This post is sponsored by Grove Collaborative--there's an exciting giveaway for ALL of our readers at the bottom of the post!
It's a new year! A fresh start! And although we only have a handful of big projects left in our home (more on that later this week), this year, I want to work on streamlining and organizing all the systems and spaces around here. Over the break, I started this task by organizing all of our cleaning supplies and coming up with systems to make cleaning a lot easier. (Not going to lie, I had the time of my life). Here's what I did:
1. Cleaned out the cleaning hub. We already stored all of our cleaning supplies in our laundry room cabinets, but the first task was to toss all the old solutions, or those with harsh chemicals. I couldn't believe how many different types of wood polish or glass cleaner we had. I donated a lot, and only kept my favorite brands--we use a lot of Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation and Method with our subscription to Grove Collaborative. They have all of the best natural products for home, and we order a lot of our baby supplies monthly, too--free shipping, straight to our door!
After I cleared out the toxic and unused, I organized what was left using a turntable for the large bottles and a 3-tiered shelf for the smaller bottles, making it easy to see and grab what we need. On the top shelf, I stashed some paper towels, empty cleaning caddies so we could make a quick cleaning kit to carry around for whatever task we were working on--dusting, windows, baseboards!--and a stack of microfiber cloths, as well as, a ready-to-go bathroom cleaning caddy with toilet bowl, tub and tile, and glass cleaner.
2. Stocked the Bathroom with Cleaning Supplies. The bathroom is one of those things we wipe down every day, with a thorough cleaning once a week. The only way to keep this going is to streamline the process--especially now that our daughters are so eager to help. For the girls' bathroom downstairs, that meant no more trips up to our cleaning hub to get supplies. I stocked their vanity with toilet bowl cleaner, stone cleaner (for their countertop), glass cleaner and tile cleaner--all from Grove Collaborative. As well as paper towels and disinfecting wipes for the daily wipe down.
3. Organized Under the Kitchen Sink. Turns out, the cabinet under the kitchen sink doesn't have to be a free for all. Ha! Just by tucking our kitchen cleaning supplies into a clear lazy suzan, everything has a spot and it looks and feels a lot more organized. I also brought in a nice container for our dishwasher tablets--since they are always going to be under our sink--why not have a permanent container for them (make sure to choose something that is water-tight)?
This lazy suzan with sides is really nice for this area because I can also stash my walnut scrubber sponges and rubber gloves without them flopping all over the place. I love keeping this area stocked with dish soap, my favorite Mrs. Meyers baking soda and vinegar cleanser and their All-Purpose spray that I use to wipe down our counters.
What cleaning systems do you have around your home? I'm eager to do more and now that everything is organized, I feel like I can!
To get you started, Grove Collaborative has something for ALL of our readers! If you've never ordered from them, click here and spend $20 and they'll send you everything in the photo below along with it! That's Mrs. Meyer's hand soap, dish soap, hand lotion, their Grove Cleaning caddy and Grove walnut scrubber sponges--that's over $30 worth of product, FREE!
If you already love Grove Collaborative, like we do, click here to add a FREE pack of Grove walnut scrubber sponges to your order!
Let's do this, 2018!
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Thanks for this post! I hopped on Amazon and found some organization solutions for our bathroom. I got a lazy susan for cleaners under the cabinet and two clear organizers for all the stuff the 4 of us use on a daily basis. And for once, my bathroom counters have stayed uncluttered! There is still plenty on them, but the clear organizers make the counter look much more open and it's easier to find what we need.
Love this and Grove Collaborative! Where is the cute white canister under your kitchen sink from? Is it from compost?
Rejuvenation a couple years ago!
do you know if the offer works for canadians?
thanks, beth
It doesn't. So sorry
I ran this by my husband (he's the one who does all the shopping) and he said 'go for it'. Ordered and looking forward to it coming in. I've discovered several really great items from your blog, so thanks for doing things like this :)
I have half used bottles of cleaning solutions that I’d like to toss, but is there a more environmentally safe way to do it? Don’t want to dump down the sink, nor throw in trash. But, the nearest recycling/hazardous waste drop off doesn’t take it either! Is there a responsible way to dispose of these chemicals?
