Oh, the kitchen is almost done! Can you believe it? WHOO HOO! I’m so excited and have found so much stuff to get rid. How many cookie cutters, spatulas, and measuring cups does a girl need? (At my house it is more than most, but still…) I’m so proud of those of you who have been working hard to get your home ready for spring! For those of you who are behind, no worries! Jump in today and then if you have time, go back later! There’s no competition, these challenges are to help you! I function so much better when my home is semi-clean, (it’s never spotless, I have 5 kids!) and hope that this can help you out as well.
Today we are flip-flopping from what we did yesterday. Yesterday, I spent a very small amount of time organizing and decluttering my drawers. The girls and I had a great day and I didn’t get nearly the things I wanted to crossed off the never ending to-do list (such as the 3rd series of Teaching Life Skills To Kids) but family comes first. And my girls are not getting any smaller.
Therefore, today I’m organizing and decluttering my cupboards. I’m excited about this because I plan on doing some rearranging in my kitchen. I also am going to be eliminating several items from under my sink. I am switching to mostly homemade cleaners and a lot of the specialty for showers only or whatever are either getting used up or I’m giving to some of my friends.
In case you missed yesterday, here are some organizing and decluttering tips to help you with your kitchen drawers and cupboards. I’d love to hear your tips if you have something that’s not on the list!
- Empty one drawer or cupboard at a time. If you are interrupted your entire kitchen will not be in complete disarray! (Or if you have unexpected company and they walk into your kitchen as mine do, the whole room won’t look like a tornado went through it!) After it’s empty wipe it out. If you need new shelf or drawer liners put that on your shopping list for next time or get creative! Scrapbook paper or wallpaper works great as liners in your drawers. Most of my drawers are lined with the wallpaper I used in the kitchen. Keeping a Shop Vac or your vacuum with a hose close to you is a good idea in case of crumbs. I find it easier to suck them up with my little Shop Vac than trying to wipe them out with a rag or Clorox wipe.
- Get rid of anything that is broken, cracked or that you don’t use.
- Get rid of dishes and utensils you don’t like.
- If you haven’t used an appliance in a year, it’s time to sell it or give it away. Some of these appliances could be: bread machines, blenders, ice cream makers, soda streams, food processors, panini makers, waffle irons, etc.
- As you go through your storage containers, toss ones with no lids or bottoms are cracked or have been somewhat warped or melted by your dishwasher, containers that aren’t useful to your family, extra jars (unless you preserve food), coffee mugs, beer steins, wine glasses, etc. Keep the best, get rid of the rest!
- When you are going through with storage containers, pans, etc really think about how many of each item you need. I am pretty sure I have at least 6 spatulas. Do I need 6? Maybe 3?
- As you are putting items away think about the function of the kitchen. In your stove area should be pots and pans, pot holders, cutting boards, and spices (throw away any older than 3 years or those that don’t smell…they do go bad!) A small lazy Susan in your cupboard is a nice way to organize spices where you can just turn the table and see what you have!
- By the dishwasher are you storing your dishes you use everyday (plates, glasses, silverware, bowls, etc).
- Your storage containers, foil, wax paper, storage bags and cling wrap should be close to your refrigerator because that is where you use these items…to store food.
- As you clean under your sink, are your cleaning supplies in a container such as basket with handles or a caddy that you can easily take with you around the house? (I keep a separate caddy upstairs simply because I don’t like hauling my supplies up and down).
- Do you keep every plastic bag you get? Some organizers suggest keeping 5-10 and that’s it. Recycle the rest. (Unless you use them for trash can liners, but even then, how many do you need and how often do you go to the store and get more?) Can you use reusable bags when you shop to eliminate these bags?
- Do you have a junk drawer? Really think about each item in there. Are you ever going to use it? How many pens, paper clips, etc do you actually use and need? Keep this drawer as decluttered as possible because we all know, stuff accumulates in them!
- How many sets of dishes and silverware do you need? Last year, I got rid our coffee cups. Neither Jason or I drink coffee and we have some soup bowl/mugs the kids use for hot chocolate. Why store it if you never use it?
- If you find important papers that you like to keep in the kitchen, tape them inside of your cupboard doors. I moved our emergency contact information we keep for the babysitter into the inside of one of the cabinet doors. It got it off the fridge but is still easily accessible.
- When you do your silverware drawer, you can keep items such as corn cob knobs inside of small bread pans or other small containers to keep them organized. Small storage bags also work.
- If you only use an item for Christmas or Easter, can you store that item (such as cookie cutters) with that holiday decorations? It gets them out of your cupboard but will be accessible when you are ready for that holiday.
- We keep our batteries inside one of our cupboards in the kitchen. I keep them in a small tote so they are all together.
- They key is keeping like objects with like objects so you can find them!
I am starting with my drawers today because we have a busy day today and not so bad tomorrow. If I get done quickly with the drawers, I will move to some of the cupboards. My goal is to work on this for an hour today and hopefully an hour tomorrow!
Are you doing drawers or cupboards today? How many items do you think you can purge? My goal is to get rid of at least 20 things again (yesterday I found WAY more than that)!
In case you have missed any days in this series, here they are! (Don’t worry you can jump in right where we are in the series and go back later if you want to catch up or just finish out what we’re working on with us! I’m so happy that you are joining us in organizing and decluttering your home!)
Day 14 Update: Day 14: Day 13 Update: Day 13: Day 12 Update: Day 12: Day 11 Update: Day 11: Day 10 Update: Day 10: Day 9 Update: Day 9: Day 8 Update: Day 8: Day 7 Update: Day 7: Day 6 Update: Day 6: Day 5 Update: Day 5: Day 4 Update: Day 4: Day 3 Update: Day 3: Day 2 Update: Day 2: Day 1 Update: Day 1:
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