2019. It’s a new year, and a new opportunity to come home from work and breathe easy in a clean and decluttered space. Have you been inspired by Marie Kondo, thinking you can take over the world one drawer at a time? The challenge most face when trying to declutter is taking on too much all at once. We start to vacuum the floor, to get distracted by shoes that need to be put away, to get distracted by clothes piled in the closet, to get distracted by a broken shelf… the “squirrel” mentality of home cleaning.
The key to successful decluttering can be broken down into 4 basic parts:
- Work on “bite-sized” portions of your home
- Make a list ahead of time of what you’re going to declutter and clean
- Be honest with yourself about what you’re capable of and willing to do, and – above all –
- BE CONSISTENT
Let’s start this year by talking about arguably the most important room in the house – the kitchen. Your list for the kitchen might start to look something like this:
Food Storage (i.e. refrigerator, pantry, etc)
- For first timers (or if you haven’t decluttered in a long time) it’s important to start with a blank slate. Take EVERYTHING out and clean the shelves.
- Throw away expired foods, and make note of what has expired – maybe think about buying smaller portions of these items in the future.
- If you find non-perishables that you forgot you had, that you honestly don’t see yourself eating, consider donating them to a local nonprofit like Feedmore.
- Store items like-with-like (all pastas, all soups, all crackers & chips together, etc)
** A single container with baking essentials allows for ease when 36 cookies are due in class the next morning, and will keep you from buying more of that baking powder that’s just lost in the back of the cabinet!
Some more tips for the kitchen declutter challenge:
- Try to end every night with a clean kitchen – mornings will start better
- Wash your silverware/utensil holders every month, and wipe down drawers and shelves
- Re-evaluate your pots and pans and make sure you’re not holding onto something you don’t use that you have multiple of (like, do you really need four spatulas?) – consider donating items to a local nonprofit like St. Joseph’s Villa, which provides rapid re-housing services to homeless families. Your donations go directly to a family setting up a new home.
- The less you keep on your counter, the cleaner your kitchen feels (and the cleaner the items stay, tucked away in a cabinet or other closed storage solution). Think about this when you’re considering where to store your knives, stand mixer, paper towels, etc.
- Make a plan for the future: Once you’re happy with the organization, make a plan to keep it that way. For example: make a decision to quickly wipe down your refrigerator shelves before you put new groceries away.
Linchpin Real Estate Group 