Kitchen Organization in 5 Easy Steps? Seriously? Can we talk? (Thanks, Joan!)
No seriously! Can we talk about decluttering and organizing your kitchen and giving it a RESET?
If you are like me, your kitchen is probably the heart of your home. It’s where conversations are had, where memories are made, where secrets are told, and where meals are made. It’s where the mail gets left, where school papers get sorted, and of course, it’s the room that gets the messiest, the fastest.
So, let’s talk about how you can clean, declutter, and organize your kitchen in just a 5 easy steps using the SPACE Method. Kitchen organization at its finest.
Kitchen Organization in 5 Easy Steps… Let’s get started.
First… Strategize and plan.
What is this space REALLY used for, besides the obvious?
Identify ALL the activities that happen in that one space – eating, homework, mail sorting, bill paying, playing, etc. Identify current habits that happen in that space – mail gets thrown on the counter; lunch boxes are left in back packs and are piled in the corner; dog dishes are moved about; the trash can is overflowing.
Determine your vision for the space. How do you see your kitchen? How does that clean, decluttered and organized space make you feel when you imagine it? What would it take for you to be happy when you enter your kitchen?
If you need to give yourself a visual, cut pictures from magazines and put them on a poster board, or create a Pinterest Board of all the inspiring photos of how you’d like your kitchen to look.
Next… Prioritize.
Take EVERYTHING out of the cupboards, drawers, pantry, shelves, etc. When I say EVERYTHING… I mean EVERYTHING! Put like items together. Make a stack of plates. Pile all the water bottles together. Group all the baking utensils. Combine all the plastic containers in one location. You get the idea. You want to see and know what you truly have.
Determine what you want to keep. Do you use your grandmother’s chinaware more than once a decade?
What can be donated? Your kids are in school. Do you really need sippy cups still?
What needs to be shredded? Keeping credit card bills that you paid 6 months ago? They can go!
What can go to the trash? Outdated coupons? All those political ads? (Just sayin’.)
What could you sell? That extra Crockpot you thought you had to have, just in case?
And what simply doesn’t belong in the kitchen to begin with? Move it to where it does belong!
Then clean the kitchen. Wipe down every surface. Vacuum every crumb. Make it sparkle and shine before moving on.
Keep going. Don’t stop now on your Kitchen Organization.
Third… Analyze.
Review your space. This is when we begin to RESET what will take place and how it will happen in your kitchen.
Do you have too much stuff or not enough space for all that you want in the kitchen?
Create stations. Need space for the mail? Create a mail station. Need space for school papers or for the kids to do their homework while you cook dinner? Create a homework station. Have tons of spices because you love flavor? Create a spice station. Are you the neighborhood baker? Create a baking station.
Identify where those stations will go in your kitchen and then only place items that belong in those stations at that space. Nothing else. I mean nothing else!
Next… Contain.
Realize you need a dedicated shelf for your baking paraphernalia? Get one. Realize you need a better way to store your spices. Purchase one. Realize you need new canisters because the old ones just don’t fit the same way they did in your old house? Time to update. However, before you go purchasing new containers and such, you need to do a few things.
- Measure the space so you buy the correct sizes. Don’t make multiple trips to the store. That saves neither time nor money.
- Determine how many containers you need to purchase and the style. Do you like to see what’s inside, or would you prefer to have things hidden and out of site? Have a favorite color?
- Label EVERYTHING when you get it where it needs to go. This not only helps you know where things go when you bring new items into your home, but it helps others who use the kitchen know where to put things when they are done using them.
You are almost there… Your Kitchen Organization is almost complete!
Lastly… Evaluate.
Is everything the way you hoped? What new habits did you create because of your new organizational system? How much more efficient is your kitchen? What’s not working the way you hoped and how can you tweak it for your home, your family and your life? The answers will come easily after just a few days. I promise.
It may take a few adjustments, but when you follow the SPACE Method for your kitchen organization, you can clean, declutter, organize, and RESET your kitchen in no time flat, creating a space you will be proud of!
Here’s to resetting your home, your kitchen, and your life!
Roberta
“A place for everything and everything in its place.” – Benjamin Franklin
P.S. Please be sure to share your kitchen projects with me! I love to see your before and afters, and if you found this post useful, please be sure to share it with others, who may like it as well.
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