for items that you never really use that can be eliminated.
• Look for items that should or could be stored elsewhere.

Before you put any item away either in the kitchen cabinet or elsewhere wipe it off.

Since I am unable to see what you have, and do not know what your specific goals are, I would like for you to ask yourself some questions. They may help you to whittle down your pile a little more and give you an idea of other questions to ask yourself.

• Can that big butter bowl full of nails and miscellaneous hardware be moved to the garage or to your laundry space? Do you really need everything that is in that butter bowl anyway? How often do you get into it and what items do you typically use? (Often people use the kitchen sink cabinet to hold items too big to fit in their junk drawer.  Look over all of those type of items and ask these questions,)
• If you have many flower vases that were under there, consider how many times they have been used in the past couple of years. Consider letting them all go and using pitchers, canning jars, or other things you do actively use dressed up with a simple ribbon in the future.
• Could your stash of paper towels be moved to a shelf in the garage or laundry room? Consider replacing them all together by purchasing an extra set of cloth towels. You will save a small fortune.
• Do you need to keep the box and all of the twist ties that came with your garbage bags? If you only use kitchen bags, could the big general purpose bags go somewhere else?
• Can most of those plastic garbage bags be added to the recycle bin or taken back to the store to be recycled? Could you eliminate them all together by making or buying reusable grocery bags?

Other Things to Consider

At some point in time the sink pipes in your home are going to leak. It is just a matter of when. There are a few things you can do that will make it less of a disaster for you to deal with if it happens while you still occupy the home.

First, really consider trying to make the cabinet as empty as possible. Right now I have seven items under my kitchen sink. The fewer items that are there, the fewer items will need to be removed to clean up the mess and make repairs.

I have a friend who found a linoleum remnant that she cut to fit the cabinet floor plus enough extra inches on each edge to fold it up the side walls to form a type of back splash. She took the pieces she cut off and put them in first in the back side of the cabinet so the top linoleum piece tilted ever so slightly toward the front of the cabinet. She also caulked the corners where she notched the linoleum to miter it into a back splash. If a leak occurs the water will run toward the front of the cabinet and drip onto the floor. For a slow leak this will let her know she has a leak that may have gone unnoticed otherwise. It will also protect the cabinet floor from damage and will make clean up much easier.  If you decide to give this a try, make sure to glue down the outer edges to keep them from curling.

What I keep under my kitchen sink for those of you that are curious.

I learned the hard way many years ago.  We once had a slow leak.  I will not go into detail, but the mess was really bad before we even knew it had occurred. I copied the linoleum idea in our last home and will again in this home when we remodel the kitchen.  After many other small changes here and there over the years to our habits, this is what our kitchen sink contains now:

• I have a lidded clear plastic container that holds my dishwasher soap. It is big enough to hold the powder from two big boxes. I saved a scoop from my laundry powder that I use to fill the soap cups. Bonus – This year my little guy has been able to start adding the detergent under supervision. I think the big boxes I buy would be too heavy for quite a while yet.
• We clean a lot using white vinegar which is kept under the sink in the biggest bottle I can find available.
• On one door I have a wire shelf that holds a roll of kitchen garbage bags, a bottle of a rinse aid for the dishwasher, and the bottle of liquid dish soap.
• On the other door there is a simple cafe hook. I use it to hang a dustpan set that comes with a soft bristle snap in dust broom. Easy access for when he spills a little of the soap and any other little messes we are always making in the kitchen.
• On the cabinet wall nearest the stove I had Hubby hang the fire extinguisher.

If the sink leaks again, I really only have two things to pull out.  Both containers will need just a quick wipe with a dry towel. And neither of the products inside the containers will be ruined.