I Rescued My Kitchen Cabinet (In 15 Minutes or Less!)

As much as I love decorating, you'd think that I'd enjoy cleaning as well! Unfortunately, cleaning-- at least the regular, every-day, clean-it-even-if-it's-not-obviously-dirty kind-- is the bane of my existence. I do enjoy taking something that's clearly a mess and whipping it back into gleaming, organized shape-- sadly, this means that I generally end up waiting till things are obviously dirty before I notice them!

Case in point: my under-sink kitchen cabinet:

Yep, keeping it real, folks!

Yes, it definitely needed a rescue! The clutter is obvious-- what's you can't see in the picture is the black, slimy, grimy cabinet floor!  Thankfully, Flylady has taught me that I can do ANYTHING for 15 minutes-- even cleaning out an extremely cluttered, DIRTY cabinet!

I emptied everything out of the cabinet and threw away everything I didn't need-- musty, dried-up sponges or rusty Brillo pads, anyone? Then I set out to conquer the white-turned-black shelf (the picture above was taken when I was about halfway done!) Soap and water just weren't doing the trick, so I turned to my secret non-abrasive cabinet-cleaning weapon: baking soda!

Baking soda is a great scrubbing agent for anything that you don't want to scratch: cabinetry, furniture, refrigerator shelves, stovetops (especially glass ones), and more.
(Just make sure to rinse it off thoroughly so it doesn't leave a white film on the glass)

Once the shelf was returned to its original cream-colored state (one thing kitchen designers DON'T tell you is how HARD it is to keep white or light-colored cabinets looking clean!), I tried to find a way to reorganize everything in a sensible manner. You see, in a sensibly organized cabinet, putting something away RIGHT will only take, at the most, a few seconds-- leaving me with NO EXCUSE for NOT keeping things neat!

I folded all the paper bags in half and put them all inside one large paper bag (I use paper bags for discarding broken glass items safely-- such as my poor owl-- as well as for craft purposes). The large cleaner refill bottles also got put in the back, since they don't get accessed as often. The wire shelf (which was already there-- just not being put to use properly!) holds my frequently-used spray cleaners, and the trash bags fit perfectly underneath!

(Sorry about the terrible quality on this pic-- I snapped it with my cell phone because my camera is currently on the lam :( If you think about it, please pray that I can find it by Saturday!)

Since I don't use my dish drainer for its intended purpose (I wash my dishes under running water and stack them on the countertop for immediate drying-and-putting-away-- otherwise they just pile up and give me a headache!), I decided to turn it into an organizer, as well! The silverware cup holds the few sponges and scrubber pads that I kept. The red basket holds my plastic shopping bags (which I use mostly for dirty diaper disposal ;) ), and my Swiffer pads fit perfectly along the end of the plate rack!

With all the extra room I created, I had enough space to store my cookie sheets in here, too! It is the only cabinet tall enough to hold them standing up. In the past, I was stuck on keeping them in the same cabinet with the rest of my pots and pans-- even though they had to be kept laying down, with the rest of the pots on top of them (causing continual slipping, sliding, and disarranging of the pots and pans as well). Now they have their own place, where they don't get scratched, and the pots are nice and neat as well!

Tada! A neat, CLEAN undersink cabinet, in 15 minutes or less! Thank you, Flylady! (She's also got a wonderful list of daily cleaning routines, that I'm working on mastering, so things don't get so bad again!)

So have you done any reorganizing lately? Any crisis cabinet cleaning? Any repurposing of dish drainers as organizers? Or moving things (like baking sheets) around into places that actually make more sense? ;)

P.S. Check out my new "Project Gallery" up on top bar, and see if there are any projects you've missed!

Parties I link to:

Sunday:

• Nifty Thrifty Things: Nifty Thrifty Sunday
• Southern Hospitality Blog: Thrifty Treasures
• Under the Table and Dreaming: Sunday Showcase Party

Monday:

• Craft-O-Maniac: Craft-O-Maniac Mondays
• DebbieDoos: Newbie Party
• Flour Me With Love: Mix-It-Up Monday
• This Gal Cooks (formerly Jam's Corner): Marvelous Mondays Link Party

Tuesday:

• Adventures Of a DIY Mom: Terrific Tuesdays
• Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
• Elizabeth & Co.: Be Inspired Link Party
• Kathe With An E: You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
• Mercy Ink Blog: All Things Heart & Home Link-up
• My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday's Treasures
• Uncommon: Uncommonly Yours Link Party
• The Winthrop Chronicles: Share It Link Party

Wednesday:

• Embracing Change: Creative Inspirations Link Party
• Hooking Up w/ House of Hepworths
• The 36th Avenue: Party Time!
• Vintage Gwen: Show & Share

Thursday:

• Live, Laugh, Rowe: Live Laugh Linky Thursday
• My Repurposed Life: Catch As Catch Can
• The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
• Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursday's Temptation

Friday:

• A Heart 4 Home: Finished Friday
• Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: Flaunt It Friday
• Decorating Insanity: Furniture Friday
• Five Days, Five Ways: Feature Friday Free-for-All
• Here Comes the Sun: Fabulous Friday
• Jennifer Rizzo: Fabulously Creative Friday
• Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
• The Cottage Market: Junkin' Joe Party
• Two Sasters: TGIF Party

Saturday:

• It's Overflowing: Overflowing with Creativity Party
• Classy Clutter: Spotlight Saturday