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Maintaining: Kitchen Cleanup – Part 1 of 3

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When my kitchen is a mess, I cannot cook or prepare a meal until the mess is cleaned up. There is something about a messy kitchen that drives me nuts. (Yeah, I know . . . I’m probably nuts already, but I get worse when my kitchen is a disaster.) To help me stay on top of the food, dishes, and stuff placed on my countertops, I follow a different cleaning routine after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In each part of this three part series, I will share one of my three different routines for keeping my kitchen clean. I’ll begin with my breakfast routine.

Breakfast Routine:

  1. Clear off the table. After being excused from the table, my two older children carry their dishes to the counter by the sink. Paul and I usually clear off the rest of the table.
  2. Wipe down the table.
  3. Put away any leftover foods.
  4. Rinse each item and place it in the left-hand side of the sink.
  5. Clean all the countertops.

At the conclusion of this routine, I have a clean table, countertops, and right-hand side of the sink. Spending time cleaning up saves me time and energy. My time is saved at lunchtime from having to cleanup from breakfast. I can just start lunch preparations without working around a mess. I also save energy since I don’t need to scrub off dried on food. For me this system helps me to spend my time wisely.

Though I have a routine in place, there are days when this routine does not get finished. Some of those days are when I’m running late, the baby needs assistance eating, a spill needs to be cleaned up, or I just choose to leave the dishes until lunchtime. On those days, I attempt to get the dirty dishes rinsed. This one task saves me the most time.

Remember this breakfast routine works for ME, but it may or may not work for you. These are just my tips for helping me stay organized. Next week, I’ll share my lunch routine.

My Organized Nightstand Drawer

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As I went to put away some prescription samples, I found there was no more room in my nightstand drawer. When this happens, I must clean it out. I cannot  just stuff the extra items in a drawer and close it. Leaving an area unorganized bothers me until I  take the time to clean it out and make room for the needed items.  In this case, I  cleaned out the drawer immediately.

To organize my nightstand drawer, I followed these steps:

  • I made three piles: (1) items to keep, (2) items to toss, and (3) items to give away.
  • Then I placed the items to keep back in the drawer and had plenty of room.
  • The items to toss included expired medication, which I disposed of, and empty boxes from used medications, which I threw away.
  • The items to be given away were placed in a bag to be distributed later.

Now there was plenty of room for the prescription samples. I placed these in the nightstand drawer and surveyed my clean, neat, and organized drawer.

Does disorder bother you, too? Like me, do you organize as you put items away, or do you need to set a schedule to organize?

Organized Toy Placement

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During a weekend dinner party, I believe most of our toys were removed from their designated spot by one of the nine little ones. All the children had a great time and helped to pick up the mess before going home, so we awoke to a clutter-free living room. Though the mess was cleared away, my children could not locate their favorite toys. To my children, the suggestion of reorganizing their toys was a bit overwhelming. To ease their dilemma, I placed the toys back in their designated homes with a little system.

THE PROCESS

I began on one wall of my living room.

  • I removed toys that did not belong in that space and placed them on the floor in front of the couch (center of the room).
  • I then put the toys away that did belong in that section.

I then moved to the next area which is a small bookshelf.

  • I found items in the pile on the floor in front of the couch that did belong in this area. I put those items away.
  • Any other items that did not belong on the bookshelf were added to that mound in front of the couch.

I continued this process along the three walls of my living room until all the toys were put away.

I then put away the remaining toys in front of the couch.

THE RESULTS

By going through each section of the living room, I was able to put together a train puzzle, place all the Potato Head accessories in our green basket, sort the vegetables and fruits from the play kitchen, and find a loose magnet in a fishing pole which my fabulous husband fixed.

Having a designated spot for each item made the pick up quick and thorough. My children helped sort the items and put them away. After completing the thorough reorganization of my living room, my children were able to find their toys and play. When they finished enjoying their toy, they remembered to put it back in its designated place, so they could find it again later.

Do you have an assigned place for each item in your house? Do your family members know the placement chosen for each item? Having a special place for each item saves me so much time cleaning up. You can save time as well and accomplish a quick pickup in 15 minutes or less.