You’ve washed the dishes and unloaded the dishwasher or dish rack. Some of you may have even had to do this twice! But that’s okay. Now we can all start implementing the habit of washing or loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher as they accumulate.
Let’s move on to the next step…
Step 2 :: Remove the Clutter
The next step to a clean and organized kitchen is to rid the room of anything that doesn’t belong. With the exception of a few strategic decorations, if it doesn’t help you cook, eat, or clean, it’s probably hindering your ability to fully utilize your kitchen.
- Do you have a stack of papers that should be in the in-box on your desk? I have books that need to be moved.
- Do your kids have toys in kitchen that should be in their room? Thomas the Train and his friends have somehow found a home in our plastic cups!
- Do you have bags on the floor? We’ve made it a habit to dump everything by the garage door that enters into our kitchen and they always block the pantry door.
- Do you have odds and ends on your refrigerator? We have kid’s artwork and an old basked I’ve been meaning to throw away on top of the fridge.
- Do you have a junk drawer full of stuff that belongs somewhere else? I have sunglasses, sunblock, tools and more that need to go to their permanent home.
- Do you have a rarely used TV or radio on your kitchen counters? What about an abundance of knickknacks? Clearing your counters of clutter will give you more space to enjoy your kitchen and use what you have.
As you can tell, my kitchen has become a dumping ground for several items that belong elsewhere. Perhaps yours has too. It’s easy to do!
If you look around and see only essential kitchen items, then congratulations! You get the day off!
But if you happen to see something that doesn’t belong in the kitchen, take it to the appropriate location. And then tell me about your weird, strange, non-kitchen item in the comment section! I’d love to hear about it!
Make sure to check out the rest of the clean and organize kitchen series!
iDreamOfClean
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Right now 2 of my counters have all the canning jars that my husband just made on them (now 2 weeks!). I keep asking him to move them because I have no counter space. The boxes are too heavy for me. I like the canning season, but it clutters up the kitchen.
Right now the only thing on my counters are small appliances and I’m working getting them off the counter, it’s driving me nuts. On the floor, I have some paint cans (we are in the middle of painting), so ready for them to go too. lol
Oh my gosh. My kitchen is not very pretty right now. Lets see. I have a stack of newspapers on a kitchen chair, a stack of mail and papers on the island. Now moving on to the phone counter. Bills lined up to pay. A basket of more papers. A minnie mouse favor from my grand daughters birthday party. Um. From June. Yes I said June. An empty bottle of tylenol. a seashell. a nail clipper, a watch, t light candles, craft paint, a tube of rub and buff, a box of easter eggs that my grand daughter got from my closet. a bottle of purell, paint chip colors,coupons,a camera, an empty can of cat food for the recycle bin. Ok, so I guess I need to get busy. Wow. I have lots of stuff. Oh and my jacket on a kitchen chair.
I have a very small kitchen so it clutters very easily!!! I have birthday stuff from my sons party last weekend, plus I made the cake so all the baking/decorating gadgets, I should say that I don’t bake that often and with a tiny kitchen we store those in another place so there are clutter and more stuff from a Halloween party that we have last night, some cardboard to take to the recycle bin, some bottles of essential oils, some receipts, food and utensils out of their respective place and other things that belong to the kitchen but I don’t have room to put away, ok this is going to take a while I guess a have to get rid of some stuff!!!!!!!!!!!
Stack of papers – OUCH! That is the biggest discouragement to me in my kitchen. The pile grows! I’m a saver of recipes, cards, and thoughts of encouragement that I have read and might want to share with others. How do I become ruthless and not save so much??
I love the idea of the before and after picture!!
YAY me! I get a day “off” (well, sort of… I just saw this today, so I started with Day 1). I am used to having a HUGE kitchen, and we just moved into a house with a tiny kitchen. I have a 3/2 house with a kitchen that belongs in an efficiency apartment. :-( So just in the last month since we moved in, I have had to get in the habit of keeping counters cleaned off and things put away. It doesn’t take much to clutter this little kitchen! Unfortunately, I also have a garage full of stuff that we are still trying to find places for, and a LOT of it is kitchen stuff. So I am eager to see your ideas for organizing! Thank you for doing this!