Usually, we shove anything and everything under the sinks of our homes without much regard and throw the doors shut hoping it disappears or somehow makes friends with other bottles and things under there. If you open any under-sink cabinet in your home, chances are it’s a chaotic mess of unknown territories. Take back you under cabinets and gain back some sanity by following along to organize your way to calm and collected instead of chaos and madness.
The Monthly Test
The first thing to do when organizing anything is making sure you are spending the time on things you actually use. If you have a bunch of crap that never gets touched, why are you wasting the time and precious storage space for these items. The easiest way to see what you are using versus what is taking up unnecessary room is to pick a month-long period of time where everything you use as you use it in that month gets a sticker. At the end of the month, if there are items without a sticker on it, it either gets tossed or finds a new place to live. Even if there are items you don’t use regularly – certain pain relievers, eye drops, etc., they can just find a new place to live that doesn’t need the convenience of a spot under your sink ready at arm’s length. This space is for convenience, so if it’s not something you use frequently and quickly, say goodbye.
Expiration Dates
This is also a great test in conjunction with the monthly test. If a product is expired, it immediately gets used or thrown away. Have an idea of what is coming up on expiration dates – especially makeup you’ve been hoarding for a while. This is a hard and fast rule that will make your organizing easier. Use it or lose it is the name of the game.
Bin It
Invest in a few small bins or containers of your choosing to help contain small items or things that tend to get knocked over easily. This is where you can get creative trying to figure out your organization style. You can organize by type or product, how you use it, by color, or anything else you can think of. The most important thing to remember is to have it work for you and make things easier, not harder.
Commit to the System
Now that you have a system in place, never just throw any random item under a sink. It either has a home down under, or you find another way to store it. Once you throw one item under there willy nilly, it’s like a row of dominos crashing down. It’s a slippery slope if you allow it to get out of hand, so commit to the process and system and you can’t go wrong. You can also agree to do a monthly or bi-monthly maintenance of everything to check expiration dates and tidy up.
Getting organized under your cabinets doesn’t have to be a chore or dreaded event. Work towards making your life easier and it’ll be smooth sailing. Keep everything neat and organized and your life will follow in the process.
