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- 11 | Kitchen Counters
This step made me feel like I had made a major change. Sure, toys were gone, extra clothes were gone, all of the unwanted extras were finally leaving in mass exodus, but the kitchen counters cleared off and wiped down with a hot rag? That will make you feel like a new person. Ask yourself these questions. Do you really need it out on the counter? Is it just as easily accessible in a drawer? Do you need three soup ladles? What about four cutting boards? What about that stack of bills? Does it need to live on the counter? De-clutter by finding proper homes for everything and giving yourself permission to donate anything you don’t really need. Then, wipe down your counters. Doesn’t that feel better?
- 12 | Spice Cabinet/Pantry
When I went through my spice cabinet, I realized that I still had spices that had been given to us as wedding presents…ten years ago! I had spices older than my children. No wonder I couldn’t ever find anything in there! No wonder I had like seven dried parsleys. I just grabbed another one every third trip to the grocery store. I had no idea what I needed, because I had no idea what I already had. Goodbye, tiny jar of mustard seed. I used you once in 2012. So here’s your next step, former stuff shuffler. When you’re finished with the spices, head on over to the spice cabinet’s friend, the pantry. Throw away everything expired and wipe down the shelves. It feels good, but I agree having dinner ready for tonight would feel better. Sorry. I still don’t know what we’re having for dinner yet either.
- 13 | Refrigerator
When I cleaned out my refrigerator, I found six jars of pickles. Six. I won’t tell you what else I found, but it was gross and explained the funky smell for the last few months. Bottom line, you’ll feel better once you clear out your refrigerator. Take a hot rag and do a quick wipe down when you’re done. The good pickles will be glad they aren’t so crowded tonight.
- 14 | Utensil Drawer
As a mom of three little kids, it seems like we go through an unusually large number of utensils every day. There have even been times when we have run out of clean utensils, because I hadn’t done the dishes in so long or loaded the dishwasher, but just forgotten to run it. Yet, even when we are facing an empty silverware tray, there are some baby spoons that are still never used. They just sit there, waiting to be donated or thrown away, and sometimes I forget if I don’t do it, no one will. Today is a great day to say goodbye to all the weird utensils. Now at least when you run out of clean silverware you won’t have some sad spork left all sad and lonely in the drawer.
- 15 | Kitchen Cabinets
Let’s be honest. I have a good stack of Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers without a lid. I also have good stack of lids without a matching container. This was my biggest joy in going through my cabinets. I tossed every container without a match, donated the weird plates and casserole dishes we never use, and cleared out the kids’ plates and sippy cups that we’ve moved on from. I admit, this is a big project, but it reduced my time and stress in the kitchen. Also… less dishes to wash. Hallelujah.
