admin When our surroundings are cluttered, inevitably we feel stressed. It may sound a cliche but the kitchen is a high traffic area, and inevitably it can get cluttered. However, it is not just the clutter that makes the kitchen not function properly, but also lack of organization. You don’t need a large kitchen to have a functional space.
Here are my recommendation on How to Organize your Kitchen to make it functional.
1. Get out everything and Purge
Yes take everything out of your kitchen cupboards, because you need to see everything and start from scratch. With regards to gadgets ask yourself the following:
- When have you used it last?
- Is it in good working condition?
- Is there another gadget that does the same thing?
Check your food expiry days and disregard anything expired. You might find food items that you bought planning to use for a recipe but never got yourself to do it.
Make sure you have your piles sorted out with what you are going to keep, donate and throw away.
2. Deep Clean your Cupboards
Now is the right time to deep clean your cupboards. So start scrubbing!!!
3. Create Zones
Before putting everything in, assess your kitchen cupboards and create your zones. Zones do not necessarily be a whole cupboard but a shelf or basket is sufficient.
Your zones could look like this:
- Cooking – this would be made up of pots, pans, utensils, wooden spoons, measuring cups etc. These should be located in the proximity of your oven and hob.
- Pantry – food that is used for cooking such as dry goods, oils and vinegars. Depending on the size of your pantry you could create sub-zones such as canned items, breakfast, baking, pasta etc. If your pantry is small this zone should focus on cooking (leaving out breakfast and baking items);
- Coffee / breakfast zone – these two can be combined together;
- Kids zone – if you have small children then create a zone for all their snacks and cutlery/utensils. These should be easily accessibly by your children;
- Under the sink zone – whether you store your garbage bin or cleaning supplies this deserves it’s own zone.
The same principle of creating zones applies to the fridge.
4. Place everything back in
Now that you have identified your zones, it’s time to place everything back into your cupboards. I am a big advocate of decanting your food, therefore if you have already purchased some jars now is the time to put everything into jars. If you still are in the process, that make sure you group like items together and place most used items at eye level and easy to access.
If you have gadgets with various accessories, I highly recommend getting a basket, to contain the accessories. Same applies if you are not decanting your food, get a basket and place like items together. It makes it easier when it comes to cooking.
5. Reassess
After a couple of weeks, reassess how the new organization is going. Identify problematic areas and re-evaluate. Be mindful of what new gadgets come into your home and declutter on a regular basis (including the pantry).
It’s ok if you don’t get it right the first time. Keep trying until it is functional for you.
I hope this blog post has been helpful.
PS: Have you heard about my ebook ? ‘Your Decluttering Guide’ will help you declutter in an effective manner and step you up for a better organized home. Click here if you would like to grab your hands on it.
Love
Strugglingmum xxx
