Cleaning Product Reviews & Recommendations

If you’re anything like me (read: living with a tiny kitchen that has hardly any storage space), then you already know how hard it is to find room to stash stuff. But what if we told you we discovered an accessory that offers up extra kitchen storage opportunity and helps you keep your cooking tools organized to boot? This stylish Umbra Float Kitchen Organizer mounts directly under any old kitchen cabinet (or onto the wall) for easy access to your most used cooking tools.

No matter how hard you wish, your kitchen drawers aren't going to organize themselves.

Spices are hard to organize. They’re contained in these tiny little bottles that always get knocked over and rearranged every single time you go to cook something. (You know you have cumin in that cabinet somewhere!) Annoyingly, there’s not a TON of innovation when it comes to storing spices. Once in a while, though, we see something that’s actually mind-blowing. Like this under-the-cabinet-magnetic-knife-rack situation pictured above.

Are you tired of watching loud, obnoxious infomercials? Do you find it unlikely that any of the products they’re shilling actually work? Well, what if we were to tell you that not only do some of them work, but they’re also totally life-changing in the kitchen? And wait, there’s more! (Actually, there isn’t — there’s just the rest of this story … ) Act now and keep reading!

I once heard Food Network star Anne Burrell say something about small kitchens that really stuck with me. She was talking about how lots of people use their small kitchens as an excuse not to cook — or not to cook well, even. She then followed that up with the fact that some of the best, award-winning restaurants have teeny-tiny kitchens. She’s got a point: It’s not the space you have, but rather how you use it.

The best trash cans are ones that make throwing stuff away a breeze, but also don’t cost an arm and a leg either. And while there’s no shortage of savvy waste receptacles on the market, what if we told you we found a trash bin that’s cheap, stylish, and technically not even a trash can? Plastic bag trash “bins” are like an elevated version of the classic hang-a-bag-over-the-cabinet-handle move.

You know how weightlifters and gymnasts use chalk powder to keep their sweaty hands dry? The same principle carries over with all kinds of grease (dry shampoo, anyone?). Next time you find yourself with an oil splatter or greasy stain on your favorite top, trade in your stain stick and try pre-treating with a little chalk instead. Like baby powder, chalk is ultra-absorbent, making it a must-have to keep on hand for bacon grease splatters and lipstick marks alike.

Assuming you have any cheese leftovers hanging around after you assemble a cheese board (how?), the next step is figuring out how best to store it. The last thing you want to happen after splurging on a few of your favorite wedges of Humboldt Fog, Manchego, and smoked Gouda is to let them spoil or harden into inedible blocks before you can enjoy them to the fullest. We know that fancy cheese is not cheap, so we’re here to wax poetic (hint hint!

A place for everything and everything in its place. We love that saying — especially when you think of it in terms of kitchens. See, kitchens stock a lot of stuff. Probably more than most rooms. And things can get unwieldy, quickly. So we are pro organizers — just not the expensive ones. There’s no reason to spend a boatload of money on fancy bins or containers. Spend just a little bit and you can create the most perfect homes for all the odds and ends in your kitchens.

Sometimes the best way to get your kitchen organized is to, um, steal organizers meant for other rooms. See, there are so many great products out there. What really speaks to their greatness is the fact that they can actually be repurposed throughout the house. And we often find that these things solve problems that no kitchen-specific products can solve. Take a look and you’ll see what we mean. Technically meant for: Organizing magazines in a living room or home office.

Our kitchens are where we can find some of the most expensive things in our homes. Appliances, cabinets, countertops — these things ring in at serious prices. But sometimes, it can be the (relatively) smallest purchases that have the biggest impact. When my husband and I renovated our kitchen last fall, out of all the expenditures (and there were some doozies!) the thing that had the most life-improvement per dollar spent was a hundred-dollar organizer for our pots and pans.

Let’s be real: Washing dishes rarely lands at the top of anyone’s favorite chore list. After a big meal (and some small ones!) it can be an especially tortuous task. Hoping to change your relationship with this necessary evil? Take a page out of Marie Kondo’s book and surround yourself with tools that spark joy. Ultimately, your picks should be personal to you.

