Everything from the cabinets to (under) the kitchen sink. The kitchen is the number one most used room in the house, and yet so many times it is the one that is the least organized. It becomes our catchall, for mail, backpacks, recycling materials, pet bowls, and sometimes food and groceries. It is the hub of the house, and it should be where we gather and tell about our day, to gather with family and friends for meals, and a place to hear the stories our children come home with and come home for.
Several years ago, we were in a home organizing rooms and when we got to the kitchen, the pantry was a generous size, as it should be for a family of eight. But on the floor of the pantry was a fifty-pound bag of pig food. They tripped over it reaching for the cereal. They pushed it out of the way when they couldn’t get to the pasta. And it collected dust and animal hair the rest of the time. The woman of the house tried to explain the need for pig food inside the house, that at one time there was a baby pig that they were trying to nurse back to health and then life got busy and they never moved it. I tried to understand, really, I did, but for years they worked around the fifty pounds of waste, because that is what we did, was throw it away. For years that bag reminded them of a pig that didn’t survive. And for years, they never ONCE cooked or made anything edible out of the pig food. Not once.
I have said before, but I will repeat, “only keep what you are actively involved in”. I can understand trying to feed the animals. I can’t understand why inside the kitchen, and even at that, there was an appropriate time and location for that feeding, and by the time I arrived the time had expired, and IMHO (in my humble opinion) should have never been in the kitchen. So understandably so, it didn’t take long to make a dramatic difference in the kitchen, as we moved on the fifty-pound bag of feed, it made a significant difference, visibly and physically.
Remember the purpose of your kitchen. It is a place to gather with family, for dinner, a glass of wine, or sit with your child to help with homework. You may not be a cook, but you have a Kitchen, then set it up for how you and your family use it. If the most use your kitchen gets is a place for your computer and a coffee maker, then set it up for that. If you want the kids to have a place to do their homework, clear of the island of all the clutter so they can sit with you while you’re making dinner.
When clutter gets in the way you are missing the Sweet Stuff. When the island is full of old mail, unpaid bills, school papers, yesterday morning’s cereal bowls, money stuck with the candy from the little guy who didn’t like that taste, you have no place to invite a friend in for a glass of wine and an enjoyable conversation, or coffee with your husband. Remember you are creating the space to make memories, with those that you love, to do what you enjoy doing. Be free of clutter and make room for the sweet stuff. The memories you will make will be worth the effort that it takes.
Call us to help you with your kitchen project, follow us on Facebook (@consideritdonetexas) and Instagram (Cid.lori) to get some great kitchen tips and ideas in the month of February.
Lori Martinez
Consider It Done
Recent Comments