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The Kitchen
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Arguably, the kitchen is the heart of the home. We
cook there, eat there (hopefully as a family),
entertain there, chat at the table, do homework, and
any number of other family-related things. A
disorganized kitchen discourages us from doing the
above; we don’t want to cook and eating will likely
then take place in front of the TV. We don’t want to
entertain others or sit and chat because the clutter
distracts us and makes us feel ashamed of not
keeping things in better order. So let’s get to it!
Please understand that this room CANNOT be done in
one day or in one chunk of time. I’m willing to bet
it took more than one day for your kitchen to look
the way it does—so it will take more than one day to
un-do it. Be patient and attack these different
tasks in small chunks of time—small steps! You’ll
find that as each one is done that you’ll be
motivated to do another and another. And then when
it’s all done, you’ll not want to mess it up, and so
be motivated to keep it organized! Oh happy day!
Unload your dishwasher. If your dishwasher is full
of clean dishes and not put away, you won’t have a
place to put your dirty dishes as you clean up. If
you don’t have a dishwasher, take a look at your
sink. If you’ve got clean dishes in your dish rack,
put them away now. Then move your dish rack to the
counter and put an empty dishpan under the sink.
You’ll see why as we keep going.
Take a look at your countertops. Are they piled high
with papers, dishes (dirty), and appliances (some
you haven’t used in weeks or months)? Are they
stained (underneath the stuff on them)? Let’s clear
off one countertop at a time. Pick your smallest one
and clear everything off. Put it on a table or other
surface where you can go through the things. Put the
dirty dishes in the dishwasher (or dishpan under
your sink), go through the papers (junk mail = trash
can, bills go to the study, etc.). Put the other
miscellaneous things you’ve found in separate piles
to be schlepped to the appropriate rooms where they
belong. Then look at the naked countertop. Take a
cleaner of your choice (I love the Lysol
disinfecting wipes, but you could use a spray
cleaner, a bleach cleaner, or simple window cleaner)
and a rag and start wiping from back to front. Sweep
the crumbs in to the garbage can. Now put only the
things which are *necessary* back on the counter.
That means no excess paperwork, no hair bows, etc.
If you need space for a coffee maker or other small
appliance, you now have it!
Move to the next counter and repeat the same steps
as above.
So you’ve survived the cleaning of your counters.
Great! These next few steps will require an honest
look about your kitchen and an honest appraisal of
your culinary skills and commitment to cooking. Not
if you will cook, but how you will (or do) cook.
Remember to use small steps!
If you have a dishwasher (or dishpan under your
sink) and it’s now filled with dirty dishes, now is
the time to get it running. Put the detergent in and
set that baby to “pots & pans.” It uses more water,
but if your dishes have been sitting for a while,
they’ll need the extra strength of that cycle to get
sparkling clean. You don’t have to use the
dry-cycle—it eats up energy and makes your dishes
too hot to handle. When the dishwasher is done, open
the door and let the dishes cool *briefly* before
putting them away. Do the last step quickly—if you
keep the dishwasher empty when the dishes are clean,
you’ve won a large portion of the battle to keep
your kitchen organized. If you have a dishpan that’s
full of dishes, move the pan up to the sink and
start washing. Dry them quickly and put the dishes
away—then move your dishpan to its spot under the
sink for collection of future dishes.
Take a look at your kitchen appliances on the
counter (or up above the cabinets). Do you have too
many things that you hardly ever use, but collect
dust and kitchen grease? Take an honest assessment
of what you have and when you last used the item(s).
If you haven’t used it in a while or don’t plan to
use it in the near future, donate, sell, give it
away, or pitch it. Take a look at the cast-iron
skillet you have but haven’t used in
God-knows-how-long. Useful, yes. In your life? Maybe
not. Be honest and be brutal. You’ll end up with
kitchen appliances that you love and that are
useful, not clutter.
Now look at your sink. How grimy is it? Take a good
steel wool soap pad and scrub that bad boy out! If
you’ve got a porcelain sink, don’t use a steel wool
pad, but do use a gentle abrasive.
If you don’t have a cleaner on hand to do it,
sprinkle a good portion of baking soda on your sink
and use a wet rag. Rub the baking soda paste
(created with the water from the rag) in circles and
when you’ve completed the whole sink, rinse the
remainder down the drain. Regardless of what type of
sink you have, once you’ve given it a good scrub,
pull out the window cleaner and a dry rag. Shine up
the faucet and inside of the sink (if it’s chrome).
