Uncluttering the kitchen sink

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Started 2 years ago by eternalvoyageur
Latest reply from HelofaMess
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eternalvoyageur
Member

So, the sinks in interior design magazines bug me... they are so beautiful, with just one aesthetic bottle of dish-detergent and a tiny sponge in a wooden bowl.
Does anyone actually have a sink like that ? Is it possible ?
Any tips on keeping the area aesthetic ?
There was a post on Unclutterer blog on a nice drawer for it all under the sink, but I won't be investing in that anytime soon.

I have a sponge for the dishes, steel-wool for burnt pots (happens to me often), a small flat sponge that's used only on the big wooden cutting board (it's too big to wash in the sink), and a cloth for the kitchen counter and other surfaces. Oh, and there's the sink plug too, and a bottle of vinegar for cleaning glassware.
I don't have a dishwasher, in case you haven't realised it by now.

So, is this the bare minimum that I can have ? How do I keep it looking nice ? the sponges get discoloured really soon, and I don't want to buy new ones every day. Annoyingly, they don't have very dark coloured ones here.

How do your sinks look like ? Any tips for me ?

Posted 2 years ago #
badkitti
Member

I have - plastic washing up bowl, sponge, wire wool, washing up liquid, vinegar, scrubbing brush. Then of course there's the dish drying rack.

I have recently been looking for a caddy to keep them all in.

Posted 2 years ago #
maryann
Member

I have a stainless steel holder that suctions to the inside of the sink for the sponges & brillo. A built-into-the-counter soap dispenser. The dishwasher is my drying rack. And the other items go underneath the sink.

Posted 2 years ago #
Anita
Member

I have no dishwaher either. The only things I keep next to my sink are:
- dish soap
- one sponge
- a scrubbing brush

I don't have a caddy for them - the bottle of dish soap sits next to my sink, the brush has a suction cup and attaches to my sink, and the sponge is usually either in the sink or next to the tap. I have a sink "filter" that doubles as a plug, and it's always in the sink.

All my cleaning supplies are in a cabinet under the sink, in a plastic pail, and I also keep my less frequently used dishwashing supplies (steel wool, spare sponges, cloths...) there. Thinking about putting my scrubbing brush down there too, actually, since it's seldom used nowadays.

My suggestion would be to only keep the 2-3 items that you use most frequently next to the sink, and get a small box for the rest and store it close by, but out of sight.

Also: remember that images in deisgn magazines are staged, and the vast majority of people (who don't have full-time housekeepers, at least) don't fuss over how appealing their dish soap bottle and dishwashing sponge are, as long as they get dishes clean...

Posted 2 years ago #
s
Member

I burn food in the pot too often, but using a timer and actually keeping an eye on the food cooking, and stirring routinely, might go a long way to helping with that. Then you hardly need more than the sponge and dish soap.

Posted 2 years ago #
EraserGirl
Member

I buy the smallest dishwashing soap container..then buy the biggest one and keep refilling the little one that sits on the sink top. aside from that i use the green scrubbers and there is usually just one sitting in the sink.
all the spray bottles and whatnot is under the sink... when i do dishes i bring em out and then put them back. I am lucky i have a double sink, so one has dirty dishes in it during the day, but i DO make sure they are washed and put away before i start cooking.

Posted 2 years ago #
s
Member

I actually got a nice soap pump, probably for bathroom hand soap, and refill that from the bigger bottle of dish soap. It's prettier than a plastic bottle and I can pump just the right amount, so I don't even have to pick it up with soapy hands/gloves.

Posted 2 years ago #
zchristy
Member

One bottle of soap - that's it. The rest goes under the sink. That's what kitchen cupboards are for. Out of sight. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
Vanesa
Member

Those suction cup caddies are wonderful. I have two - one for my dish sponge and one for my counter sponge. I have one of those sponges with the dish soap in it, but when I didn't I kept my dish soap in a nice bottle with a spout like they make for olive oil.

All my other stuff is kept under the sink. I have a plastic caddy attached to the inside of the cabinet door (right at the top, so I don't have to bend over too far) where I keep small stuff like the sponges and the drain stopper. That way they're easy to reach if I need them, but they're not in the way.

Posted 2 years ago #
kbfenner
Member

You can get very functional sponges with a scrubby side -- 3M makes them, as well as plenty of Ocello and generics. Steel wool rusts and degrades and splinters, etc. This plastic stuff lasts and is at least as effective. I have one such sponge--it washes dishes, scrubs pots, wipes down cutting board and counters after I finish washing the dishes, and lasts a good month or more. I nuke it in the microwave for a minute after I'm done. I second the pump bottle strategy-- Martha Stewart uses a bottle with a pourer, and I tried that, but used a lot more detergent and it was slippery. I don't understand vinegar for glasses--hot soapy water seems to do the trick for me, but maybe you have very hard water--so that would be just one more bottle.

A dishwasher is more environmentally friendly, if you can manage one, though....

Posted 2 years ago #
Zora
Member

I don't have a dishwasher. On my double sink, I keep a small bottle of dish soap (the Method bottle is very nice) refilled from a larger bottle under the sink, a Japanese plastic scrubber that looks a little like a tribble, a sink stopper, and a handknit cotton washcloth that drapes over the sink divider. Everything else lives under the sink, in plastic baskets or tubs.

