inside my cupboards | the cupboard under the sink

26th April 2020

I used to be the “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person when it came to mess and clutter, and then one day I started organising my cupboards properly thanks to the help of Celia from We Declutter. And when I say “organising” I don’t mean in the putting-items-in-height-order-shutting-the-cupboard-door-and-forgetting-about-it type of organisation either. This is organisation thats considered, planned and executed in the most aesthetically pleasing of ways but with sustainability at the heart, making this one of those small changes that make a big difference and seeing as we all have a little extra time right now, why not? Starting with what is probably the most unloved cupboard in almost everyones kitchen, the dreaded cupboard under the sink and you don’t need to spend a fortune on Goop in order to do so either. It’s an easy, fairly inexpensive and aesthetically pleasing way to save the planet just a little so here’s what I purchased;

CLOTHS & BRUSHES

Over the weekend I spent my time cleaning, organising and replacing our old, grotty kitchen cleaning products with a full set of new Natural, Sustainable and zero waste bamboo sponges, Loofah scourers and sisal sponges made from coconut fibres and wood pulp. There are rather a lot of variations so we decided to purchase a couple of each to see how we’d use them and to ensure we had all our cleaning bases well and truly covered. We also swapped out the beloved Dishmatic, oh how I have loved having them in my cleaning arsenal over the years but with the amount of waste they produce teamed with constantly needing to buy more of the sponges, we decided to make the change to wooden dish and pot brushes made from all natural fibres.

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GLASS

For storage of cleaning solutions we’ve moved away from plastic entirely and over to all glass refillable solutions instead. For Anti Bacterial sprays we currently use Zoflora in a refillable glass spray bottle, because the formula is concentrated it means for the amount of plastic used to store the solution, once diluted the mixture goes a lot further and lasts too! We also use glass jars to store Dishwasher tabs and salts with a handy little bamboo scoop for easy decanting and whilst my glass washing up liquid dispenser hadn’t arrived on time for the photoshoot, I didn’t let that stop me from including it.

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WICKER BASKETS

Now I must stress, wicker baskets are not just for cupboards under the sink, in our house, wicker baskets are most certainly, for everywhere. Pantries, blanket boxes, linen cupboards, beauty storage they really do make the most rustic of storage solutions and we use two under the sink to keep everything in its right place. They also make getting all of my cleaning bits and bobs out of what is a rather awkward cupboard, and putting them away much more convenient. We have hundreds of these baskets around littered around our home to make our organisation systems as beautiful as they are functional so its a good job these particular ones are only £6 each.

ACCESSORIES

Whilst almost ordering the Goop cleaning kit, I also came dangerously close to paying £75 for a foot stool, I know! Thankfully I’m savvy enough to always search online for alternatives and a quick google search brought up a beautiful recycled wood foot stool for £25, considering we need a few of them three for the price of one is much more palatable. We have been using an old Ikea stool for around 3 years and I feel as though I’m not far off it completely collapsing beneath me so new foot stools have been something I’ve been on the look out for, they are always knocking around the house so I wanted them to fit with the our aesthetic and these ones were perfect so closing the velux, cleaning the cobwebs or getting the Kettle Chips down from the top shelf is no bother at all.

We also picked up a new Bamboo dustpan and brush which is actually probably one of the best I’ve ever had, and thats a bold statement! It’s just so easy to use and I don’t find myself sweeping the same mound of dirt over and over into the pan because half of it has managed to go under rather than on to the pan. Its brilliant!

And of course my cute little bamboo scoops which are dotted around our home from hot chocolate decanting to bath salt sprinkling they are absolutely perfect.

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Have you been doing a lot of organising during Lockdown? What has been your favourite thing to organise and do you have any beautiful/sustainable/essential storage tips that you can share? Let me know in the comments if theres something I’m missing in my Under-The-Sink essentials!