It’s a little meta, but cleaning your cleaning tools is an important part of keeping your homemaking life humming. For example, imagine how your bathroom-cleaning momentum would come to a screeching halt if you discovered you were out of your favorite tub and tile cleaner. And you won’t be so amped to handle the living room once you realize that your usually-trusty vacuum is struggling to suck, and the brush is being taken over by a swarm of hair.

You can be one of these people!

Whenever I worry about the possibility of dying alone, my mom’s best attempts at calming me down usually start with the phrase, “There’s a lid for every pot.” She’s not talking about the most harrowing cabinet in my kitchen (the one that holds my pots and lids), but honestly that’s another thing that keeps me up at night. I live in an itty-bitty New York City apartment, which I share with two roommates.

Well, it’s official: We just found our new favorite Amazon section. This collection deemed as “Bargain Finds” is filled with some of Amazon’s cheapest items across the site, all aggregated into one easy, scrollable feed. Organized by curated sections (women, men, gifts, electrical — plus our personal favorites, home decor and household), you can find everything from cute baskets to organize your pantry to pretty pillows for your breakfast nook.

I recently came across this set of cleaning attachments for a cordless power drill while researching scouring pads, and all I could think about was how it could be possible that I’d lived so long without something as life-changing as this in my cleaning kit. How? All those wasted hours of scrubbing when I could have been living my life to the fullest.

You're gonna want to use three every single time you cook.

If you’ve ever paid a plumber to come snake your kitchen sink drain, you know it can cost a pretty penny. And you’ve most likely already spent time and money trying to clear it with drain cleaner or an at-home snake tool to no avail. The best defense I’ve found against a clogged drain? Regular maintenance in the form of this $9 find. I’m talking about drain deodorizing sticks.

While people’s taste in kitchen lighting fixtures can vary widely, there’s one thing everyone has in common: the need for light bulbs in said fixtures. Walk down the bulb aisle in even a small hardware store, though, and you’ll be overwhelmed with options. How many watts should it be? You definitely want LED now, right? What about those oh-so-trendy Edison bulbs? We reached out to several lighting experts to find out the best kind of bulbs that boast both form and function.

The best kitchen stuff isn’t always the shiny new toy you just brought home from the store. Sometimes, it’s a tried-and-true piece that’s been with you a long, long time. The steady, good ol’ reliable thing that always gets the job done. The thing you’ve moved from apartment to apartment. The thing you’ve had forever. We polled Kitchn staffers to find what items have been in their kitchens since college.

Do you already think that chicken juice is the grossest? If not, let me tell you why it is: Raw chicken, and the juice it produces, can harbor bacteria like mpylobacter, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens, which can cause uncomfortable foodborne illnesses and, in rare cases, death.

According to 2016 stats from the EPA, the average American produces about 4.4 pounds of trash a day, and the average family of four produces 17.4 pounds. At first it was a surprise to me that kids create just as much waste as adults do, but then I remembered all the diapers, single-serve applesauce packets, and “art” they bring home from school … the kids may be worse than I am!

If you’re looking to spread the holiday cheer with your favorite wintry scents, look no further than Yankee Candle. The company makes some of the smelliest candles you can buy. They also offer so many holiday scents, it can be difficult to decide which to go with. Should you go for Alpine Martini or Christmas Thyme? Or perhaps Sparkling Cinnamon is more your style.

It’s Breakfast Week at The Kitchn, and also the week before Mother’s Day, so that means we would be remiss if we didn’t at least mention breakfast in bed. But we’re going to do more than just mention it. We’ve gathered 18 of our favorite breakfast-tray-in-bed inspirations that will have you brewing your coffee and then crawling back under the covers.

This week we’re learning more about IKEA’s new SEKTION kitchen cabinets, thanks to the help of Dan Goldman from Brooklyn’s PANYL. Now we’re about to see SEKTION in action! Earlier this month Dan and Ron Youmans of The Kitchen Couple installed a SEKTION kitchen in a Boerum Hill, Brooklyn rental apartment. Here’s a play-by-play of their installation experience.