Oh man! Something we did was put it up on our neighborhood page for free. They were gone in no time.
Love Mrs. Meyers cleaning products because they're Leaping Bunny Certified and actually work. I've been able to pair down on how many cleaning supplies I keep around the house because of them too. Amazing products and now I can keep them all organized. Just take all my money.
What are your favorite scents? It looks like you have Honeysuckle, Lemon Verbena, and Bluebell. I was able to smell Honeysuckle and Lemon Verbena at Target but they didn't have Bluebell. How does Bluebell compare to the other two?
Honey Suckle is my favorite, favorite! I also really like Basil. Bluebell is good, too. You can't go wrong.
Thank you so much for the freebies! We ordered last night and can't wait for everything to arrive!
Love this! What a timely post as I’ve been wanting to do a better job of keeping my house cleaned but want to do it in a safer (less chemicals) and more effective way. Can you share any tips on how you keep your sofa clean? We have two dogs and a toddler and the sofa cushions and pillows are staring to get a little grungy. Thanks in advance!
We don't let our dog on the furniture and generally keep food in the kitchen and dining areas. But dirt definitely happens with kids. I just use a little bit of water and a microfiber cloth if there is a mess on the couch.
Where is your bathroom vanity from?
It's from Wayfair! Check out this post for those sources.
I love your blog and your beautiful home! Saw this and thought of your sweet Willow. https://www.chairish.com/product/888161/contemporary-bernese-mountain-dog-print
How cute!!
Where did you find your canister for detergent tablets? Does it hold an entire bag of tablets?
It does! I got it from Rejuvenation awhile back.
I see the links for the two lazy Susans (thank you) but would you perhaps share the link for the stepping organizer (in the laundry room) and the organizer for under the sink (in the girls bathroom)? Thank you! Love the Meyers products..
I found the caddy! :-)
I found the riser too! Ha!
Here's that tiered shelf!
We simplified our cleaners a while back and what a difference! I use dr bronners sal suds for most everything. It’s my dish detergent laundry detergent, hand soap, dishwashing liquid, toilet bowl cleaner...you name it. I dilute it to the specifications recommended and that’s it. 1 bottle only to clog up my limited space. I also use Norwex cleaning cloths for the marble, and quartz counters in the house as well as the shower stall, mirrors, windows, again, you name it. No cleansers whatsoever and my house has never been cleaner. I couldn’t be happier with our current minimal products.
Love this post! Thanks for all the great tips!
Can I ask where the clear lazy Susan is from? I checked grove collaborative and target but no luck.
Thank you in advance!
It's from Target! I linked it in an above comment.
Lovl
I love your laundry room and am considering cabinetry like you have but where do you keep your laundry baskets? I’m a mom of 3 boys and we have a lot of laundry. Just trying to get that balance of form and function. Love your house and Mrs. Meyers!
All of the bedrooms have a laundry basket. We do laundry according to person.
Oh what a perfect post, I am just starting to go through amd organize amd clean the home for the start of the New Year! This will be supremely helpful!
Can you tell me where you got the organizational holder for all your cleaning products? Thanks in advance!
Target!
I didn't know Mrs Meyers made a baking soda and vinegar product? I am not seeing it -- can you share the name of it? Thank you!!
Here's the Baking Soda Surface Scrub I love and here's the Vinegar cleaner.
What do you use each of those for? I see below you use the multi surface spray on counters? And how do you clean the INSIDE of your kitchen sink?? :)
The baking soda surface scrub is so good for the inside of the sink and the stove top!
I keep seeing similar blog posts, whether sponsored or not, and I can't help but wondering if I'm doing something wrong. No one mentions in their posts about using antibacterial sprays. Yes, I know they have chemicals but what about the bathroom floor (eww!) or even worse, kitchen counters when you've been cutting things like meat- raw chicken juice, ugh! What do you use to make sure nothing harmful is still around or are there antibac sprays that are also "clean"?
