If you follow home trends, social media and streaming sources, you know how popular home organizing has become…influencers have made fancy pantries, color-coded closets and backwards books a thing.
While that approach looks great on Instagram, it does not work well day to day in a real house with kids, pets and busy people.
Let’s talk about some simple organizing basics for kitchens and nearby that do work. And if you don’t love this stuff, let us know and we can help you!
• File/toss mail, flyers and other paperwork daily. Don’t let it pile up.
• Designate a “drop zone” for keys, mail and packages that is close to the door. Use a basket or tray to keep these together.
• Designate a spot for shoes, dog leashes and coats. Consider bins, baskets, or hooks. Put out-of-season items away – looking at a coat in summer is not fun.
• Piles of laundry whether clean or dirty is stress-inducing too. Use hampers in closets to corral dirty things. Put clean laundry away!
• Keep a list of needed groceries, toiletries, cleaning products and other items on a small whiteboard in the kitchen or garage where you can easily update it and see it and whether other family members can access it. A shared list works too but a physical option often is simplest! Snap a photo on the way to the store to shop.
• Have a drawer overflowing with lost items and twist ties but can’t ever locate the scissors or tape? Designate one drawer for miscellaneous. Inexpensive dividers or bins from the dollar store can become zoned for scissors, tape, string, sticky notes etc. while another can be kept for matches, replacement knobs and the like. Tidy up the drawer every few months to reduce the junk!
• Keep a small toolbox near the kitchen – under the sink, in the pantry or in a cabinet makes it easily accessible. Stock with basic tools – a hammer, universal screwdriver, tape measure, picture hanging supplies, masking tape and a small collection of nails is perfect for most small repair jobs.
• Corral your cleaning supplies in a bin or caddy under the sink so you can see what you have and get to them easily. As items are used, add replacements to your whiteboard.
• In the laundry area, corral your supplies on one shelf, on a tray or in a bin so you can easily access them and know when you are out. You can also stash supplies in canisters or jars with labels.
• In the pantry, simply grouping related items such as snacks, baking supplies, canned goods and dry goods like pasta and grains together helps streamline meal prep and shopping. Masking tape can help identify dates and any notes. Put spices, salts and similar items together in a basket or bin. Designate one shelf with “extra” items and note when you are almost out on your whiteboard.
• If you frequently use items like olive oil, salt and pepper and vinegar, put them on a tray by your stove.
• Reduce counter clutter by reducing small appliances that you don’t use – store them under the counter, pantry or if you are fortunate to have them, appliance garages.
For more tips and tricks, contact us. We are glad to talk with you about a room or a house organizing plan that will keep you less stressed.