Under Sink Organization: Working Around the Pipes

Under the sink is the worst-shaped cupboard in any home. A drain pipe runs down the middle, a shut-off valve sticks out of the back wall, and the floor is uneven where the plumbing was fitted. Rectangular storage does not fit a space shaped like that, which is why most under-sink cupboards are a heap.

Work around the pipe, not against it

The pipe is not moving. Everything follows from accepting that:

• U-shaped or two-piece shelving straddles the drain instead of colliding with it. This is the single item that changes an under-sink cupboard most.
• Two narrow bins side by side beat one wide bin, because they fit either side of the pipe rather than jamming against it.
• Leave the back corners empty. They are behind the pipe and unreachable. Trying to use them is how things get lost for years.

Measure four numbers, and one of them is unusual

Width, depth and height as always — but under a sink you also need the distance from the cupboard floor to the bottom of the drain trap, and the horizontal position of the pipe. A shelf unit rated for your cupboard height will still not fit if the trap sits lower than its top shelf.

Measure with the doors open and a torch. It takes two minutes and prevents almost every under-sink return.

Everything in a bin, nothing loose

Cleaning products under a sink are a collection of odd-shaped bottles that fall over every time you reach past them. Grouped in a few pull-out bins, the whole group comes out at once, you take what you need, and it goes back as a unit.

Group by task rather than by product: bathroom cleaning in one, dishwashing in another, spares in a third.

Put a liner down first

Under-sink cupboards get damp. Sometimes it is a slow valve weep nobody notices for months; sometimes it is a detergent bottle that leaked. A cheap plastic tray or mat across the base catches both, and — more useful — it makes a leak visible before the cupboard floor swells and delaminates.

This is the least interesting item in this article and the one most likely to save you money.

Use the doors

The inside of both cupboard doors is flat, dry and completely unused. Over-the-door caddies or adhesive-mounted racks hold sponges, gloves, bin bags and brushes — the flat, light things that otherwise take up floor space in the cupboard.

Check the door still closes with the caddy loaded, and mount to the door frame rather than a thin panel that can flex.

Bathroom sinks: get backstock out

Under a bathroom sink, the space usually goes to backstock — four shampoo bottles, a spare pack of soap. That is a reasonable use for it, but it should be contained and counted. Keep backstock in one bin, and when the bin is full, stop buying. It is a stock control system that fits in a cupboard.

Two safety notes worth the paragraph

• Cleaning chemicals and small children. If either applies, a magnetic cupboard lock costs a few dollars and fits without tools.
• Do not block the shut-off valve. Whatever you store, you must be able to reach the valve in seconds without unpacking the cupboard. That is the one time you will urgently need to.

Start by emptying it

Take everything out and line it up. Most under-sink cupboards contain several half-empty bottles of the same product and at least two things nobody remembers buying. The cupboard usually loses a third of its contents at this stage — which changes what shelving you need, so do it before you shop.