|
|
 |
| THE KITCHEN |
This is the biggest job of all in your drive to Clear the Clutter and Control the Chaos as kitchens usually have the most clutter of all. Between all the extra plates, coffee mugs, cutlery and storage containers kept "just in case" - let's be honest couldn't you almost help a new neighbor fit out the kitchen in her first house with just the extras you have?
Now don't get me wrong here. I'm a great believer in a well equipped kitchen, but we have to draw the line somewhere if we are going to Clear the Clutter and Control the Chaos. Do you really need 20 dinner plates, 30 coffee mugs and enough knives, forks and spoons to equip a restaurant? How many extra pots and pans and assorted bowls, jugs, bottles and strainers are cluttering up your cupboards?
A family of 4 people really only need an 8 place setting to have plenty of extras when needed. Anything else is superfluous. It is really hard to throw or give these things away, but you have to be ruthless here.
Your kitchen is an extension of yourself so each and every homemaker is going to have to tough this one out for themselves. There are no hard and fast rules. Just knuckle down and get rid of things. It often helps if you can get a friend to come over and help you here because as sure as the sun rises in the east, she'll need something that you are going to throw out and probably has something she's going to throw out that you need. Just make sure you don't clutter your kitchen with all your friends 'extras'.
Arm yourself with some large boxes from the supermarket to take the things you're going to donate to Charity. Get everything out of all the cupboards and pile them on the table and chairs (the table won't be big enough to hold everything), scrub out all the cupboards, spray for those rotten 'roaches and ants (shut the door quickly so you don't poison yourself). Wash anything that needs it, to remove the greasy-dust build up that always accumulates even in the cleanest of kitchen cupboards. By the time you've washed and dried all this stuff and decided what's to be thrown out, given away to friends or donated to a local Charity, you can start to put things back into the cupboards.
Do the same with the kitchen drawers. Then start on the fridge and freezer. Anything that looks like you trying to rediscover penicillin-out with it!! If you are not sure whether something is 'off' or not, don't take any chances-get rid of it. Tie things like this up tightly in plastic bags before putting in the garbage bin to try to keep the bad smells from wafting all over the back yard every time you open the lid.
|
|
|
