Kitchen: Cleaning and Organization

Tonight I was asked by my church to teach a mini class on Kitchen cleaning and organization. I made the board above as a visual.Here's the recap.

Messes are an everyday part of life! Trust me. I know. You've seen them on my blog before. I believe the most popular mess I've shared was the one where Lauryn put paint all over Kamryn when she was a baby.



Keep in mind, that messes are a whole lot easier to clean up if the foundation of your kitchen is organized and clean.

How can we find a desire to clean? I have found it's much easier for me to find joy in cleaning when I keep the end goal in mind. What's my end goal? A home where the spirit of God can dwell. If I neglect the breakfast dishes and it comes time for lunch, I usually have 3 unhappy girls at my feet begging for food. They are unhappy and I'm unhappy and the spirit leaves. The second goal I like to keep in mind, is having family dinner every night. It's my second favorite time of the day after nap time!

Getting started with Organization:

1- Ask for help! It's easier and more fun to organize with a family member or friend!

2- Plan it out! Think logically about where things should go. Put the flatware, bowls, and cups directly above the dishwasher. It's much faster to empty the dishwasher that way. Another idea is putting your "bake center" above the area with the most counter space.



3- Don't do it all in one day! Here's a link to a handout I wrote up. It's a 9 day kitchen organization challenge! Keep in mind you don't have to do each one consecutively. Take one month to do the whole list.

Here's the link! Click on organization copy, download it, and print!

Cleaning!

Do you dread to clean!?

-play music or listen to a conference talk

-wear a fun apron and colorful rubber gloves

Products I love:

Clean the microwave: in a glass bowl add 2 cups of water, some lemon juice and microwave till boils at least 1 min. The steam will loosen all the grease and you can wipe it all off.

Freshen the disposal: put ice, and a lime peel down the disposal, run it with cool water.

I made a general cleaning list for the kitchen.

Download it here! Click on "clean copy".

I hope more than anything, you can find inspiration to get organized and to get cleaning! I keep a journal of images from magazines that I love. Here's one of my favorites! Under the kitchen sink organization:

I found some similar pull out bins here.