Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to clear your counters and make sure you can get to the things you use the most.
Impact Ratings: sanity!
Level of Commitment: Making Strides
Our focus last week for the Organizing in October mission was to look critically at your kitchen and consider reorganizing for efficiency. I shared my embarrassing countertop clutter video before Andrea of Simple Organized Living visited and filled a whole piece of paper (my notes) with things I wanted to do.
The series has really resonated with readers thus far, and quite a few fellow counter-clutterers have come out of the woodwork to say they see their kitchens in my kitchen.
It’s great to connect, isn’t it?
But we should all get our counters clearer!
That’s why this mission is even more specific: Clear those counters.
Trust me, you will feel so much better.
The caveat is that, yes, some things really do belong on a counter. I’m not putting my KitchenAid down low. I have room for it on the counter, and it’s heavy. If you really use something every day, go ahead and leave it out. Just make sure you’re making the conscious choice to do it and not just setting something out because you don’t know where else to put it.
TTLTGTI Syndrome
I also think many people are probably like me and actually avoid certain appliances, foods, tools, items, etc. in the kitchen because of the takes-too-long-to-get-to-it syndrome. If you have to move more than two things to access something, it’s much less likely to be used. The stuff you use every day or even weekly should, whenever possible, be in the front of a cupboard or drawer, a one-touch wonder with nothing in its way.
What do you avoid because it’s hard to get to? Aprons? Trays? Appliances?
What do you use all the time but yet you still have to reach behind something else or head to another room to get to it? Bulk foods? A mixer? Your coffee filters? Supplements?
It’s time to rethink the location of something in your kitchen, I’m sure of it.
Go on, go take a look.
I’ll wait.
Find one thing that is either in your way (on the counter) that shouldn’t be or is too high/buried/far to be convenient. Move it.
There you go.
You’ve started.
Don’t you just want to keep going?
“I Don’t Need to Reorganize”
Perhaps you think you have your kitchen just the way you want it. Perhaps you have a tiny kitchen and it truly is perfectly organized. Maybe your counters don’t need clearing! (Lucky you.) If that’s you, get into those cupboards and make a mess on the counter!
I’m willing to wager that you’ll find some surprises you forgot you had if you clear entire shelves or drawers.
I’ve only been in this house 10 months, and I absolutely found stuff I should just throw away, crumbs and dust that didn’t belong, and plenty of stuff I forgot I had and really need to use before it expires (or because it just expired last month but is surely still good as that’s pretty close…).
I’m thinking home cooks should go through their cupboards thoroughly, either in one messy day like mine, or one cupboard/drawer at a time, at least once or twice a year. You have to get in there to find the meal components people have given you that you forget about when you’re meal planning or the meat marinade you bought at the such-and-such party your friend threw. Either put them on the menu plan ASAP or make a note in your calendar for later. If you stick them back in your cupboard, you probably will still find them there when you do this next year.
Here are all the things that surprised me:
- a meat rub and bean soup mix that I received as samples and need to use!
- a meal kit that a friend made that I should use, donate, or give to another friend with a new baby
- salt blends that I received as samples for chicken and potatoes
- dried anchovies from Radiant Life that I should be putting in my Caesar dressings but forget about – I moved them by the vinegars so they make sense for dressings
- almost-expired whole foods vitamins we forgot to take
- a Mickey Mouse plastic plate (disposable) from Disney World, all by itself near the supplements and butter dish. Really?
- an open box of gluten-free angel hair pasta – that stuff is too expensive to waste!
- slightly expired box of gluten-free baking mix – ditto above, that’s in the menu plan for tomorrow
- samples of lucuma and yacon powder that I really don’t know what to do with – I decided to put them in smoothies, so of course, cough, ahem, downward glance…they’re on my counter.
- about 5 dark chocolate bars in two different places that I didn’t know I had. These will come in handy when I deal with all the reader comments about putting more stuff on my counter.
If your family drinks water, mark their glass for the day and only have a handful of dirty cups at bedtime instead of a handful for each person in the family. Watch for our Drinkbands in my “after” video, which is really a “working on it” video, in the next post.
Bonus! Use the code “KSorganize” for 10% off thru October 31.
Later today I’ll share the results of my re-organization frenzy, but for now I want to make sure you have hope, so I’ll leave you with Andrea’s words of wisdom and a few tip posts:
If I could banish one misconception about getting organized — it would be that it has to take lots of time and effort. Organization CAN be simple (not easy, but simple).
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by an entire kitchen (or home) full of clutter, but instead focus on one small drawer, one cabinet, or even one shelf inside one cabinet. Once that’s finished, pat yourself on the back and move to the next shelf or the next drawer.
Start small, do a little each day (even if you don’t want to), never leave a room worse than when you entered it, and just keep pushing forward. 15 minutes a day WILL make a difference over time!
- Tips to stock and organize your pantry from Andrea
- Frugal pantry storage tips (for bulk purchases) from Whole New Mom
What do you want to be more accessible in your kitchen? Did you do any work to clear counters since last week?
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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Drinkbands and earn commission on purchases. See my full disclosure statement here.