Allow me to enthuse re the virtues of the knitted cotton washcloth. It is kind to glass and china, but nubbly enough to make a good scrubber. It is SANITARY. I have six of them; every day or two, I put the used cloth in the wash and pull out a new, clean one. They last much longer than sponges. They do not shred.

Posted 2 years ago #
EraserGirl
Member

once i moved away from a dishwasher, i avoid sponges and cloth wash cloths..too many germs. the green scrubby is bad enough but i spray it with chlorox cleanup now and then and toss them often. when you have a dishwasher you can add sponges and washclothes to your load.

Posted 2 years ago #
opadit
Member

I use a few strategies to keep my kitchen sink clean and neat.

First, I do the dishes every day (I'm not saying the OP doesn't!), sometimes more than once a day. This way, grungy stuff does not collect around the faucet and seams as easily as when the dishes sit and accumulate for a while. Also, I empty the drying rack every day.

Second, when I'm done with the dishes, I wipe the sink down with my dishcloth and then dry it with the dishtowel. Bacteria, viruses, and mold and mildew grow more slowly in a clean, dry sink than in a wet sink, even if it's clean and empty because the dishes are done regularly. Also, I don't use a rubber tray under the drying rack; I use a dishtowel and change it out every 7 or 10 days, more often in the summer. I've found that even when I clean a rubber tray constantly, it still gets too gnarly for me to tolerate, but a dishtowel is easily changed out.

Third, I keep a lot of my dish-doing items in a crate below the sink, not on the edge of the sink or around it on the counter. So dish soap, scrubbing powder, dishwasher detergent, and extra quantities are out of sight. I keep a bar of soap, the sink stopper, and a scrub pad (actually a small length of plastic mesh from a crate of tangerines) in an old saucer by the faucet. To save money over buying sponges, I use dishcloths that I crocheted myself from cotton yarn. After I do the dishes, I wring the cloth out and lay it over the edge of the sink to dry, and toss it in the laundry when it needs it. Sometimes I just freshen it by getting it soapy with the bar soap and letting it dry without rinsing the soap out. After I dry the sink with the dishtowel, I lay it on the edge of the sink or hang it from a cabinet doorknob.

Fourth, I scour with Bon Ami or Bar-Keeper's Friend about once a month.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

i don't use sponges, i am addicted to cotton dishcloths.
i get out two fresh ones every day ad launder the old ones. over and over and over. they last for years.

in the sink i have a plastic long handled brush for scrubbing things. and a steel wool scourer. and that's it.
we hand wash everything (no dishwasher by choice) and those three things are all we need.

under the sink i keep dish detergent and a home made general purpose cleaner in a spray bottle.

Posted 2 years ago #
Noturningback
Member

I have hand soap and one double sided sponge(kept behind the soap dispenser) by my sink. Under the sink, in a cabinet, I keep a small bottle of dish soap and two cleaning wands. One is soft for glasses and one is rough for grime. I refill the small dish soap container from a wholesale size container in my pantry. I keep a neatly folded dishcloth on the side of my sink for the hand washed items to dry on. Otherwise, everything else goes into the dishwasher.

When I lived in Sweden, I hand washed all dishes. The standard there is a double sink. One side I used for washing and the other I used as a drying rack. I also preferred clothes to their sponges. I like cellulose sponges and they didn't sell them (weird quirk of mine I guess lol) I would keep the cloth folded over the divider to the sinks.

Posted 1 year ago #
trillie
Member

@eternalvoyageur, just look for a small tray or a bowl or something -- sometimes just putting several things onto a single surface can make them look tidy and "unified". Also, don't get distracted by all the pretty interior magazine pictures. Oh, I covet them too *sigh*, but I am dead sure they all have a messy corner somewhere, but we never get to see pictures of the vacuum, piles of magazines, a full laundry basket, and a tangle of extension cords! It's a conspiracy ;o)

Oh, and it helps to make doing the dishes fun: Since I have the dish bunny: http://www.dutchbydesign.com/products-Dish-Bunny-Washing-Up-Rack_OR6019.htm , I like doing the dishes a little bit more!

Posted 1 year ago #
terriok
Member

Aw! Rofl!

Posted 1 year ago #
Claycat
Member

That bunny rack is so cute!

I don't use sponges; they are major bacteria collectors. I'm with bandicoot. I use a clean cotton washcloth every day.

For scrubbing, I use one of those flat green scrubbing pads. I have a brush to get down into glasses and jars, too.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lulu
Member

I also don't use sponges. I use a clean dish cloth every day. I also don't use any type of scrubber. If I have a dish that needs scrubbing, I put some baking soda in it and scrub it with my dish cloth. The baking soda takes the baked on food right off.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sky
Member

Thankfully, I have a dishwasher so all dirty dishes go in there. I have a double bowl, stainless sink with a built-in dishwasher soap dispenser so all I have is a mesh scrubber and my dishcloth on the sink. I have all white cotton dishcloths and dish towels. After dinner and cleanup I spray the sink with cleaner, wipe it with the dishcloth, dry it with the dish towel, toss both in the laundry and put out clean ones and I'm set to start the next morning with a clean sink. I also wash my scrubber in the dishwasher every few days.
Dishwasher detergent and cleaning products live in the cabinet under the sink.
Yes, I'm a clean freak.

Posted 1 year ago #

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