I’m addressing kitchen counter clutter today. Honestly, it really isn’t a long post. I have the Simply and Plan 101 group on Facebook and in that group, I teach people to do exactly that – Simplify and Plan their lives so they are able to spend their time living.
To get rid of counter clutter, all you need to do is take a good look at what is there and decide if it stays or goes (put it away, give it away or throw it away!) If it needs to stay, then it needs a home and it needs to be put back in that home after each use. It only takes a second to put things back when they have a home. Those are the two keys to having clear counters. Some blogs do r-e-a-l-l-y long posts on clearing off the counters, but these two things will save you a lot of reading time which you can then put into clearing off and keeping those counters clean.
Once you’ve done those two steps, you can assess what actually NEEDS to stay on the counter. If it is coffee items – sugar, etc., can this be corraled on one level of a cute, FUNCTIONAL tiered stand? Corral the salt and pepper and other seasonings on another tier. Now, they have a home and should be put back after use.
BUT, the only way this will work is if you return items to their home. If Hubby comes in and empties his pockets on the cabinet, try shopping your house for a small basket and guide him to the bedroom and chose a place for it. Same with kids. Don’t just tell them to pick it up and put it away if there is no “away” (home.)
To sum things up, every thing needs a home and every thing in it’s home is the solution to a tidy countertop. It goes without saying – or maybe it does need to be said – if you open up a cabinet and there’s no place to put away objects, then the next step needs to be the same – go through the cabinet or drawer and simply decide what you use and what can go. You should never have more items than you can store in your kitchen. Decide what is important to YOU and then bless others with the excess.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you found some information you can use. Please leave a comment if you have an area that needs to be addressed or a question about simplifying your life.