Let's Organize: Cleaning Caddy

If you're anything like me, I'm sure you've experienced the frustration of trying to clean, only to find yourself spending more time going back and forth gathering different cleaning supplies than actually getting down to business.

For me, I used to hoard shove keep all of my cleaning tools under my kitchen sink. Most days everything was just thrown under there which caused me to have to clean that area out every.stinkin.time I was trying to clean somewhere else in my home.

Talk about frustrating.

Then I had an epiphany of sorts. What if it all had a place?! An organized, portable place so I never had to dig around for anything again.

I'm a simple girl, this truly was an epiphany. Pathetic? Possibly.

(We used a cleaning caddy at my house growing up..I'm not sure why it took me 5 years of being on my own to realize that there was a method to the madness my parents used. Don't judge me.)

So, I made a trip to Wal-Mart, a woman on a mission. Have you ever tried looking for a basket/bin of some sort at the store? It was overly frustrating.

Seriously, there were bins in the laundry section, bathroom section, home decor section, kitchen section, outdoor section...I was overwhelmed. Hey, Wal-Mart, you should try making ONE aisle for every stinkin bin in your store. It'd be a lot more handy. Just a suggestion.

I chose one from the kitchen section, it was $3 I think and definitely big enough to hold all that crap under my sink. I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't find a bin (in oh lets say just one of the 12 sections that had some) that had a carrying handle. You know, over the top of the bin.

But I'd been there long enough circulating the entire store so I gave up & settled for one without. It actually worked out well for me. But fyi, if you want one with a handle, I saw some at Target a day or two later.

Anyways, long story short, here's my cleaning caddy & what I keep in it.

I used my Cricut Expression to cut those letters on Con-Tact paper after I saw Jen's cute letters on her cleaning caddy over at I Heart Organizing. She put 'sparkle' on hers. Talk about adorable!

I decided on labeling it what we call it in my house so I can simply say to the boy "Will you bring me such and such out of the cleaning caddy?" and he has no excuse to not know what I'm talking about or where to find it.

Sneaky? Nahhh. Just clever. He can only dodge housework for so long now!



All of carpet cleaning, fabric refreshing supplies. Gotta keep up with this little booger!

Okay, sorry bout that. I just love that cutie pie so much =) Back to the caddy..

Here's all my other basic cleaning supplies with the exception of toilet bowl cleaner, I keep that under the bathroom sink. Most of the time I purchase off brand cleaners & some from the Dollar Tree. I've found that, for the most part, they work just as well. And I save a few bucks, it's a win-win.

I keep a few extra towels, latex gloves, a Mr. Clean magic eraser, extra swiffer pads, a scrub brush, and sponges in my cleaning caddy too for quick access.

And there's the top shot, it all fits in the caddy so nice & neat! Love it! And the caddy fits perfect beneath my, now organized, kitchen sink! See..

It's fabulous. Really, it is.

Do you have a cleaning caddy? If so, what do you keep in yours? If not, how do you keep your cleaning supplies organized? I'd love to know!

 This post is linked to bouffe e bambini, Delightful Order, Serenity Now - A Mommy's Solution to Staying Sane,  Sugar and Dots,  Sassy Sites,  Remodelaholic, Home Savvy A to Z & Fingerprints on the Fridge