Spring Fling Day #1: Let’s Declutter the Kitchen

Spring Fling Day #1: Let’s Declutter the Kitchen

It is day one of the Spring Fling and we are going to start easy … in the kitchen. If you declutter the kitchen, it will make a big difference in how you cook and enjoy family time together.


Time to declutter the kitchen

The kitchen doesn’t seem to hold as much sentimental attachment as some of the other rooms in our homes, so let’s get the 20 items out of there. I would encourage you to really look at your stuff. Do you have six cookie sheets? Unless you are planning to take the place of Mrs. Fields, that probably is overkill. Could you donate a couple so that someone who is baking their cookies off of aluminum foil has a safe way to make cookies for their kids? One thing I realized as I was getting rid of my 20 things in the kitchen? It was hard! Not because I was attached to things, but because I’ve been decluttering so much over the years that I really do have my essentials only in the kitchen. That is Clutter Free progress, baby!

What to do in the kitchen

Instructions:

1. Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.

2. Start with one drawer or one shelf. 3. Do NOT pull everything in your kitchen out and sort through it. That’s how your kids manage their toys, and how does THAT work for you?

Bonus: You know those days when you feel extra motivated? Yes, they may only come around once a year, but today could be that day! If so, here are some extra things you could do that will bring you more peace in your kitchen:

50 Tiny Tips to Get Clutter Free When You Have to Wait

50 Tiny Tips to Get Clutter Free When You Have to Wait

One of the things that has changed my house and my mind about clutter more than any other thing is what I’m calling “microsorting.”

In my previous life (like five years ago), when I was waiting in a drive through at Starbucks, or waiting for my oatmeal in the microwave to finish heating, I would jump on my phone and check Facebook. Now, I microsort.

Microsorts are not our typical 15 minute Clutter Free sessions. These aren’t even five minutes. These are the seconds where I’m waiting for something to heat up, power up, and finish up.

As an example, when I’m waiting for my coffee to brew in the morning (I set it the night before, but I’m almost always up before my alarm) I straighten up the coffee area, or refill the ground coffee container, replace coffee flavoring container that is running low (I love sugar-free coconut).

What I love about microsorts is that these are little patches of time that come up all day long. In those tiny pockets of time, you can accomplish so much. The other thing I love? This helps you prepare for the next day, or the next time you are cooking, or the next time you’ll be in that area. Tomorrow, when I get my coffee, the ground coffee container will be full, I’ll have my flavorings, and the area will be clean and tidy and greet me well in the morning. It is my best way to be kind to my future self.

So here are 50 ways to microsort throughout your day:

Waiting in the Kitchen

Whether you’re waiting to take something out of the oven or for those last 30 seconds on the microwave, or maybe it’s waiting for your slowpoke kids to finally finish eating, there are tons of things to do with that extra 30 seconds:

  1. Unload part of the dishwasher
  2. Sort your silverware drawer
  3. Look at dates of food on a shelf in the fridge
  4. Look at dates of food on a shelf in the pantry
  5. Sort through your utensil drawer
  6. Take out the trash
  7. Take out the recycling
  8. Wipe off a counter
  9. Scrub out your sink
  10. Wipe down an appliance
  11. Put water in the coffee pot for tomorrow
  12. Refill a canister (with flour, sugar, etc.)
  13. Start a shopping list for the next time you go to the store
  14. Restock dog/cat food

Waiting in the Living Room

Maybe you’re watching real, live TV with (gasp) commercials. Here is what you can do in the living room while you wait:

  1. Fold blankets or quilts in that room
  2. Sort through remotes
  3. Fluff pillows on the couch
  4. Sort mail
  5. Get rid of 5 magazines
  6. Declutter a shelf on a book case – donate five books
  7. Sort DVDs – donate five that your family never watches
  8. Hang up any coats that have been discarded in this room
  9. Get rid of any cords that you don’t use anymore

Waiting for People

I seemed to spend much of my kids’ elementary school years standing by the front door yelling, “Come on!!! Let’s GOOOOOO…” Why not multitask with the yelling and get some things done?

