One of the trickiest spaces to organize is the cabinet under a sink. Whether you're tackling the kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room, navigating around pipes to create a functional storage system is no small feat. When space is especially tight—like in a small bathroom—it's important to make use of every square inch. Underneath the sink is typically overlooked, but it can be a great source of storage when organized right.
Read on for our best tips on how to organize under the sink to maximize space and keep this often-chaotic cabinet calm and truly organized.
Essential Strategies for Under-Sink Organization
Explore these practical ways to organize under the sink so you can find what you need, when you need it. These approaches work beautifully for bathroom, laundry, and kitchen sinks, helping you maximize every inch of available space.
Start With What You’re Storing
Before buying bins or baskets, pause to decide what truly belongs under your sink. You may have more flexibility than you think. This space isn’t just for cleaning supplies or toilet paper. It can hold whatever supports your daily routine, from hair tools and first aid items to kids’ pajamas if it makes bedtime easier.
In the kitchen, that might mean dish soap, sponges, and trash bags along with pet food or other household essentials. The key is to be intentional, storing only what fits your flow instead of forcing what you think should live there.
Measure Your Space to Optimize
Those pipes aren’t going anywhere, so you need to work with them, not against them. Measure around your pipes and account for their placement to ensure a good fit. This will help you choose storage that actually works.
Once you know your dimensions, you can select organizers that maximize space on either side of the plumbing—vertical space is where it's at. Don't be afraid to stack (unless it's something you use daily). Make sure to label each bin and place less-used categories on the bottom so you're not frequently unstacking.
Explore our supply closet inspiration for more ideas on maximizing storage throughout your home.
Choose Accessible Storage Bins and Baskets
If you’ve ever reached into the back of an under-sink cabinet and pulled out a mystery bottle you forgot you had, you know how easily things can get lost. Prevent the hunt by choosing deep bins or baskets. Deep baskets prevent kitchen and bathroom sink clutter by keeping items visible and easily accessible. Foam feet on the bottom make it easy to slide the basket in and out, and the open top is perfect for accommodating tall bottles.
When your space lacks drawers and you need daily access to all your under-sink categories, opt for modular stacking drawers. These let you create custom under-sink organizers that work around your plumbing while keeping your most-used items within easy reach. Instead of searching through bins, you can simply slide out a drawer and see exactly what you have.
Decant and Streamline Supplies
For under-sink organization in kitchen areas, decanting cleaning products into uniform bottles creates visual calm and makes it easier to see when you're running low. Label each bottle with the location or item that the liquid cleans to create an easy system for everyone in the home to locate the correct cleaner. Store them in large divided bins or caddies so you can pull out the entire group when it's time to clean.
This strategy works for under-bathroom-sink organization systems, too. Sometimes you can organize everything perfectly, open the cabinet, and it still looks like a mess. Too many shapes, colors, and labels competing for attention. That's visual clutter. Decanting into uniform containers or selecting products from the same brand creates the consistency your eye is craving. A small shift that makes bathroom sink clutter feel like a thing of the past.
Not sure which storage solutions will work best for your space? Book a consultation to get personalized advice for your home's unique layout.
How to Keep It NEAT: Real-Life Under the Sink Organization Ideas
We’ve learned that staying organized plays a big role in deciding what to store and how to store it. Here’s what we do to keep it NEAT, under the sink.
Think Outside the Box
Customize your spaces to support your daily routines, not just store the “expected” items.
"Don't be afraid to think outside the box when deciding what to store under your sinks. To ensure my girls’ transition to bedtime is as quick and easy as possible, I store their pajamas in the bathroom." — Lisa Ruff, Director of Marketing
Opt for Minimal Backstock
Store only what you actually use. When you limit backstock, maintaining your organized system becomes much easier.
"Rather than store a stock of sponges, I streamline storage under my kitchen sink by committing to a single wooden dish brush. Bonus: It's more sustainable, less likely to gather bacteria, and looks pretty sitting out." — Hannah Goetz, Director or Franchise Operations
Stick to the Essentials
Choose ideas for organizing under your bathroom sink and kitchen spaces that truly align with how you actually live.
"I don't have a cabinet under my kitchen sink, just a small drawer that is modified for the sink components, so I only store things that are essential. We have the trash bags in a glass jar as well to help stand them up, and then we use black ceramic trays to put the cleaning products so that nothing ruins the walnut cabinet bottom." — Lauren Combs, Director of Product Development
These strategies are ideal when you have the time and energy to implement them. If life feels too busy for a DIY approach, book a consultation to get professional support tailored specifically to your home.
Creating Your Functional Under-Sink Organization System
When you’re figuring out how to organize under your skin, remember that not every strategy will work for your space, and that’s completely okay. Your under-sink organization setup might look different from your bathroom cabinet based on what you store and how often you access it. The right system is the one that works for you—and that goes for a full home refresh, not just spaces that happen to have a sink.
Ready to transform your under-sink spaces and beyond? Browse our shop for organizing products and explore our 7-day reset guide for more ideas on maximizing storage throughout your home.
xx,
the NEAT team
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