Clutter and general disorganization is a total time and energy waste. Thinking about, maneuvering around it, and feeling guilty about it doesn’t help either. If we just tackled the problem before it even happens, we’d have more time and feel more refreshed throughout the day. The kitchen and bathrooms are the most used rooms in the home and it only makes sense that a good level of organization and clarity will help these working rooms work for us, not against us.
Ann Marie Williams, a professional organizer and owner of Atmosphere Consulting in Massachusetts, concurs, “The kitchen is one of the most used spaces in our house. Make sure the space is used efficiently.
As with any space, the key to being organized is that everything should have a home. It not only makes it easier to find, but it makes it easier to put items away. Most clutter is delayed decisions … if you bring items in and leave them in the kitchen or on the counter and you don’t have a place for them to go, there is a good chance they will just stay there and pile up.
Also, once the space is organized, it is important to do regular maintenance. Put items away. Do it on a daily basis. Create that habit. Having a “home” for items will help, but you need the discipline to keep up the organization.”
Ah, discipline. There’s the rub. Well, seriously, don’t you always just feel better when the laundry is put away and that pile of mail has been sorted, filed, and recycled?
Ann Marie shared some quick tips for getting, and staying, organized:
An Organized Kitchen:
• Review what is in the cabinets and remove any items that are no longer used. Sippy cups and your kids are in school? Wedding gifts you have never used? Baking pans for days but you don’t bake?
• Relocate any items that you seldom use such as large pots and serving dishes to another area. Perhaps shelving in the basement/garage, dining room, or at least the less accessible space in the kitchen.
• Store dishes and glassware near the dishwasher – less time and action to put away.
• Maximize space: use shelf separators to add vertical space to cabinets.
• Store in zones: baking, spices, canned goods, breakfast.
• Use small, clear bins to contain small items. Easy to access and you can maximize vertical space. Do not let an island or counter be a catch all for papers. It is a kitchen. Create a mail center or office are in a specified section of the kitchen if need be.