I always use the Mrs. Meyers Multi-Surface Cleaner to spray down our counters and almost EVERY OTHER surface in our house. I don't think I can live without it.
Most antibacterial soaps have antibiotics in them--which you want to avoid because they create super bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Yikes! Instead, try cleaning counters (and many other surfaces) with vinegar. Inexpensive and highly effective!
And they don’t actually wipe out the harmful ones. Just leave them alone to feast and evolve and become impossible to control. Hence why hospitals have so many horrible infections - spraying everything with anti bacterial has left the .1% that they don’t kill free to flourish without competition.
Gah! My new years resolution is to get all the chemicals out of my house! So this is amazing... my order has been placed!
Link isn't working and would love for you guys to get credit for my purchase! Thanks!
Oh no! Which link are you trying to click through on? We've had many others have success using the links, but we want to make sure you get your deal, too!
The first link for new customers isn't working at all - it opens another page for a split second and then closes it right back! Silly interwebs.
I'm so sorry you're having problems! I'll try to get to the bottom of it. What browser are you using? Could it be you have pop ups blocked?
Can you tell me specific names of cleaners you would use on granite, as well as quartz countertops? Also not sure what to use on my marble bathroom floor? I trust your advice. Installers only said, "Don't use anything harsh."
We use this Seventh Generation Granite and Stone Cleaner and it works amazing.
I just recently moved all of my under the sink stuff to above the microwave so the little guy couldn’t get into it since we chose to not do child proof locks on any of the cabinets. I’m curious if you have child proof locks on yours or if all of the products are safe enough that if a kiddo gets into them you don’t have to worry...because that alone will get me to switch right now!!!
We don't have child locks on our cabinets as of now (that might change when Polly gets a little older.) I'll keep you updated!
Where did you get the clear lazy susan?
Target!
Can you link all the lazy Susan’s?
They're from Target! Here's the one in our laundry cabinet and here's the clear one under the sink.
Great ideas but yes please update on baby proofing! I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old and we also have to keep stuff locked away. We currently have those unattractive slide locks on front of the cabinets. How do you keep busy hands out of things you just don't want them into? I look at your home and think it's beautiful but just not practical at this time in our lives because busy hands would have stuff of the shelves and all over the house. We teach boundaries but it just is what it is at this age.
We have a 4 yr old, 2 yr old and a 4 month old and when our oldest was small we just moved them up high.
So in our kitchen it's in the cabinet above our fridge and in a laundry room cabinet (like Julia) and on the highest shelf in our upstairs hallway linen closet.
It still looks pretty and organized it's just up higher :) and we don't need to worry about those ugly (and annoying) child proof lock on the cabinets.
Also, just a note about the dishwasher pods for those with toddlers - definitely keep them in a place they can't access because there are news stories out there about toddlers mistaking them for candy, so up high or in a locked cabinet is probably safest for parents with young adventurous toddlers :)
Looks great Julia! Thanks for a timely post as I've been organizing all my cabinets this week and I'm loving the clear lazy Susan and other ideas in this post!
Love Mrs Meyers, smells so good!
Love this! We've been purging and organizing during this break also. We even added flooring to our attic space for shelves to get everything up there organized.
Are the turntable and lazy susan Grove Collaborative or big box? I feel the itch to replace our clear bins under the sink.
Happy New Year!
That lazy susan with sides is so neat!! Can you share a source? (answer: hazy skies!)
Hahaha! It's from Target!
Is your house babyproofed or is Faye old enough that you can take it all off? Our cleaning supplies have to be in locked cabinets or up out of reach of our toddler. I’d love to see how you babyproof as Polly gets to that age - making it chic seems nearly impossible!
Faye is old enough to know now. But when Polly gets a little older, we'll update you!
We use magnetic babyproofing cabinet locks. You don't see anything from the outside and they've been very secure. No complaints except you have to spend time looking at your cabinets and the style of the locks for compatability - they vary in the size of the magnet and exactly where/how it attaches to the framing. We had to use a couple different locks b/w bathrooms and kitchen because of this.