It took me nearly six years {wow, that's embarrassing}, but I have finally taken control of the space under our kitchen sink. It's not only organized, but I might even dare to call it pretty.
We've been living with this new system for a couple of months now, and it's still working well, so I decided it was time to share my best under kitchen sink organizer solutions to utilize every available inch!
Ok, so now that you've had a glimpse of the organized space, let's back up so I can show you what I started with...
But the after makes me oh SO happy!
I finally got serious about it. I took detailed measurements of the available space under the sink and drew myself a diagram showing the available floor space as well as how many inches of height clearance I had in each area.
With that diagram in hand, I headed to the Container Store. I looked at nearly every bin, shelf and drawer in the store to determine which would fit and would provide the maximum amount of storage.
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In the end, I came home with three Like-It White Short Medium Modular Drawers. They are normally $30 each, but I got lucky and they were on sale that day. Although, at that point I would have gladly paid full price just to get something that actually fit the space!
There was only one spot under the sink - on the far right - where the full cabinet height was unimpeded by pipes. To take full advantage of this space, I stacked up two drawers. By removing the top of the upper drawer, I was able to use the drawer for taller spray bottles and cleaners. The drawer still slides in and out smoothly with the lid removed, allowing me easy access to even those cleaners at the very back.
A third small, plastic bin holds Plink garbage disposal cleaners/deodorizers {the things that look like marbles}. Do you guys use these? They are my favorite! Each color is a different scent and they really help to keep you garbage disposal smelling fresh!
Tucked along the side of the drawer are extra garbage bags and an extra pair of cleaning gloves.
Even with all of the storage space provided by the drawers, I still had a few more things that I needed to make room for under the sink. We try to remember our reusable, fabric grocery bags when we go shopping, but sometimes we still end up coming home with plastic bags. These bags can't be placed in our recycling bins that are collected by the city, but stores like Target do collect the bags for recycling. I needed a place to contain all of our plastic bags until I reuse them or drop them off for recycling.
Sharing our kitchen with two little boys also quadruples the number of dishrags we use, not to mention dirty bibs. Our laundry room is on the second floor, and our hampers where we sort our laundry are in our master bedroom on the third floor. It doesn't make sense for my to carry each dish towel and bib up to the laundry one by one {or maybe I'm just lazy}, so the dirty kitchen laundry used to just pile up under the sink.
To solve these two challenges, I utilized the space on the "walls" of the cabinet. I purchased two Variera Trash Can from Ikea ($3.99/each). They are a great size for plastic bags and kitchen laundry. I used small command hooks to hang these baskets above the hoses on the left side of my cabinet, and I cut more labels from adhesive vinyl using my Cricut to make it clear what belongs in each basket.
UPDATE: It's been more than three years since I first organized under the kitchen sink, and the good news is that it has stayed organized even since then! It still looks just the same today! Based on this success, here are my top tips for organizing under your kitchen sink!
11 TIPS FOR ORGANIZING UNDER THE KITCHEN SINK & USING AVAILABLE INCH OF SPACE:
- Take detailed measurements of the available space, including width, depth and height around various pipes {maybe even draw a diagram if it helps you}
- With measurements in hand, spend some time at the store looking at all of the drawer, bin and shelf options to find those products that will allow you to best maximize your space
- If purchasing stackable drawers, consider whether the "lid" can be removed to accommodate taller spray bottles and cleaners
- Once you've found your storage containers, sort the items under the sink. Group like items together and relocate any items that don't belong in the kitchen or under the sink
- Use smaller bins to contain items within your larger bins or drawers
- Consider transferring dishwasher tablets to an clear, airtight container that allows you to see when you are running low, and with a lid that helps keep them out of kids' hands
- If you don't have a place to store them elsewhere, make room under the sink for paper and plastic bags for reuse or until you can recycle them
- Designate a space for dirty rags and dish towels (as well as bibs, if you have babies or toddlers)
- Don't forget to take advantage of the available "wall" space inside the cabinet, as well as on the inside of the cabinet doors
- Add labels to make it easy for everyone in the house to find what they need and to put
things back in the right place - With so many dangerous items stored below the sink, be sure to add a child lock to keep
the kids safe!

Wow! You have really made use of every single inch of space under your sink. I need to do something similar with mine!
ReplyDeleteWe are page of the day partners on Friday and I'm delighted to discover your blog through participating.
Thanks Paula! I was excited to discover your blog as well!
DeletePut me to shame girl! I must get to my under sink area ASAP!!! Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI seriously can't believe I waited more than 5 years to finally address this space in our home! Do it! You won't regret it!
DeleteThis is seriously amazing! I can't believe how much you are able to fit in such a tight space. I really like that you used containers within containers to keep everything in its place. Pinning this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lyndsay! I hope the ideas help you with your own space!
DeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteI am in love with the organization under your sink. In our lake home guests want to help but, put things where they keep them at home. Labels, drawers and clearly stationed visual places will help me immensely. This is happening in the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room our next trip to the lake.
Thank you for sharing your project and making my life a little bit easier!
Have a Fabulous Day!
Karen Marie
Dragonfly & Lily Pads
Oh Karen, I am so excited to hear that this was helpful to you! I can imagine how hard it is to have lots of people trying to be helpful, but not knowing where things go. That's why I love to label so much!! Labeling our trash, recycling and compost has been another game changer for us with guests - no more digging through gross-ness to resort after guests leave :)
DeleteYour under-sink organization is inspiring and doable, which is a great combination!!! Thank you for this detailed post! I will be using your advice soon:)
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Wendy Gunn
faithsfirmfoundation@embarqmail.com
www.wendygunn.net
What a great transformation! Lots of hard work definitely paid off! Every step so nice.Thank you so much for sharing your great idea.
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome. Going to start in the next coming weeks. After that, is my restroom then my walk-in closet. We live in an apartment and have no storage room. So my large Xmas bins are in my closet. With the others in other closets. I have to reorganize my walk-in closet. Any tips??
ReplyDelete