Dry it all out and your sink will shine! I dare you
to put a bunch of dirty dishes in it after that!
So now you have cleaned off counters, only the
appliances you need and love, and a shiny sink. You
are on your way! Remember—small steps get the jobs
done!
Take a look at your cabinets. Are they clean? I’m
not talking about the insides (yet!), but the
outsides. If they have built-up grime on them, take
a cleaner and rag and wipe them down. You’ll be
amazed at how different they look and how dirty that
rag will be!
Now let’s talk about the front of your large
appliances. Fingerprints are fingerprints—it doesn’t
matter if it’s on an avocado-colored refrigerator or
a chrome-colored one. Take some window-cleaner and 5
minutes on each appliance and spray ‘em down. Wipe
them clean, and don’t forget the small crevices
where crumbs hide. Remember—you’re not doing the
insides, just the outsides! Hit the refrigerator,
the stove, the dishwasher, and anything else that
“fronts” in the kitchen that I might not have
mentioned.
Now take a look at your kitchen table & chairs. When
was the last time you washed them down? Is there
food stuck to them that is of questionable origins
or dates? This will probably take more than 15
minutes, but take a rag and a bottle of cleaner.
Spray the chair from the bottom rungs to the seat
and up to the top. Let it stand for 2 or 3 minutes
and spray down the next chair. Go back to the first
one and start rubbing with the rag. You’ll be amazed
at what comes off and how clean the chair becomes!
Repeat each step until all the chairs are done. Then
spray down the table legs. Same procedure—spray, let
it sit, rub and wipe. Now your chairs and table are
clean enough to eat off of!
Take a gander at your floor. Dismal, huh? Start
small—sweep it with a broom and dustpan. Move the
things that are up against the wall, but don’t feel
obligated to sweep with your toothbrush. In other
words, don’t obsess about the crevices—do the best
you can with a regular broom. Sweep in to small
piles to make pick-up easier and transport the dirt
& crumbs to the trash can. Now take out a mop. I
don’t care if it’s a rag mop, a sponge mop, or a
Swiffer ® mop. You don’t have to mop like your
mother did—just wet the floor with a cleaner and
wipe up the dirt. Remember—even chores that aren’t
done “right” (according to how you were taught) but
are *done* still bless your home and your family!
Let your floor dry and take a break.
By now, the surface areas of your kitchen are clean.
Just a few more steps and you’re done in this room!
We’re gonna get down and dirty here: under your
sink! Most people keep cleaning supplies under
there; some keep garbage cans, and still others,
appliances. No matter what’s under your sink, tackle
it! If it’s cleaning supplies, look and see what
you’ve used and never used and what’s just dried out
and old. Pitch what you don’t use, won’t use, or is
old. Organize your cabinet in the way that’s best
suited to you—what you use the most up front, what’s
less-frequently used in back. If you don’t have a
dishwasher, remember to leave room for your empty
dishpan to collect dirty dishes.
Next is your dish cabinet(s). However many of them
you have, you probably don’t use everything in them.
Be brutally honest here: if you haven’t used it
recently, you probably don’t need it. And I’m
certain that if you offered it to someone else who
was just starting out, they *could* use it. Consider
looking up a Freecycle group in your area (www.freecycle.org)
and joining. It’s free and keeps things that still
have life in them (but no use in your home) going
around. Pare down to 8-12 place settings with your
dishes; serving dishes are necessary, but no one
needs 7 serving dishes that are the same size. If
you’re cramped for space, consider how much more
relaxed you’ll be when you open your cabinets and
can actually FIND what you’re looking for! Organize
your shelves in the way that best suits your family
needs—it doesn’t have to be perfect, just useful.
Hit your spice cabinet next. I recently went through
my spice cabinet and was shocked at how much I had
(duplicates!) and didn’t use—and I’m a
born-organized person! Pitch what you don’t use or
is out of date. Consolidate in to smaller bottles,
if possible. Use lazy-susans if applicable to your
cabinet space.
Finally, go through your appliance/baking cabinet.
If you don’t bake cheesecakes, why keep the
springform pan? Do you have 12 cookie sheets? Three
or four is as many as one family needs—even if you
have two ovens, each only has 2 shelves. One sheet
is on one oven shelf, so 4 would max out your ovens.
Do you have broken appliances? Pitch ‘em! Put what
you use in front, and things used less-often towards
the back, but still in reach.
Whoo hoo! Now your cabinets are organized! And by
now, your entire kitchen should look as if it’s had
a mini-makeover! Congratulations!
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