The kitchen is the heart of the home. A clutter free kitchen will open the door to a calm and stress free heart. After all…no clear heart, no clear mind.
For most of us who are living in apartments or small condos in the city we do not have the luxury of a big kitchen with lots of space. The dream of having an organized kitchen may seem out of reach. But with a little bit of creativity, time, and energy anyone can enjoy the benefits of having an organized kitchen regardless of the kitchens size or design. The success is not in having a big kitchen but to have the will to keep your kitchen organized. Making sure you have the best home energy quote can ensure that you have the best chance of affording the kitchen of your dreams. My friend found their quote through a price comparison website similar to Money Expert (https://www.moneyexpert.com/gas-electricity/) and I hear that they are extremely happy with the results.
In our profession we see our share of big kitchens that are just not organized due to the lack of basic organizing principles. We also see many small kitchens that are transformed into the cozy, chic, and efficient kitchen just by adding few extra shelves or containers. Kitchens are the place for family to gather and most of us spent many hours of our in-home time in the kitchen. For the exact same reason, kitchens are prone to getting messy and out of hand. An organized kitchen should work in your favor by:
- Saving you time: You can cut your cooking time in half if you know exactly were everything is and have easy access to it.
- Saving you money: If you know what you have in the fridge or in the pantry, the chances of buying duplicate items or having to throw out expired items are zero to none!
- Restore your sanity, that calm sense of order, that great feeling of have having extra space and let go of fear of opening the cabinet doors is really priceless.
Where to Start
There are some organizing foundations that apply to most organizing projects, equally they apply to organizing the kitchen. These notes are the blue print to your clutter-free kitchen.
- Sort things out and keep like-minded objects together: Imagine yourself running around the kitchen to get the cookware you need while the milk is foaming on stove and the oven timer is screaming at you. Chasing down the supplies you need is not a fun and stress-free way to cook. One of the most effective organizing principles is to group things by use and store them stationed together in designated areas.
- Store away or get rid of unnecessary items: Kitchens are the hub of every home and unwanted clutter has it’s own way of sneaking into the kitchen. Objects such as your purse, cell phone, magazines, chargers, keys, or bills can be some of the common objects that end up on the kitchen counter. Anything that doesn’t fall under the main kitchen-activities (baking, cooking, serving, and storing) doesn’t need to be in your kitchen. If you have a family with a habit of bringing their stuff into the kitchen and leaving it behind, assign a basket to each person to collect their stuff. Then ask them to put them on the proper place away from kitchen every few days. There are many big appliances that we rarely use. For these, there is no need to keep them handy. Move them to the garage, basement, or the top shelves of the pantry. Ask yourself: when was the last time you used that chocolate fondue fountain or the snow cone machine? If you really not using any of them, donate them or sell them at the next garage sale. By doing this, you will open up space for the daily used items, so they are handy and easy to reach.
- Create stations: Design your kitchen by creating a station for each activity (ie. baking area, cooking area, storing area. Design these stations in the way that allows you to go from one task to the other one without having to run all over the place. For example, keep your cookware close to your stove. Just by paying a little attention you will soon see you have a pattern in your kitchen. For the most part, we go from the fridge to the sink then to the stove. Design your cooking, cleaning, and serving stations with this pattern in mind. Leave the most space for your cleaning and drying area and while you’re planning that area think if you need to replace or upgrade any parts of it. If you have a dodgy tap then look for the best kitchen faucets to replace it or if you need a larger drying rack then look for one that fits in with the design of your kitchen.
- Attack one project at a time: We always tell our clients not to get overwhelmed by how big the project is. Attack it in small doses. Set a timer for 30 min or so and tackle one corner. You will be amazed how much you can get done and how a small organized corner can make a huge difference.
We are here to help!
We might not like the design of our current kitchen or color of the walls, but we all would like it a lot more if it’s organized. After organizing your kitchen, you might realize how a few DIY projects in a kitchen you didn’t like that much can provide you with inspiration. Let your kitchen be your happy, calm place where you look forward to preparing your next meal or unwinding after a busy day with a glass of wine. The project may even charm you into throwing a party and inviting a few friends over. The possibilities are endless.
So…if you are here because you are a big dreamer and your current kitchen is not matching your vision, we are here to fix that. In next 30 days we are going to give you one tip a day about organizing your kitchen, small tips with magic of making big changes. If our tips inspire you or you have a kitchen challenge that you need help with leave us a comment, check out our Facebook page and leave us a note, or you can also reach us by e-mail. Together we can organize it all one cupboard at a time.
