My friend Tina, at The Happy Lil Homemaker always inspires me to cook, clean, and organize! She writes fabulous articles on our everyday things in life! This post is all about the kitchen and it makes you think about the little things that we miss! My cabinets are FULL of clutter right now and I DO NOT want to go back home to clutter, but unfortunately the cleaning fairy will not magically appear while I am on vacation! Check out Tina’ post to get you motivated!

Clutter and organizing the Kitchen…

Ah, yes! The kitchen! The hub of the household. The kitchen is center of most homes. We cook there. We eat there. The kids do homework there. We even socialize there.

We have junk mail on the counters. Backpacks and jackets are hanging from chairs. Your husbands keys in the middle of the table. Yes, the true multipurpose room. Is it any wonder why our kitchens seem to hold SO much “STUFF”?! When we moved, the kitchen was the room with the most boxes. How crazy is that?! That really opened my eyes. I am not immune to clutter. It happens to the best of us. So, when you are tackling that kitchen, know that I am, most likely, in the middle of tackling mine as well.

As always, we start with the “Toss”, “Keep”, and “Donate” boxes. Go through ALL of it! This may be the room that takes you the longest. Go through the fridge, freezer, cupboards, drawers…EVERYTHING!

~Check those expiration dates.
~Combine those two bottles of Windex
~Do you really need 17 sets of measuring cups or spoons?
~Why are you keeping that chipped coffee mug that always scratches your lip?
~Heck, why are you keeping the 72 coffee mugs?

As you are going through the cupboards, organize them. You might want to consider emptying each cupboard one at a time, wiping it out and then putting things away. This is also a perfect time to clean that fridge and freezer. Put in a new box of baking soda.

Once everything has been sorted, take those boxes out of there. Throw away the trash, box up the donated things, and put away the things that didn’t belong there.

Now that the trash, and junk are out of there…clear off ALL of the counters. Wipe down EVERYTHING! Counters, small appliances…

Stand back and look at that blank space. How do you want it to function? Set it up!

Organizing ideas:
I found some nice canisters a few years back for next to nothing, at K-mart. I bought two sets of them, and use them for the little things, and since they all match, it looks cute, too. I use one of them for my counter top cooking utensils (lid off). I use another for the doggie treats (lid on). Another I keep next to the sink and put my scrub brushes and sponges in (lid on). The large one I use for those random little things that you’d normally throw in a junk drawer (I need my drawer space).

I have two bins under my sink. One if for recycling, and the other is for my cleaning products. Having this short recycling bin is really useful. The cleaning bin is great because I just pull the bin out and I can take it anywhere. I don’t have to dig something out, or try to carry 7 bottles.

Find those small spaces around your kitchen, and use them for storage. Put your step-stool, or broom in that space between your fridge and the wall. Put a hook in your pantry and hang up the aprons or plastic bags.

Now…mop, put down the rugs…wipe down the walls…

How does it look? Do you feel better? Now, go out for dinner tonight.  You’ve earned it! 

Thanks So Much for this awesome post Tina!! ~ The Happy Lil Homemaker

-Lacey