Need multiple trash bins? Have a deep or corner cabinet that’s underutilized? Have we got a find for you. It may be a little weird to geek out over a trash can setup, and yet that is what’s happening here. This compact, under-the-cabinet three-trash-bin setup is so smart! I’m just imagining standing over the bins: “And YOU, bottle, go here (plink!), and YOU, food scraps, go here (plop!), and YOU, old newspaper, go here (drop!). Now swing back under the cabinet!

We don’t know about you, but a good speaker system is an essential part of our kitchens. If you’re going to spend some time cooking you’re going to need great tunes. These five speakers will help you rock out while you dice, braise, and boil. No matter your budget or space, one of these will fit in your kitchen.

Nobody does color and pattern quite like Finnish company Marimekko. We’ve long been fans of their kitchen textiles, and we still love this super colorful pot holder. As if that weren’t enough, now we’re smitten with their vibrant paper napkin collection! How pretty would these be at your next summer bash? Marimekko’s paper napkins come in sets of 20, and range between $4 and $7, depending on where you purchase them. (Crate & Barrel and FinnStyle carry most styles.

Home is where the art is. If you’re hoping to infuse your kitchen with just a touch more personality this year, try carving out some room for a framed print. Find your style (contemporary or classic) and function (inspiration or utility) with some of my favorite prints. Try placing the chalkboard print in front of the glass on a flat-colored frame to give off the look of a hand-written chalk. Or add some interest by hanging three similar prints in different color variations side by side.

The kitchen island in this recent House Tour on Apartment Therapy, made of iron pipes and a live edge wood top, caught my eye because it’s not an island design you see very often. Owners Mike and Molly are fortunate to have enough space in their kitchen for a full-size table, but there isn’t actually a lot of workspace other than the countertop against the wall.

We love the look of a warm, wooden dining table. It’s just so cozy and perfect for long dinners with friends and family. If you’re in the market for a dining table, you’re in luck, because there are so many talented woodworkers making beautiful handcrafted tables from salvaged or sustainable wood.

Day 6 Task: Consider appliances, gadgets and tools. The first thing I did when I saw today’s task was go out and buy this $5,800 Trousseau kitchen set from MOMA. Then I threw everything else away. I kid, I kid. (Although if I had $5,800 to spare and, you know, no rent or bills or living expenses of any kind for forever, then maybe.

You put a lot of love and care into preparing a meal, so why not eat that meal off a plate that’s been just as lovingly created? That is precisely what’s so special about handmade dinnerware, and I just love the collection from San Luis Obispo-based potter Christine Silbaugh.Back Bay Pottery 1 Small Oval Platter, Choose Your Color, $18 2 Small Oval Dishes, Set of Two, $34 3 Deep Dinner Plates, Set of Two, $48 4 Porcelain Pears Sugar and Creamer Set, $79.

I know, I know. Cleaning is usually way down on our list of things to get excited about, and new cleaning products are even further down. But have you discovered these “magic” eraser pads? They’re all they claim to be and more.The Magic Eraser is brilliant for those little kitchen-cleaning details that always seem so annoying: shining up faucets and fixtures, cleaning tile grout, wiping scuffs off the baseboards, and cleaning fingerprints from the fridge.

Remodeling your kitchen? Like Martha Stewart’s style? If you are looking for the clean, contemporary cottage and farmhouse style often seen in Martha’s magazines, then you might want to check out her new line of cabinets at Home Depot.Many of the 11 special-order cabinet styles are based on (or at least named after) Martha’s own homes. There are 32 styles of hardware to accompany the various cabinet styles, and complementing styles of Corian countertop and wall paint too.

This just looks like normal, albeit small, kitchen island, right? Wrong. Read on to see how this kitchen worktop can fit in even the smallest kitchen.We don’t have a kitchen island, but we wish we did. We like to be at least partially surrounded by workspace, and even a small island is helpful. It’s especially nice during the holidays or parties, when an extra workstation makes multiple dishes (and extra hands) easier to manage.

When I first became serious about wine, I really noticed the difference that a good glass made to my appreciation of the wine. At that time the choice of wine glass was pretty polarized. Either I spent a great deal of money (more than I could afford) or I had to be content with an industrial, heavy, thick-lipped glass. There was very little to choose from in between.Today, I can still spend a lot of money on a great glass, but I can also get a really good wine glass for a modest spend.