Happy Monday! I hope you have your binders ready and cleaning supplies organized – the Household Organization Diet starts today!
Before we get started, I just want to say how excited {and a little overwhelmed!} I am that all of you are joining me on this adventure. Like many of you, I am a working Mom looking to organize my household in order to create a more efficient, stress free life. More time with family and friends {and some ME time as well!}, less time cleaning and running around the house! I am going to be doing this in real time with you, so there will likely be a few bumps along the way. But that’s life, right? Hopefully we can all continue to motivate and encourage each other throughout the year!
So… the plan for January is to tackle the kitchen. We will be cleaning, organizing, and then coming up with a plan to keep it that way! Here is my list of what I hope to accomplish during the month…
This list will be going into the January tab in my binder and will be re-visited every year. You can print a copy of the list here {sorry – I spelled garburator wrong!} or, if you would like to write out your own list, you can print a blank copy here. Obviously, some of the tasks will need to be done on a regular cleaning basis and some things may need to be done again in 6 months {we will be scheduling some of that later as well}. But, with a little regular maintenance, the big cleaning projects and organizing will be done in January. If you organize well the first time, next year should be so much simpler and only require some tweaking here and there.
For myself, I plan on averaging 30 minutes of kitchen organizing per day. If I miss a day, I will just make it up in the following day or two. Divide the tasks up any way that will work for you BUT do not do too much and become overwhelmed!!! If you have 30 minutes, empty out one or two cabinets – make sure that you will be able to COMPLETE the task that you started. You want to make sure that you feel that you have accomplished something and are leaving the kitchen a little bit better than you when you started. We cannot lose 10 lbs. in a day!!!
So the first task for me was cleaning under the kitchen sink. I organized this area a couple of years ago and it has stayed quite well organized with very little maintenance required. This task took me less than 15 minutes. {NOTE: Please ignore how yucky my cabinet fronts are. My goal for the year is to convince my hubby that we need them painted. I have been begging to get them painted white for years now!}
For myself, I plan on averaging 30 minutes of kitchen organizing per day. If I miss a day, I will just make it up in the following day or two. Divide the tasks up any way that will work for you BUT do not do too much and become overwhelmed!!! If you have 30 minutes, empty out one or two cabinets – make sure that you will be able to COMPLETE the task that you started. You want to make sure that you feel that you have accomplished something and are leaving the kitchen a little bit better than you when you started. We cannot lose 10 lbs. in a day!!!
So the first task for me was cleaning under the kitchen sink. I organized this area a couple of years ago and it has stayed quite well organized with very little maintenance required. This task took me less than 15 minutes. {NOTE: Please ignore how yucky my cabinet fronts are. My goal for the year is to convince my hubby that we need them painted. I have been begging to get them painted white for years now!}
Here’s what you need to do:
- Empty everything out from under the sink.
- Wash out the bottom and walls of the cabinet with warm water and a microfiber cloth. Add a little bit of dishsoap if it is really dirty. If there are any areas that need extra scrubbing mix some baking powder with a little water to make a paste, let it sit for 5 minutes and then scrub.
- Line the bottom of the cabinet with a liner {I’m not sure what mine is made of but it has a rubber feel to it and is easy to wipe down. I purchased it at Walmart}.
- Go through the contents of the cupboard and get rid of anything that you do not use on a regular basis, products that could be replaced by more natural cleaning products, old/dirty products, etc. Your goal is to have as few products as possible! {You can read more about my cleaning supplies here}
- Store cleaning supplies in a basket or other container. This keeps them more organized and also makes it much easier to clean up any messes if something spills. If you have an awkward space due to pipes or a garberator {like me!} look for storage pieces to optimize your space.
I purchased this pull out drawer from Bed, Bath, and Beyond when I first organized under the sink and it has held up really well. I store my scrubbers, sponges, micro pads, sink stops, etc. in the drawers and use the top for extra storage.
I also have this little cupboard on the other side of the kitchen that I use for holding some other cleaning supplies – my microfiber cloths, extra baking soda and vinegar, mop pads, and my dusting mitts.
I also have this little cupboard on the other side of the kitchen that I use for holding some other cleaning supplies – my microfiber cloths, extra baking soda and vinegar, mop pads, and my dusting mitts.
If you are short on space, you can purchase over the door organizers…
…or build your own.
One warning as we go through all of these tasks: do not let perfection get in the way of getting things done! Just do what you can now…you can always come back and change things up later. Remember…we are working towards making things better – not perfect! We will be creating a follow up page at the end of the month where you can write down any projects that you would like to re-visit later in the year.
So are you ready to get started? Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook as well as I will be posting some additional tips there and would love to have you join in on the conversations!
Let’s Get Organized!!!
So are you ready to get started? Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook as well as I will be posting some additional tips there and would love to have you join in on the conversations!
Let’s Get Organized!!!
I am looking forward to getting all these cleaning/organizing projects done in the kitchen. Everytime I open up the cupboards under the sink I think – I really need to clean this out. This just gave me that extra incentive to get it done now. Thanks.
Sink space sorted, what a lot of discards! Proud of myself. Wish I could buy door storage in Africa, will keep looking. Thanks Jenn…
You have some great ideas, like the tension rod. I’ll be trying that tip for sure. Great blog!!
Love these ideas! I want to focus on my kitchen next month!
For me, the worst part founder the sink organizing is the post in the middle of the frame. Luckily. My kitchen cabinet undress the sink doesn’t have one so its not bad to organize. Y bathroom one does and it’s so small to begin with, it’s almost impossible to put anything in there.
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I just love seeing that you use Norwex products!
Just getting started on green cleaning and always looking for tips and hints. Thank you!
I’m sure you will find the switch is fairly painless! Good luck! 🙂
i FOUND WHEN I HUNG THE SPRAY BOTTLES BY THE SPRAY HANDLE, THE HANDLE WORE OUT AND BROKE FASTER. i HAD SEVERAL WHERE SOMETHING IN THE HANDLE BROKE BEFORE THE BOTTLE WAS EMPTY SO THEY NO LONGER SPRAYED.
Thanks for the heads up!
I almost throw everything i have into the undersink cabinet. I think it’s time for me to reoganize it by install a multi-slot undersink space. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your nice sharing!
I love Norwex products!