Every home has a healthy stock of cleaning supplies.
Whether you prefer natural cleaners or store-bought disinfectants, you need to know where to put them. Safe storage for your cleaners is so important, particularly if you have little ones in the house.
If you need some ideas on how to creatively make use of your space, here are a few solutions for where you can store your cleaning supplies.
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Clever Places to Store Cleaning Supplies in Small Apartments
Small apartments bring along a unique set of challenges when it comes to your storage.
You have to get creative with every square inch of your empty space. Cabinets must perform well, and even closet doors should be pulling their weight.
When it comes to storing your cleaners, you may have to get creative.
Shoe Racks & Cupboards
One of the easiest solutions is to purchase an over-the-door shoe rack. These are often made out of canvas or plastic. They have individual pockets where shoes are designed to be placed.
However, you can easily swap out shoes for bottles of cleaner. This is a great way to keep things organized—group like items together, such as all your bathroom cleaners or all of your window cleaners. You have plenty of storage from one of these hangers.
You could also consider purchasing a hanging shoe rack. This is usually just a single row made out of canvas or plastic that hangs from a rod in your closet. The size of the pockets is ideal for holding extra rolls of paper towels.
If you prefer the more traditional way of storing your cleaners in the cupboard under the sink, make sure you maximize your space. You can hang a rod toward the top of the cabinet.
This is ideal for spray bottles that can hook right over the bar. This allows you to hang some cleaners and still have floor space for others. It essentially doubles the amount of storage that you have.
Mobile Carts & Versatility
Last but not least, you could get a mobile cart.
These are relatively easy to find, and they come in all sorts of colors and finishes. They can be easily tucked away in the laundry room when not in use.
These are particularly great because they can be wheeled around the house with you when you need them.
This prevents you from making unnecessary trips back and forth to tote cleaners around your home.
Can You Store Cleaning Products in a Garage?
Many people use their garage as a sort of catch-all for the items in their house that they don’t know what to do with.
It is home to all sorts of retired arts and crafts projects, tools, and other supplies that you don’t know where to put. Should your cleaning supplies be stored out here as well?
A garage is a great place for storing major appliances that you use to clean your house. This can include your vacuum cleaner, carpet shampooer, steam mops, and other major investments.
However, you should really consider bringing your actual cleaners inside the house.
Recommended Storage & Warning Labels
Before you decide to relegate your cleaning products to the garage, you need to take a closer look at the instruction label. Many cleaning products are chemicals or contain some amount of chemicals.
As a result, they have special handling instructions that don’t necessarily apply to natural cleaning ingredients like distilled white vinegar or baking soda.
Make sure you read the recommendations for storage and the full warning label. Many of these products do not do well with extreme temperature fluctuations. This can include the swing from hot to cold that often occurs in your garage.
It is preferred to bring all of your cleaning supplies into the home and store them somewhere where the temperature will be more consistent.
Can You Keep Cleaning Supplies in an Airing Cupboard?
Do you have an airing cupboard in your home? Some people may have one without even realizing it.
This is the cabinet that often holds your water heater. The size of your cabinet can vary, but it often has some shelving in it along with your large hot water tank.
Because of the heat that the hot water tank puts off, the airing cupboard is great for drying your clothes and linens. After you have washed a batch of towels or a load of sheets, you can partially dry them and then place them in the airing cupboard.
This allows them to fully dry because of the exposure to the heat without the electricity required to run your actual clothes dryer.
The question is, can you store your cleaning supplies in this type of cupboard?
The answer depends on what type of cleaning supplies you have. If you prefer more natural ingredients like distilled white vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils, then you might be able to store them here.
However, if you clean with chemicals like bleach or ammonia, then you will want to consider storing them somewhere else.
The heat can interact with the chemicals in unpleasant ways. Always read the safety warning on the bottle of cleaner before storing it in a place where it will be exposed to heat.
Can You Store Cleaning Supplies in a Storage Unit?
There are two major types of storage units.
One is air-conditioned and temperature-controlled while the other one is not. If you have a storage unit that is climate controlled, then you can store your cleaning products inside of it.
This would be very similar to storing them in areas of your home, such as in a laundry room or a bathroom.
If the unit is not climate controlled, then you need to find a new place for your cleaning supplies.
They will be subject to too many temperature fluctuations in this type of storage unit.
How Do You Store Cleaning Supplies Under the Sink?
Keeping your cleaning supplies underneath the sink is one of the most common storage areas.
There is always plenty of room here, but many people struggle to keep it organized. Fortunately, there are a few simple solutions that can help you to get organized in a hurry.
First, it is best to group like cleaners together. For example, you might want to keep all your bathroom cleaners in one central location. Floor cleaners should go to another area.
It can be difficult to keep things straight without a little help, so purchase some inexpensive bins or shoe boxes to group these cleaners together. This way, you can simply grab the box you need and head out to clean without making multiple trips back to the sink.
Another key tip is to hang a tension rod underneath the cabinet. This allows you to hang spray bottles from the rod so you can see them more easily. It practically doubles the amount of storage space you will have.
Remember that you can always make use of the cabinet door also. There are a lot of door organizers you can purchase online.
However, you can also hang simple hooks to keep your cleaning rags neat and organized.
3 Other Tips for Storing Cleaning Supplies Safely:
Keeping track of the temperature where you store your cleaning supplies is important, but there is so much more to consider.
Particularly if you have little ones around, you need to ensure that you are following every possible safety precaution.
Here are a few other tips for storing cleaning supplies safely.
1. Keep Them Up
The quickest and easiest way to make sure that your little ones do not get into cleaners is to store them up and out of reach.
For most people, this means storing them on a shelf above their washer and dryer in the laundry room. It could also mean moving them to the top shelf of your pantry.
Keep them up high enough that little ones can’t get at them, but not so high that you have to struggle to reach them. If you have a difficult time reaching what you need, you are more prone to knock over the bottles and potentially cause dangerous spills.
Try storing them at your eye level whenever possible.
2. Baby Locks
If you do not have the option of storing cleaners on a high shelf, then you might want to consider installing locks on your cabinet doors.
These babyproof locks are difficult for small children to manipulate and give you some degree of safety.
Keep in mind that they are not foolproof, but they should work well if you have very young children who do not yet understand that cleaners can be dangerous.
This type of situation is also great if you have pets who can open your cabinets.
3. Use Original Labels
Never transfer your cleaners into a new bottle or container.
Always keep the original safety label so that you can refer back to it with questions. This also ensures that you never forget what type of cleaner is in a specific bottle.
Doing so can lead to mistakes where you might accidentally mix the wrong types of cleaner, creating dangerous chemical reactions.
References:
www.bobvila.com/closet-organization
www.cynthiarowland.com/25 – clever ideas to make life easier
Must-See Laundry Room Storage Ideas!

