3 Kitchen Sink Hacks You Need

Today we’re just talking about your kitchen sink. You do a TON of work there, so what can you do to make it easier to use, and clean up when you’re done? Let’s go!

Before we get going though, grab my weekly cleaning checklist — you’re going to LOVE how easy this makes keeping your house clean:

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Ok, let’s get onto the hacks.

Soap Magic

The bottles they sell dish soap at the store just aren’t the most helpful option. My kids somehow take half the bottle when they’re trying to wash a cup, but I spend an hour waiting for it to all drain to the cap when I want some.

There are other great options out there:

In our house we use the Scrub Daddy Soap dispenser.

Why, you might ask? A few reasons:

• Allows you to push the top and release just a small amount of soap
• You can also squirt into an area that you need more than just a smidge.

We love it, but be SURE to follow the tip on how to keep it from leaking that’s in the Amazon reviews (squirt out for a second or two to get the “vacuum” going).

Honestly, I also love Scrub Daddy sponges. I thought they were over-hyped but we LOVE them, especially the seasonal ones. 🙂

Want more cleaning tips:

• How to Clean Tile Floors With Vinegar and Baking Soda
• Six things to like about cleaning
• Why I Don’t Have a Cleaning Lady
• Making a Cleaning Schedule That Works For You
• How to Clean Your Kitchen: Cleaning in Circles

Tray It

I used to just have our items sitting by the sink, but having a small tray that holds the items helps keep them contained (otherwise my kids would just throw them back wherever). It also helps contain any spills or messes from the sponge, soap, etc.

I have heard these are all the rage as they quickly dry. We have something very similar (but it’s porcelain like this one).

Tips for picking one that works for you: Lay out your items that you want on it, and then measure to make sure you get the right size.

Pro Tip: I’m a huge fan of keeping this MINIMAL around my sink. It’s an area you clean frequently, so less is definitely more. I do feel like this dish limits how often I need to clean under those items though.

I will say that having USEFUL organizing stuff can be a HUGE help. However, there’s a lot sold that’s just junk and isn’t going to help you keep things tidy at all. Come join The Organized Home where I give tips for organization that works:

Drain It

The reality of life is that you’re going to want to hand wash a few dishes, and life is easier if they’re able to air dry rather than having to dry them each time.

I’m a huge fan of having a small dish drainer in your sink… They’re easily taken out if you want to use the whole sink, but can hold all those things you have to hand wash all the time.

Good options:

• Don’t do dishes often, this one is slim!
• Don’t want it hanging out all the time — this one can be kept under the sink and then brought out when you need it — just sits in the bottom of the sink.
• We have one very similar to this. We hand wash fairly frequently and I love it!
• The roller ones seem like a great option to store away when not in use, and I love how this one has a utensil tray (as we often are hand-washing knives).
• This one is super minimal, but seems very versatile.
• This one collapses for easy storage as well!

Like I said above, I’m all about the minimal sink area, but I’d rather just have it there to put dishes that need to dry. It’s one of the most used areas in our kitchen (I also hate hand-drying dishes).

The one thing with having a drainer is making sure that you clean it out frequently. I do it during my 10-minute tidy — join my challenge here:

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Have an area in your house that isn’t working, but have ZERO ideas on how to fix it? I think that’s SO common, I hear it all the time!

Come join me in The Organized Home where we help get your mind in the game, and give you some ideas of organizing systems that work so you can implement similar things in your house. And frankly, spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying your family!