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Home Organization 101: Week #1 The Kitchen
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SIGN UP:
If you would like to join our organizing challenge, sign up (here [6]) on the event page. Once you are signed up, join the Home Organization 101 group page on Facebook (HERE [7]). On this page, you can ask questions, post pictures, and support each other during this 14 week process.
HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS:
Home Organization 101 will continue for 14 weeks. Each Saturday, I will post a new “space” along with pictures of my finished space and share the process of how you can organize yours. You can take as long as you need, and once you are finished organizing your space, come back here to this post and link up your blog (with pictures) to share with all of us. If you do not have a blog, you can take pictures and share them on our Facebook group page (here [7]). Questions, ask away… Our facebook page is the best place to ask them. Have fun! Now lets get organized.
THE KITCHEN
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WEEK #1 TASK:
The kitchen is the hub of the home. Everyone ends up in the kitchen at some point during their day. So it gets messy fast! The best way to conquer the mess and the clutter is to get organized. Today is the first day of my 14 week series on clearing out the clutter and organizing your entire home. We will start in the kitchen, where it all begins. To begin the process and in order to be fully organized, everything really should be emptied out of the space, so you can see it clearly and start fresh. Its time to clear the clutter. Empty out every Cabinet and drawer in your kitchen. Only do this if you can have everything put back in its place within the week. WE ARE NOT ORGANIZING THE PANTRY THIS WEEK. We will address the pantry in a couple more weeks. Get a babysitter (or send the kids to school), put on your comfy clothes, and turn up the music. Its time to organize!! *Before you start, look around your house to find bins, baskets, etc… You can use these for your kitchen organization.
WEEK #1 CHECKLIST:
1. Clean out and organize all cabinets.
2. Clean out and organize all drawers.
3. Purge everything that is not used, expired, doesnt belong, collecting dust.
4. Clean out & organize fridge & freezer.
5. Mop, wipe down cabinet doors, clean counter tops & tables.
6. Take everything off the refrigerator door. It makes the kitchen look messy.
7. Clean all appliances.
THE PROCESS:
1. Clear off the kitchen table. This is your dumping grounds.
2. Empty out all cabinets, drawers, and clutter! Place ALL items into “categories” on the table.
3. Wipe down the cabinet doors, shelves and drawers. Add new liners if necessary.
4. Discard (trash) old, expired, and no longer used items & food. Check the dates.
5. Place all items that are able to fit, into baskets.
6. Place everything back into the cabinets & drawers (in categories).
7. Take everything off the kitchen counters and place onto the table.
8. Wipe down the counters & backsplash with a good natural cleaner [9].
9. Wipe down ALL small appliances & large ones too!
10. Put back items you use on a daily basis, onto the counter top.
11. Mop the floors and wipe down the table & chairs.
12. Empty fridge/freezer. Wipe out. Put back in an organized manner.
13. You may clean and organize under the kitchen sink. I will share under my sink at a later date.
Tip: Keep all clutter off the counters at all times. If you take it out, put it away!
ORGANIZED SPACES IN MY KITCHEN:
1. Coffee & Tea station.
2. Vitamin & medicine cabinet.
3. Lunch Station.
4. Spice cabinet.
5. Command hooks for pot holders.
6. Baking sheet organization.
7. Baking cabinet & bin.
8. Dish placement.
8. Dish placement.
OUR KITCHEN…
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Our coffee pod system (from Eco).
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Stacking glasses and mugs doubles up your cabinet space!!! These wire shelves are from Walmart.
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Our oils stay on the counter! Easy access.
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I keep my homemade bar soaps in a vintage dish by my sink, as well as our veggie scrubber.
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COFFEE & TEA ORGANIZATION
Below is my “Tea” station…
I have bins filled with the following…
1. Coffee Pods
2. Tea Pods
3. Sweeteners
4. Honey
5. Tea Packets
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The lazy susan houses my loose leaf teas. [30] Its easy to find which tea I want with this system. To the left of the lazy susan is my honey collection as well as my Perfect tea maker [31] by Teavana.
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I keep my Tazo tea packets in this bin.
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Below is our “Coffee station”.
The top shelf has all of our coffee wafers, biscottis, etc… The second shelf contains all of our coffee. The bottom shelf has our coffee flavorings & to go cups.
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For those of you who are interested, you can purchase flavored syrup at Starbucks!! They have everything you would order at Starbuck, in syrups. A great fyi!!
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MEDICINE & VITAMIN ORGANIZATION
For convenience, we keep all medicine and vitamins in their own separate cabinet in our kitchen.
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Our Shaklee vitamins [38] are kept on a lazy susan. It’s super easy to find what you need.
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Our medicine is organized into 5 different categories, in bins.
1. Eyes, ears, nose, throat.
2. Childrens Meds.
3. First Aid.
4. Fever & Pain.
5. Splints & Wraps.
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Below is our “sick caddy”. I will share whats in this in a separate post soon.
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Our protein powders & supplement shakes have their own shelf.
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Finally, I purchased a Martha Stewart see through envelope (at Staples) & stuck it on the cabinet door. It holds a “ow” chart. So whenever someone is sick, we can keep track of their medications, last dose, etc… I found this free printable (here [44]).
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LUNCH STATION
I have shared our previous lunch station (HERE [46]) & below is similar to it.
Tips for a functional lunch station.
1. Keep everything on one spot. (Baggies, napkins, wet ones, utensils).
2. Hang lunch boxes on command hooks.
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Below is our previous lunch station (in our old home). The post is (here [46]).
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SPICE CABINET
Our spices are organized on lazy susans too! This area is pretty self explanatory. The cooking spices are on the bottom and the baking stuff is on the top! 😉
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Cake decorating caddy.
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Pot holders hang well on a command hook.
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Pots & Pans organized vertically into the cabinet are easy to take out.
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BAKING STATION.
All of my baking & cake decorating supplies go into this cabinet. The basket has cookie cutters, pans, cake supplies, etc… My mixing bowls & cake decorating kit fit well too! It helps to keep all of these items together, in one space. That way, there is no searching multiple cabinets to find what you need.
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Update:
I have had a few emails about wanting to see under my kitchen sink. I will share those pictures with you soon, but in the mean time, (HERE [61]) is my kitchen sink from our old house.
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Thats our kitchen. Now its TIME for you to get busy organizing your kitchen!!
Good Luck. See you back here soon.
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Purchase a station clock here (click on picture)…
Where did I find my things?
1. Bar stools – World Market
2. Vintage style green Canisters – Pier One Imports
3. Number pots – (No longer available)
4. Natural Home Oven Mitts – Amazon [64] or target
5. Clear organizing bins with green handle lids – Walmart
6. Rug – Home Goods
7. Faucet – Amazon [65]
8. Bay leaf wreath – Target (years ago)
9. Lights – Lowes
10. Metal Lazy Susans – Amazon [66]
11. Cake stand & water pitcher – Home Goods
12. Cabinetry hardware – Restoration Hardware
MY HOME & ORGANIZATION PROCESS IS SIMPLY A “GUIDE”. IT’S TO HELP GET YOU MOTIVATED. YOU SHOULD CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN ORGANIZING & CLEANING TO FIT YOUR HOME AND NEEDS.
