How to Organize Cleaning Supplies

One of the tasks this month’s  31 Day Home Detox was to declutter the cleaning supplies.  We got rid of most of our chemical cleaners a few years ago, so the decluttering was a pretty easy task this time around.  I did, however, decide to do a little re-organizing of our cleaning supplies and started with this little cleaning closet that is just off the kitchen beside our pantry.

Up until now, it has been a pretty dysfunctional closet.  While it did previously house some cleaning supplies, it also seemed to have quite a few random items that didn’t belong there or that we never really used.  I moved everything out that wasn’t cleaning related, did some quick re-organizing of everything that was left, and moved a few of our other cleaning supplies into it to keep everything more in one spot.

I do keep basic kitchen cleaning items under the kitchen sink and a smaller bathroom cleaning kit in each bathroom so they are all handy for quick cleanings, but this closet holds all of the basics.  The top shelf is all of our microfiber cleaning cloths and polishing cloths {that are amazing for cleaning stainless steel, glass, faucets or any other shiny surface}.  Most of them are Norwex cloths {there is a really old post about why I love them HERE} but I also recently picked up some new cloths from Clean Mama’s new cleaning line.   All microfiber cloths are not created equal, however, so I recommend getting a good brand – the durability and performance is so much better and is really worth the little bit of extra money.

The next shelf down has some J.R. Watkins All-Purpose Cleaner and a big box of baking soda {which I then pour out into smaller salt shaker jars for other areas of the house that you can see in the photo below}.  I can’t seem to find the J.R. Watkins cleaner in Canada so I stock up on it when I head down to Target in the States.  The coconut scent is my favorite but the lemon and grapefruit scents are close seconds.  It smells so good!

The last shelf holds a lot of the green cleaning products that I use to make up my homemade cleaners – Dr.Bromner’s Castile Soap {J.R. Watkins also has a good version of this}, some coconut oil, hydrogen peroxide, a small bottle of baking soda, and essential oils.  Make sure you keep the hydrogen peroxide in its original container as it will breakdown if it is exposed to light.  I like to add a spray top to mine to make it easier to use {this works amazing for carpet and upholstery stains}.  Essential oils are also fun to play around with if you are starting to experiment with some DIY cleaning products.  You can read more about what oils are good for cleaning and what they are good for HERE.

The bottom half of the cupboard has hooks to hang our mop pads, microfiber dust mitt, cloths that are drying, and the current polishing cloth that I am using.  If you going to be hanging your towels, look for items with stitched in hanging hooks {or add them yourself} – it makes it much easier to hang and you do not have to worry about them constantly falling off!

On the side of the cupboard door, I put up some chalkboard vinyl into the door inlay.  I wrote a couple of my most common DIY cleaning products on the top off and wrote out my basic cleaning schedule on the bottom half using my favorite Chalk Ink markers {you can read more about them HERE}.  Instead of doing a specific area each day {which I would never be able to keep up with}, I use a rotating schedule.  Since the main floor gets the most traffic, I do it twice through each rotation.

The bottom of the cupboard holds a big jug of vinegar {one of our main staples!} as well as Clean Mama’s The Organically Clean Home.

If you are looking on how to get started with green cleaning {or just want more DIY green cleaning recipes!} this is a great resource.

And there you have it!  A functional, pretty, and easy to put together cleaning cupboard!