Organizing Your Cleaning Supplies

When I remarried and moved into my husband's home with his children, I soon found that disorganization was the rule of the house, instead of the exception. Clutter took over every room of the house. I even found cleaning supplies everywhere, still in their shopping bags. The house was so disorganized that when it came time to clean, no one could find the Windex or toilet bowl cleaner, so they bought new supplies, only to set them down and lose them again in the shuffle. Over several days, I had organized the cleaning supplies and found that there was so much that I had to store the surplus in the garage. Months went by before I had to buy any new cleaning products.

Organizing your cleaning products is easily achieved. Here are some great tips for keeping your cleaning products organized, out of the reach of small children, and room-appropriate:

• If you don't have a separate cleaning pantry, keep all of your cleaning products in the cupboards under the kitchen sink. House your clean rags and towels in a drawer next to your kitchen sink. Stovetop and chrome polish can be kept in the smallest cupboards above your stove. Hang your broom and dustpan on the inside of your pantry door or on the other side of the access door to your garage, if you've an entry to your garage just off your kitchen.
• In each of your bathrooms, make room in the cupboards under your sink for your cleaning supplies such as bathtub and toilet bowl cleaner, Windex, sponges, and paper towels. If you don't have under-the-sink storage, use part of your hall linen closet to store your products.
• Keep your dusting supplies convenient to each room. The family room, living room, and study are usually located just off the kitchen area. Store your dusting supplies under the kitchen sink, in your cleaning pantry, or use the top shelf of your entryway closet. Use a carryall container to store your polish, rags, and Swiffers, and carry the container from room to room when you dust.
• Convenient to upstairs bedrooms, store cleaning supplies in a linen closet. If you have room, you can also store an extra vacuum cleaner there or, at the very least, hang a hand-held vacuum, such as a Dustbuster, in an inconspicuous place in the hallway.

Install shelving in your laundry area for heavy-duty cleaners such as bleach, laundry detergent, pesticides, and ammonia. Place such cleaners up high, out of the reach of small children. Always latch cupboard doors with childproof restraints to keep your children and pets safe from cleaning products.