How to Install a Kitchen Sink
Prepare for the New Kitchen Sink
Before you begin this project, read the manufacturer’s instructions and follow all local building codes. If you’re not comfortable installing a kitchen sink or related components (faucets and garbage disposers)
Measure your existing sink. If your new sink has different dimensions and drain location than the unit it will replace, you may need to modify the countertop opening and / or plumbing.
Good to Know
For best results, make a drawing of your old sink with all measurements including distances from the sink wall to the drain center to use as a shopping aid and reference. Or you can remove your old sink,
Remove the Old Sink
Before you begin, snap a picture of your plumbing configuration. This serves as a handy reference if you’re having trouble reassembling the plumbing later.
Turn off both the hot and cold water supply lines. The shutoff valves typically are in the cabinet below the sink or in the basement. If you cannot find them, turn off the main water line to the house.
Things For Anyone Who Spends Basically All Their Time In The Kitchen
Heavy-duty cleaning wipes that’ll remove sauce and grease splatters with ease.
These wipes are non-abrasive so they’re safe to use on smooth surfaces like car exteriors.
Promising review: “I have a small kitchen, and everything tends to get an oily, greasy film on it very quickly. I don’t have a tile backsplash or a range hood, and my fridge is right next to my stove, so the paint on the wall and the textured fridge get pretty disgusting. The tiniest little oil splatter seems to cover my whole kitchen. When these wipes arrived yesterday, I attacked my kitchen with them. They worked amazingly well! I didn’t realize how much grease was really sticking to everything until I saw how disgusting the wipes were getting. Luckily, they’re huge, so I was able to cover a lot before a needed a new one
A compact binder for collecting all your favorite recipes (from grandma’s secret casserole to that perfect cinnamon bun recipe you got off the internet)
This ring binder comes with 25 4″x6” recipe cards, 50 clear plastic sleeves, and nine tab dividers with categories.
Promising review: “I don’t have too many recipes (since I’m not the best cook lol), so I was looking for a really cute recipe book just to keep my favorites! They supple a handful of stylish note cards that match the binder to input your recipes, which I really liked. Also, it is a really cute decoration to display in your kitchen, too!”
A cushy floor mat to save your feet from standing on the cold, hard kitchen floors for hours during food prep
Easy Ways To Organize The Space Under Your Kitchen Sink
When you walk into our studio space through the side door, the first thing you see is the kitchen on your left. If you look to the right, you’ll see small room that we use primarily for storage. Because that storage room is conveniently located right across from the kitchen, we had been storing most of our cleaning supplies in the storage room rather than in the kitchen itself.
That meant that the space under the kitchen sink was going largely unused. It wasn’t really an issue until recently, because over the past year the storage room has been filling up with appliances, tools, blog projects, etc. So we decided it was high time to move our kitchen cleaning supplies to the space under the sink where they rightly belonged!
But as we started moving items into the space under the sink, it occurred to us that we needed to think about some storage solutions to keep it from becoming a mess. So today I’ll be sharing the steps a few of the tips we used to organize our under-the-sink storage space, in hopes that some of you might find them useful as well!
Tension Rod
We put up an inexpensive tension rod near the top of the cupboard to hang our sprays, cleaners, and scrub brushes. Getting spray bottles up off the bottom of the cupboard freed up a lot of space for other items! If you have larger/heavier spray bottles to hang, you may need to invest a few more dollars to get a sturdier tension rod.
Plastic Bins
The most important thing about under-the-sink storage is ensuring that things are waterproof. Not that you should be expecting a leak, but things happen and it’s much easier to keep things clean if they can’t get soggy or waterlogged.
Kitchen Sink Organization Ideas
Near and Dear
It’s important to have everything you use frequently within easy reach so you’re not wasting time at the sink. Keep sponges, scrubbers and soap organized with a sink caddy. These little time-savers can straddle the sink divider, sit above the sink or even be used on the side of the sink with suction cups.
Out to Dry
A drying rack is a helpful tool to save yourself time in the kitchen. If you have space, an in-sink rack is helpful as water drains right into the sink. If you’re pressed for space, a countertop drying rack is a great solution. Be sure to choose one that is angled or has a spot for draining into the sink. Some compact styles can be stored below the sink when not in use.
Below Deck
Resist the urge to allow the cabinet below your sink become a dumping ground! Utilize over the door cabinet hooks and racks to keep towels and cleaning tools tidy. Gliding drawers are ideal for cleaning supplies — the items stored will be easy to access. Or, choose a caddy for cleaning supplies if you’ll need to take them to other areas of your home.
Use It Up: The Kitchen Sink Drink
Once upon a time I was throwing away veggies like it was my job. It would kill me; I’d spend money on lovely, organic or local vegetables, and find myself chucking them into the trash in a week because I let them go to hell in a crisper-basket.
Then, I started making green smoothies. Now, I can’t tell you the last time I pitched produce. Why? Because I’m drinking every last scrap. AND, enjoying it. These drinks are not nose-plugging-nasty-chug-it-down-before-you-yak kind of tonics. They’re what I like to call elixirs of life! And small pores! And gut shrinkage! And every other thing a whole darn head of cabbage could probably cure
This weekend’s Use It Up Recipe is a drink. Not unlike when I talked about drinking bok choy, but this particular blended wonder was literally every color in the rainbow — AND — everything but the kitchen sink. Oh, and did I mention delicious? (or without sweetener of any kind??) My kids drank it, my husband drank it…and yep, even the puppy drank it..
Truly, how else could you eat the same amount of raw kale and purple cabbage? Without choking it down as though someone had a gun to your head?! Think about it.
The whole premise of “green” smoothie making is to do 60% veggies — the majority of the drink — but then sweeten with 40% fruit. So, essentially, you don’t even realize you’re drinking greens. Plus, unlike juicing, smoothies allow you to keep all the fiber and roughage, so these potent beverages keep you full in addition to packing a nutrient punch.