Today I began to tackle the kitchen! I'm over cluttered counters. I'm over water bottles falling out of the cupboard when I open it up, I'm over playing jenga with pots and pans every time I put them away. I'm OVER it! Instead of taking my usual "empty all of the cupboards approach" where I end up becoming very overwhelmed by the massive mess I made and end up putting most everything back, I'm decluttering in chunks. Starting with an empty box for donations, an empty garbage can for trash, a notebook to keep notes and about 30 minutes of time, today I am diving into the clutter under the kitchen sink!
Under the kitchen sink in our home has become a definite catchall for stuff. From cleaning supplies to vases, kids pottery lovingly made in art class to garbage bags....chances are if anyone needs to find something....or stash something they don't know what to do with, it's under the kitchen sink.
As I looked around the kitchen and began evaluating how I wanted each space in the kitchen to work, I realized that when it came to under the kitchen sink, we were drowning in clutter. Check out this insanity!!!
Yikes!!!
The Process:
I cleared out the cabinet and gave it a good scrub.
I threw out any trash that was lingering in the space. Empty boxes, old sponges, dried out wipes...you get it.
I thought about what we mostly use the space for and how it will best be used going forward. For me, I need the space for kitchen cleaning supplies, dusting items, sponges, dishwasher tablets, and garbage bags.
I put back ONLY what I need to have in that space. I kept only the cleaning products that I use in the kitchen or that I prefer to store in the kitchen. I either relocated supplies that functioned better in another area of our house or I donated anything unopened that I wasn't going to use.
I mentioned relocating some cleaning supplies. Some people prefer to keep all of their cleaning supplies in one area. And that's awesome if it works for your space. We have a split level home, so this hasn't proven to be ideal for us. On our entry level is the den (playroom/office), a powder room and my husband's office. Our kitchen is only up a couple of steps, but when we're cleaning the powder room or getting supplies to clean the car, this awesome storage hack for these cleaning supplies on the back of our basement door works best for us. Our basement door is in a central spot on the entry level so this has been a great spot to store wet wipes, Clorox wipes, car cleaning supplies, and cleaning supplies for the powder room. We travel a lot for hockey and I do like bringing Clorox wipes to wipe things down when we stay in hotels. Having all of these items now in one designated place will help make cleaning cars, entry level areas and packing much easier.
*A quick note on vases
For someone who doesn't get many flowers....these were taking up a crazy amount of space! I'm not talking about pretty decorative vases that meant to be on display. I'm talking about regular vases. In the rare event that I do have fresh flowers in the house, I determined that I needed only a bud vase, a medium vase (for a grocery store sized arrangement of flowers), and a taller, sturdier vase for when I buy a double batch of sunflowers. Three vases. That's it! It's handy to store them under the sink for when I need one in a pinch (ha!) and don't want to venture into the basement black hole hoping to find one. The rest of the vases that were under the sink and the rest of the vases in the house...as cute or as pretty as they are, I realistically am not going to use them. Those will ALL be donated.
*My notebook
I decided to keep a notebook handy as I embark on all of this decluttering. Right now, all I am doing is decluttering. I am not technically organizing yet...at least I'm not planning on buying new organizing products at this time. After cleaning under the sink, I have ideas that maybe I want to put the vases in a basket or bin. Same with my cleaning supplies. But I'm not sure yet! So instead of running out and buying cute baskets and containers, I'm going to use the space and see how it goes. I'm also debating moving the small garbage bags to the bathrooms, since that seems to be a logical spot for them, but work needs to be done in those spaces first, so those will stay put for now. By having this notebook handy, I can keep track of my ideas and reevaluate as needed!
Ta-da
This space is much more user friendly. I have everything I actually need where I need it. I may decide to further organize the space, but for now it's decluttered and done!
Side note:
I had already had these containers from the container store in place on the cabinet doors for my dishwasher tablets and sponges. Just in case you were wondering where those items were. I LOVE these containers. I installed them about a year ago way before the under sink purge and I love not even having to look to find a dish washer tablet or sponge. They are right where I need them and easy to reach. The adhesive tape is super strong....it may be permanent. I haven't had to remove them and have no intention of doing so but if you purchase these, measure carefully!
That's it for now! Another 30 minute declutter session is calling my name!!
XO,
Elle
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