  1. Clean off your entry table
  2. Clean off some apps on your phone you never use
  3. Sweep your front porch
  4. Restock dog bags (for cleanups during walks)

Waiting in Your Car

We seem to wait in our cars for all kinds of reasons:

For the kids to get out of practice
For the tank to get filled up
For Starbucks to finish your order
For Walmart to bring out your groceries (that you so cleverly ordered ahead…):

  1. Clean out trash in your front seat
  2. Create a bag for things that need to be taken into the house
  3. Go through receipts in your wallet and pitch what you don’t need
  4. Buy a six pack of water and keep it in your trunk for emergencies
  5. Sort through your glove box
  6. Throw away five things in your trunk

Waiting in Your Bathroom

Kids taking a bath. (Obviously, depending on the age of the little ones and their ability to sit upright) or waiting for the shower to warm up:

  1. Get rid of five empty bottles
  2. Sort through part of a drawer
  3. Check expired meds
  4. Inventory shampoos and conditioners
  5. Get rid of five products you don’t use anymore

Waiting in Your Bedroom

Waiting for your spouse to come to bed or waiting for him to get ready to go:

  1. Sort your bedside table
  2. Sort your underwear drawer – pitch anything you wouldn’t want to be seen at the doctor’s in
  3. Get rid of one pair of PJs that don’t make you feel awesome
  4. Pull 5 things from your closet that you don’t wear to donate to charity

Waiting in Your Laundry Area

I hate ironing, so I spend a lot of time waiting for the dryer to beep so that I can grab the shirts like a ninja so that I don’t have to set up the ironing board:

  1. Match two pairs of socks
  2. Wipe down the top of the washer and dryer
  3. Inventory what you need to replenish in that area

Waiting in Your Office

Waiting for a friend to type out a huge Facebook message, waiting for a video to download or even just an app:

  1. File or recycle five pieces of paper
  2. Test out five pens to see if they have ink – pitch the ones that don’t
  3. Return one email
  4. Update your to-do list
  5. Inventory office supplies

Those little bits of time can add up – make them add up to a clutter free home.

What are some of the ways that you use pockets of time?

Want to get Clutter Free? Join us in our Facebook Group Clutter Free Academy

If I Could Just Get The Laundry Done…

If I Could Just Get The Laundry Done…


5-Steps-to-Organizing-Your-LaundryStep One: Your Plan of Attack

Find a system that works that will keep you current with laundry. If you do not have one, here is what we use:

In our hall, we have four, 30 inch tall, plastic laundry hampers. Each one is a different type of laundry:

* Whites

*Colored underwear

*Everyday clothes

*Jeans, towels, sweats

This helps all of us to be able to sort the laundry quickly and easily.

Step Two: Sort It Out

Get your laundry room area cleaned out in order to be most efficient.  This might take an afternoon if your area is small.  If it is larger, I suggest taking fifteen minutes a day to get it in order. The best tip I have for this step is that we have a permanent “Give Away ” box in our laundry area for our clothes our kids have outgrown.  When the box gets full, I take it to Good Will.

 

 Getting rid of clutter can be a blessing to someone else as well. {click to tweet}

Step 3: Clean It Up

Before you start stocking up the shelves, give them and your washer and dryer a good wipe down. Deep cleaning makes any space a good one.

Step 4: Label It and Put It Away

This is the fun part!  Label everything in order to make it easy to find.  Some examples are stain  removers, dryer socks, and socks (Mismatched Socks might be a better title sometimes).

Step 5: Keep It Up

The best way to keep up with laundry is to do it every day. The other thing that will make your life a lot easier is to remember this rule: Until the clothes are put away your laundry isn’t done. Just because the clothes are clean, and dry does not mean the laundry is done.

These steps will change laundry from something you dread to something that you can get done quickly in order to bring blessing to your self and your family.