We are back this week with another Pinterest-inspired project! Last week’s Monday feature was interrupted in the spirit of more kitchen cabinet painting how-to’s, but things were finally calm at our house by the weekend and I was able to take care of a little something I originally spotted on Pinterest three weeks ago…
Behold the latest genius pin idea:
What could possibly be more simple than a shoe rack used to hold cleaning supplies? This project cost me under $10 and took about five minutes to complete. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s definitely handy and it makes for a much more organized collection of cleaners and rags.
So this was what our under-the-sink area looked like before:
A mess of assorted cleaning products – From upholstery and carpet cleaners, oven cleaner spray and air fresheners, to Clorox wipes and empty spray bottles. Those moments when we needed a certain cleaning product and we needed it fast (like when Rocky’s tail spilled red wine on the white rug) had, up until this point, been fraught with anxiety and the tossing of other cleaners out of the way to get at the one we really needed. According to our friend James Frazer-Mann at Vale Carpet Cleaning, this was not a good system. But I didn’t know of any other way to do it.
Until I saw that little pin…
Off to Target we went, where I picked up this plastic shoe rack with over-the-door hardware for $8.99.
There was a nicer, more stylish version made from a tan colored canvas, but it cost about twice as much and I just didn’t think it was worth it. The white plastic of the one I picked up blends in with the back of the white door, which is a good thing – I don’t really want to draw attention to my cleaning products. Speaking of doors, where did we put it? The back of the laundry room door, of course. The laundry room is a mere five steps from the sink area in the kitchen and already houses other major household supplies, like everyday hardware and tools, trash can, camping/gardening supplies, etc. It seemed fitting.
Two minutes later, we were ready to fill ‘er up!
I thought about organizing everything by type (i.e. all the air fresheners together, all the extra soaps together, etc.), but decided to just see how we live with it. We’ll see! Who knows, it could be labeled and sorted in a matter of weeks. For now, I’m just happy to have everything in a convenient, reachable location. I was even able to stow away a few cleaning rags with plenty of extra “pouches” to spare should we stock up on more products in the future.
I ran into only two issues in the course of this project:
- Big Windex spray bottles don’t really fit in the pouches…They had to be relegated back to the sink area, but I figured having just a few bottles under there would be okay.
- The hanging plastic, once filled and weighed down with bottles, now tends to bang against the back of the door when I close it too hard. I THINK I can fix this by putting some heavy-duty 3M tape on the bottom corners thereby sticking the rack to the door, but we’ll see…
Here’s what the under-the-sink area looks like today:
Much less chaotic. I actually relish the idea of a spill now because our system for executing clean up it will be done with military precision. Bring it on spills!!!
Before I leave you to the rest of your Monday, I wanted to give you a sneak peak at our Ikea haul from the weekend – We had a great adventure and I can’t wait to spill the beans on our many purchases. I am already dreaming about what I’ll get the next time we go.
Hope you have a great start to your week!
