This Viral $20 Under-the-Sink Storage Hack Might Be the Smartest Thing We’ve Ever Seen

I’ve always wanted a perfectly curated under-sink cabinet, but I don’t want to invest all that much money into it, if you know what I mean. But when I saw a brilliant way to utilize vertical space under the sink using a tension rod, I thought, that looks totally doable and affordable.

Cleaning and organizing TikToker Elnaz Hamai documented the project in this TikTok, and I couldn’t believe how simple and smart the idea of installing a tension rod to hold paper towels and spray bottles was. Not only did it keep the floorspace clear, but it utilized the vertical space that was otherwise going to waste.

I pretty much immediately purchased a steel tension rod as well as Command Spray Bottle Hangers for added stability — although I wasn’t sure I needed the hangers, I didn’t want to pull a paper towel off the roll and cause an avalanche of all-purpose sprays. And so, for just over $20, I quickly and easily created storage space out of thin air. Next stop: Ollivanders. (That one’s for my Potterheads.)

Of course, after assembling it, I couldn’t keep myself from imagining ways to maximize this smart storage idea. Our rod is pretty full of spray bottles, since my family of four cleans the house together, but if you only need one of each type of spray, you should have extra room on the bar. These reusable dishwashing gloves hook together, which means you can drape them across the rod or on an S-hook without worrying about them falling to the ground. Speaking of S-hooks, the possibilities here are endless — this bamboo dish brush could easily hang from the rod, as could these cute dish towels. Amazon even sells sponges with hook holes, and TikTok favorite Scrub Daddy has holes naturally built into its smiling face. You can also purchase clear acrylic bins to hold your ground level supplies, but I chose to reuse a fun vase, a wire basket rescued from my “donate” pile, and a box from a holiday gift.

My favorite part of this project is the paper towel storage. I’ve never seen a paper towel roll and thought, that’s an attractive household good right there. For this reason, and to reduce the amount of paper towels we use (for environmental reasons), I like to keep my paper towel rolls out of sight. With this method, the roll isn’t taking up valuable real estate in my pantry anymore; in fact, it’s using space that was previously wasted. And it only cost me $20 and mere minutes to install. 

What tools have you repurposed for kitchen organization? Let us know in the comments.