Thank you very much for this series! I FINALLY have gotten around to organizing my kitchen! We moved in a year ago and everything pretty much stayed where other people unpacked and stuck it, and it was very disorganized and overwhelming! I spent a good part of Friday organizing and cleaning and now I plan on finishing the rest here and there as I can. Great tips!
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My counter still has the running dehydrator and several jars of dried items “conditioning” plus an enormous pan of apple cheese cinnamon buns, but I am clearing out some drawers. I have a meat tenderizer that ends up at the back of a lower corner cupboard (really handy, not) because it doesn’t fit in the drawer, but noticed a clearance sale on a potential replacement that will fit in the drawer, especially since I got rid of the can openers that don’t work and the apple slicer that gave me bruised knuckles.
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So where did you put the fresh produce that was on your counter. You inspired me to clear almost everything off but that produce! I did purchase stacks of 3 baskets to store produce in, but doggone, I’ve filled it up. The garden is very prolific this year. Maybe I need to find a place for things that will last a long time, like winter squash.
Anyway, thanks for the push. I do like my counters clearer. I left out my Kitchenaid (to heavy to move and I use it fairly often) and my toaster oven (which I use very often) and my electric teakettle, (ditto on using very often).
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Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Hmmmm…I think we ate it.
Most things get in the fridge or garage (squashes) and the tomatoes were still there on the windowsill. 
Katie
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Oh, yes, due to a power outage when we were out of town for a week I had no choice but to clean out my refrigerator and freezer.
The pantry got the major clean-out a few weeks ago (first time in 3 years). I’m feel cleaner and lighter.
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Sorry to post again, but I wanted to ask a question:
Where do you put things like sourdough starter, fermenting foods or compost bowls? They have to be “out” somewhere, don’t they? I can’t stand the way those thing clutter up my counter. I could really use some tips on where they could go!
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Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Rebecca,
My sourdough starter always lived on my stovetop, and I do just leave ferments out. I don’t ferment enough though…
Many put them on top of the fridge, and actually, if you have cupboard space, you can put them in a cupboard, no problem – just not the same cupboard.
Katie
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Rebecca Reply:
October 16th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Thanks! I’ll have to scout around and see if there are better places to put things. I actually hate my compost bowl the most. But the chickens and garden appreciate the scraps
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I am not going to clear my counter because we are packing up to move, but I have a hint about those dried anchovies: Here, the Asian grocery stores sell them, and they’re not expensive. My kids, who are about the same ages as yours, love them as salty snacks! They just eat them straight out of the bag, like pretzels, but healthier (send THOSE to school and see what sort of call you get from the teacher, LOL!).
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Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship Reply:
October 15th, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Way to go, your kids! Mine wouldn’t let one past their lips, I tried.
Katie
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I love getting rid of stuff I’m not using! So Ive been joining in. I have been wanting to get stuff off the counters for a while. I use a few things so often I don’t know if if want to take them in and out all the time.
The kettle, coffee maker and crock pot get used so often! I have had a hard time figuring out where to put my mason jars and canned stuff.
I have decided all those formal dishes needed to get packed up instead of stored in the cabinet since they rarely get used.
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Excellent series – I’m excited to participate in this one!
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I love the phrase “TTLTGTI Syndrome”! I suffer from this because of 2 issues: kitchen design and my height. We have the smallest cabinets I’ve ever seen, so some stuff gets left out because of lack of storage space. I am typically an organized person, but it is very difficult when working with so little storage space.
I can’t reach high spaces without the hassle of using a stool, so the stuff on the upper shelves doesn’t get used very much. If the key to using what I have is convenience, then I have to leave things out, because I have very little convenient storage space. One of these posts mentioned using the space on top of the upper cabinets to store seldom used items. The only way I can reach up there is to stand on the lower cabinet. Whatever I would put up there would never get used; it’s just too much trouble to get to the stuff.
Here’s an example of inconvenience causing a problem for me. The cabinet over our refrigerator is now empty (meaning: unused space) because I literally can’t reach it, even standing on a chair or stool. Last year I couldn’t find some Pampered Chef products that I thought my mother-in-law had given me, but I didn’t remember seeing them after we unpacked when we moved, so I bought replacements. Several months later my husband found them, stored over the fridge! I then just emptied the cabinet, since whatever is stored there will never get used.
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Diana Reply:
October 17th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Anne, I have almost the exact same problem! My kitchen was definitely built for a tall person. I can reach the two lowest shelves in the cabinets, but above that I have to haul out the step ladder. And we don’t have an abundance of cabinets, either. I decided to get over my dislike of dis-similar items in the same stack, so now I keep my pie plate in the same stack as our dinner plates. It’s better than it being on the counter
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Katie, I have TTLTPIA syndrome–takes too long to put it away!
Anyway, I reorganized the top shelf of our pantry so that the applesauce I just canned could get off the counter. And in doing so, I also got to reorganize the hall closet so that the vacuum cleaner will fit in there (and the extra oils and beans fit on the top shelf). And that was only possible because I consolidated my craft/scrapbooking stuff and freed up an extra plastic bin. So there. Your series made me do three things that have been needing to be done. Thanks.
I think my organizing mantra has become “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” And I know I didn’t succeed when I start putting stuff on the counters instead of back where it goes.
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