Saturday, November 18, 2006
Let's Look at the Kitchen
Maybe yours is not this bad, but we all have some kind of overload going on in our kitchens. If you simply take 15 to 30 minutes per project, you will have an accomplished feeling.
A CLEAN COUNTERTOP IS A REWARDING WAY TO BEGIN
Anything that doesn't belong on the kitchen counter, for now, pile up and stick it somewhere else. Maybe you could place it in your tv viewing area and look through it later for sorting, ditching, and other placement.
School papers, bills, mail on the counter? I put the kids' papers inside a file folder - yes, it starts to bulge - and then keep it in the pantry. I always know where the kids' papers are. You may have another area for this stuff, but keep to it, and it will become an easy habit.
Bills have a place at your desk or one of those cute "Bill Holders." You might also keep the bills nearby postage, address labels, and your checkbook.
Mail - well, we've all heard and read about going through it right away, but do we do this? When you pick up the mail, stand over or nearby a trash can and immediately throw away the junk mail, catalogs (that you don't want), and envelopes that you don't need. Immediately make a bill pile for when you are going to the place in your home where they are located. Magazines and such - make a reading pile, maybe in a basket, on a shelf, or in a drawer. If you can take care of the piece of mail right away, do it. Don't procrastinate.
What else do you have on your counter that doesn't belong there? Extra dishes, utensils, gadgets. If you don't use them every single day, put them away.
Now, step back and see what you've accomplished in 30 minutes? Sit down and reward yourself.
School papers, bills, mail on the counter? I put the kids' papers inside a file folder - yes, it starts to bulge - and then keep it in the pantry. I always know where the kids' papers are. You may have another area for this stuff, but keep to it, and it will become an easy habit.
Bills have a place at your desk or one of those cute "Bill Holders." You might also keep the bills nearby postage, address labels, and your checkbook.
Mail - well, we've all heard and read about going through it right away, but do we do this? When you pick up the mail, stand over or nearby a trash can and immediately throw away the junk mail, catalogs (that you don't want), and envelopes that you don't need. Immediately make a bill pile for when you are going to the place in your home where they are located. Magazines and such - make a reading pile, maybe in a basket, on a shelf, or in a drawer. If you can take care of the piece of mail right away, do it. Don't procrastinate.
What else do you have on your counter that doesn't belong there? Extra dishes, utensils, gadgets. If you don't use them every single day, put them away.
Now, step back and see what you've accomplished in 30 minutes? Sit down and reward yourself.
INSIDE THE CABINETS
Now that your counters are empty, you can clear out one cabinet at a time and see what you really need to keep.
Cups & Glasses, Coffee Mugs - Take them all out of the cabinet. Plastic, glass, ceramic, crystal, whatever. Hold each one and decide if its time has come. Throw away, give away, or RECYCLE in your home. Give them another job -pen, marker or pencil containers, makeup holders, vases, teeth rinsing cup.
Plates & Bowls - Depending on their size, smaller bowls might work on your dresser, night table, or in a drawer to hold like items. If you have many different designs, keep only those that you have enough of to serve your usual amount of people. Think about storing th9ose for special occassions in a china cabinet or out-of-the-way area until needed.
Foil Bakeware - Okay, it seems like a good idea at the time. Ooh, let's save this and re-use it at another time. If it's in good condition, sure. If not, ditch it right away! You can have a lot more room in your cabinets if you purchase non-foil bakeware that can be used over and over again, and it will take up less room than continually saving all that foil.
Trays - I have a lot of trays. Well, I used to have a lot of trays. Now, I only keep ones that I know I will use more than one time per year. It's amazing how much room you can save. When you buy cupcakes at your local grocery bakery, it seems like such a good idea to save the container it came in. All those cupcake holes! In reality, you probably won't use it. Same goes for the vegetable and fruit platter trays you collect from these stores. Save one if you want, but always update with a newer one and throw the older ones away!
Silverware and Other Utensils - Take a good look at your silverware and decide if you really need to keep all of it. If you can part with some of it, you'll make more room to store spatulas and such. Don't forget you can hang some of these larger utensils on your wall, or out of view inside a pantry or cabinet. Don't hold onto more than 2 of any large utensil unless absolutely necessary. If you do, keep only the ones that are in the best condition.
In our next post, we'll tell you how to keep your REFRIGERATOR clean...
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Accumulation Overload
Warning! Warning! Accumulation Overload!
Can't find your black jeans?
Need to find your passport?
Where is that soup ladle?
Somewhere...lurking in your home or office....everything is there.
But where?
Closet racks jammed tight with unwanted or out-of-style clothes
Desks, drawers, shelves, cabinets
School papers, old homework
Toys, toys, toys
Books, books, books
Personal items – valuable, worthless, useless, sentimental?
If you are serious about decluttering, it can be done in a painless way.
Can't find your black jeans?
Need to find your passport?
Where is that soup ladle?
Somewhere...lurking in your home or office....everything is there.
But where?
Closet racks jammed tight with unwanted or out-of-style clothes
Desks, drawers, shelves, cabinets
School papers, old homework
Toys, toys, toys
Books, books, books
Personal items – valuable, worthless, useless, sentimental?
If you are serious about decluttering, it can be done in a painless way.
Take 10 minutes, YES, 10 minutes each day.
Pick an area of your house and declutter it.
Make piles of things you may give away, throw away, look at in another 10-minute declutter day. Just do it.
That's it. You're done for now.
Go back to it tomorrow and see what you can do with those piles. A little bit each day goes a long way. It really does work.
