Your kitchen seems smelly, so you take out the trash. You close the fridge. You spray air freshener, and you bake some cookies. But nothing improves.
Ever thought to peek down your sink?
The kitchen sink's garbage disposal chops up food and washes away crumbs, but it can also collect bits of debris that linger, harboring bacteria and producing a fouler-than-foul scent.
For this reason, it's important to give your sink a clean-out every week, whether you have a garbage disposal or not. Follow these easy steps (if you don't have a disposal, skip the last two), and your nose will thank you.
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- Pour one cup baking soda and one cup white vinegar down the disposal. Let the mixture bubble for up to 10 minutes.
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Before You Go
Give Every Cabinet Door A Dual Purpose
Julie Blanner
Stick a few adhesive hooks to the inside of each one to hang measuring cups, oven mitts or stand-mixer attachments, like Coordinately Yours blogger Julie Blanner did. You could also add a few adhesive plastic folders—the same kind you'd find at an office-supply store—to hold Tupperware lids, or attach a file organizer to keep cutting boards upright and orderly.
Turn the Side of Your Fridge into a Command Center
Ciburbanity
Charlotte Smith, who runs the lifestyle blog Ciburbanity, created an organizational hub to make getting ready each morning easier. Four sturdy wood pockets organize bills, magazines and other mail, while a dry-erase board lets everyone see upcoming meetings at a glance. A plastic brochure caddy is just the right size for storing grocery-list notepads, and a mason jar attached to the wall means you're never rummaging through a junk drawer for a pen.
Take Out the Trash (Bags)
Samantha Pregenzer of Simply Organized
A cardboard box of garbage bags can easily take up half of the under-sink cabinet space. Free up some room by mounting a paper-towel holder to the inside of one cabinet, then use it to hang a roll of trash bags.
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Rethink Even Your Most Awkward Spaces
Classyclutter.net
It seems like a magician's trick: Take a six-inch gap between the fridge and the wall, and with a little DIY know-how, double your pantry space. Mallory Nikolaus and Savannah Kokaliares show you how to do exactly that with their step-by-step guide to creating a pull-out shelving unit. It's just the right size for storing canned vegetables, soups, jars of peanut butter and spices.
Make Cleanup a Little Easier
Julie Blanner
Blanner recommends taking half an hour to sort your supplies into labeled bins: everyday cleaners, dishwashing goods, specialty cleaners and miscellaneous. You can easily pull out the bin you need for the task at hand -- saving time -- and keep tabs on what you actually have, avoiding that whole three-half-empty-bottles-of-Windex thing (and thus saving you money).
Claim New Counter Space
Dexas International, Ltd.
No matter the size of your kitchen, you can always use an extra prep area. This cutting board fits right on top of the sink and includes a collapsible colander, so you can chop and rinse vegetables all in one place.
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...And Clear Off Even More
Kate Sable of Etch Design Lab
Skip the traditional large-knife block and hang a magnetic strip on the wall to store your knives. (If you have tiled walls, consider a compact butcher's block that attaches to the bottom of your upper cabinets.)