Cleaning the Kitchen!

I don’t know about all of you, but our kitchen is the one place I have a hard time keeping organized and clear of CLUTTER! I am so over clutter, the past two years I have been all about PURGING!!! This weekend I am going to take a seriouse look at our kitchen and get down and dirty!

Honestly I wish our kitchen looked like this….

and Our pantry looked like this…

Panera has some great tips!!

Clear the decks. Remove everything from your kitchen counters and give them a good scrub. Then throw away anything that looks suspicious – the spice jars that have gathered dust for years, the old birthday-party invitations, the outdated catalogs.

Assess the appliances. Look at everything that used to live on your countertop and ask yourself this question: Have I used this item in the past month? If not, find a new home for it. Don’t like toast? Put the toaster in the back of the closet. Haven’t touched the blender since 2004? Donate it to the neighborhood yard sale. Nothing goes on the kitchen counter that you don’t use just about every day.

Purge the paper. Chances are there’s a forest full of paper sitting on your kitchen counter. Keep the clutter at bay by organizing a filing system in one of the cabinets, with a folder for each member of the family. Set aside time each week or month to deal with the contents.

Divide and conquer. Think about what you want to do in your kitchen, and divvy your countertop accordingly. For example, put utensils like spatulas and whisks in a piece of crockery next to your stove. If you enjoy baking, designate one area for storing your mixer, rolling out dough, and stacking your mixing bowls.

Go vertical. Your horizontal kitchen counter space is at a premium, but chances are you’ve got plenty of untouched vertical space that would be perfect for organizing your kitchen. Try a Peg-Board and hooks for pots and pans or buy a pull-down under-cabinet organizer for your spices.

Question: How organized is your kitchen?


Comments

3 responses to “Cleaning the Kitchen!”

  1. I hate my kitchen. It’s small and closed off from the rest of the house. Because its small, I have minimal stuff in there, which is nice.

  2. Boy, I wish I had a kitchen that looked like those photos!! I really need to organize my pantry. I feel like every time I reach inside, things are falling all over the place. I’m sure it could be better organized!

  3. taylor ashley Avatar
    taylor ashley

    Great Blog!