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What's the handiest way to store bulky cleaning products?
Toilet cleaner and detergent are essentials – but they’re not exactly easy on the eye. Grainne O’Reilly shares some storage tips.
CLEANING PRODUCTS IN some shape or form are necessary in every household. But and all of those tubs, brushes and bottles can take up a lot of space, and they’re not the kind of household essential that looks super-stylish displayed on a feature shelf.
So what’s the best way to store laundry detergent, toilet cleaner and everything else needed to keep your house in order?
Here are a few ideas for keeping cleaning products out of sight, but easily accessed for when you need them. (And it goes without saying that wherever your cleaning products are stored, they should always be safely out of reach of young children and pets, be it on a high shelf or in a room that can’t be accessed by little explorers).
1. Mind the gap: If you have a an unused gap between cabinets or between appliances, consider a slim storage unit or a sturdy lightweight trolley. These wheeled units are designed to be easily manoeuvrable and generally hold a fair bit of weight. This will give you a handy place to store laundry detergent, fabric softener, and other large bottles or boxes – out of sight but close by when needed.
2. Box them up: A good way to both store and organise cleaning products is by separating them out into different categories (for example: bathroom, laundry, floors) or by how frequently you use them (for example: daily, monthly or rarely) and sort them into caddies, baskets, or tote boxes. IKEA and Woodies have some smart options. These will look neat and tidy stored on open shelving in the utility or kitchen or – if you prefer to keep them out of sight altogether – keep them under the sink.
3. Make unused space work for you: A sturdy storage rack that affixes to the inside of a cupboard door can store an impressive amount of cleaning supplies; this version is designed to sit over a cupboard door, while two or three of these together could hold all of your household cleaning supplies. Alternatively you could repurpose a book rack, shower caddy, or shoe rack with clear pockets.
4. Lateral thinking: Tension rods are a quick fix route to creating hanging space in an awkward area and are simple to install – no tools or screws needed. Hang spray bottles on the tension rod by the handle. This approach will keep them tidy, stop them from falling over like dominoes when you reach for one, and will free up shelf space too. These twist rods at Littlewoods start from €8.99.
5. Swap shop: If you’re finding that the problem is not that you have nowhere to store bulky cleaning products, but rather that you don’t like the way they look, then decant smaller amounts into containers that complement your décor. That way you can store the larger bottles, boxes and tubs at the back of an out-of-the-way cupboard, while still having what you need close at hand. You’ll find a retro-style container similar to the image below on Amazon.
Follow Gráinne O’Reilly (@parsekus) on Instagram for more décor inspiration.
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