Mini De-Cluttering Morning
Some of my readers may remember when I took on a 30 day de-cluttering challenge back in January 2021. The challenge was to go room by room and remove things that weren’t needed, were broken or just time to let things go. I’m what you might call a pack rat since I save everything! Well after taking this challenge I was so proud of me for sticking with it and going room by room and making a big change in my “holding on to everything” mentality. This past Saturday I challenged myself to do a mini de-cluttering morning. Since the 2021 kitchen de-clutter challenge, I’ve been fairly good about keeping the cupboards organized and I try to keep the countertops neat. But that part seems to be my downfall. So I was excited to tackle the countertops and Lia’s baking cupboard.
First I must say we have a lived in home, a VERY lived in home! It’s far from a showhouse and if you plan to come visit be ready for stuff that might not be in the right place or give me at least a few days notice! LOL This is a blog I wrote after my de-cluttering challenge last year with some tips that might help you. http://themarthareview.com/9-steps-to-decluttering/
When I de-cluttered our kitchen it was more than just a de-cluttter. It started with painting the walls and progressed into having the entire kitchen remodeled with new cabinets, granite countertops, stove, refrigerator and a washer and dryer. So everything in the kitchen and laundry area had to be emptied out for the remodel. This was a great way to de-clutter along the way! When the project was complete, I was so happy with our new look and clutter-free counters!
I’ve been happy how we’ve been able to keep it fairly neat and tidy! But with the four of us, we all seem to have different things we like and they always end up on the counter. Saturday morning I started de-cluttering and it didn’t take long at all. I find that if I organize when only a few things aren’t put in the right spot it’s much easier! I think you can tell the top pictures are before and the bottom are after I re-organized the countertops.
The only cabinet that gets I bit disorganized is the one for Lia’s baking supplies. But that too didn’t take long after I emptied it shelf by shelf. I like using plastic shoe boxes for storage, it’s easier to keep everything in place. One box is filled with all her different chip flavors, coconut and marshmallows. The other one has the dried fruits and granola. Do you see the yellow Tupperware containers? Those were my mom’s from way back! One is for confectioners sugar and the other for brown sugar. Every time Lia goes shopping she has to get another bottle of sprinkles so the bottom shelf is loaded with sprinkles!
This is our spice cabinet and I had them all organized in two plastic boxes but while I was working on one side of the kitchen, Lia decided she wanted to rearrange the spices. She said the boxes weren’t needed so she carefully put them all in rows. I’m hoping she won’t notice when I put them back in the boxes because they pull out like drawers to get to the spices in the back. Lia did a great job and she loves to help!
So the kitchen is back to having organized countertops from my mini de-cluttering morning and I’m happy to have them look good thanks to Lia helping!
So aspirational! I have a specific cupboard I really need to clean out, so maybe this will inspire me!
I hope this helps Diane! I like to do mini de-cluttering with either a cupboard or drawer. It’s easier to accomplish and then I can move on to another since I’m already got my groove going!
Hello Martha and Lia, Great job on your mini-decluttering, everything looks so neat! I am constantly decluttering, almost to the point of extreme minimalism, lol. That is because life as a nomad there is little room for even the necessities, so I try to be creative with my collections. For example, I have a lapel pin from every state I keep in my roof lining as a token of my trails traveled. They are fun to look at and they don’t get in the way! Thank you for sharing your declutter success! Sending lots of love and virtual hugs. Jaime
What a great place to display your lapel pins Jaime! I like to de-clutter small areas when needed instead of waiting until the entire house looks like a bomb when through! LOL
This ia a great little nugget of inspiration, Martha! I’m in the process of de-cluttering my home, I have a project plan which has been so helpful. Breaking it into small sections or tasks, like a counter and cabinet help keep me focused and motivated.
I love Lia’s commitment to sprinkles, how fun!
I too like breaking de=cluttering into small sections Kimberly. It makes it nice to see one area organized and ready to move on to another. Lia loves her sprinkles for sure!
Decluttering is an ongong process. It does not follow the one and done rule- but require frequent updating. Glad to see you are following through.acke
Since doing my major declutting last year, it’s been much easiter to clean up small areas when needed Roy. We have so much stuff, I don’t want to call it junk but it has to go!
Nice! I can relate to the cluttered cupboards. We’ll start off well when we set up our new kitchen. I think I’m inpisired enough by you, Martha, to put decluttering on our calendar twice a year!
That’s a great idea about twice a year Laura! Since I did my maybe de-clutter in 2021, I’ve been doing good but every now and then, like now LOL it needs a bit of adjustment!
I’m so happy for you! I often de-clutter our apartment since it’s so small.
I find if I keep up the small areas it’s easy to keep everything neat Amanda.