purging the kitchen

We’re so glad to be back with this little series today, mainly because it’s keeping a fire under our own bootays, and then we get to share our messes with you. Yay for keeping it real! And this week: Purging the kitchen!

If your kitchen is anything like ours, it serves more than one purpose. In fact, it probably performs most of the jobs around your home: {Homework station, art projects, entertaining and feeding your family… to name a few} and you have to make it work for you, with what you have.

{It’s like we’re so tired, we just can’t. Possibly. Stack. The. Muffin. Tins. Correctly. And by we, I mean me. Jamin is actually the neat one. Dishes. And laundry. The never ending story.}

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If you’re just tuning in, you may want to check out the rest of our posts here… especially for the reminders that change each week. We’re tackling the 12 weeks of purging so we can handle it all at a sensible rate and make a true change… And you can jump in whenever you’re ready! If you’ve already hit one area, or find that one doesn’t apply to you, no worries! Simply substitute in your own {media, guest rooms, or basements anyone?} that isn’t on the list, in the meantime!  So stay tuned…

So, sticking to your vision, before we break it down into zones, here’s a few things to remember:

1. Take it in shifts.

Divide and conquer, setting aside donation items, and bags with trash. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and other clichés that are clichés for a reason. {I’m really just super pleased with myself that I can do that é when I type.} It may seem overwhelming at first, but you’ve totally got this. Especially if you step away and take a deep breath and/or eat copious amounts of chocolate.

Purging. Is so. Exhasuting.

2. It gets easier.

For us personally, this is probably our third round on all things kitchen a-la serious purges. And since we did a refresh right before Thanksgiving, there wasn’t so much to purge this time around, as much as straightening up. The ugly truth about purging, is that you have to do it again. It’s a process, and you’ll find that the more you do it, the better it gets.

3. Be ruthless. 

How many spatulas/rolling pins/measuring cups can you possibly need? No, this doesn’t apply to cookbooks. One can never have too many cookbooks. Cookbooks are in the book category, of which you can never have too many.

It’s funny what piles up in our kitchens when we’re not looking. No, I don’t need five cheese graters. It breeds. It all breeds. We found that multiples of wedding gifts, and little tools around the home {do I really need a banana slicer?} find places to hide in the kitchen. Keep what you love and toss the rest.

4. Make it work for you.

Assign a purpose for every space. You shouldn’t have to work for any of your spaces. They should work for you, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Honestly, cabinets kind of drive me batty, because I feel like there should be compartments within the compartments for people like me, with shove-it-in-and-walk-away issues. So work with your weaknesses, and then make what space you do have work for you by thinking through it all.

5. Allow yourself to have a junk drawer

Kitchens hold so much, especially a little bit of everything in the I-have-no-idea-where-to-put-this-department. Sometimes, there isn’t a place for the tape/rubberbands/stocking stuffers/gum/little toys that seem to multiply but you know they’ll want later. {Yes, we have a serious tape situation. I think we stocked up for Christmas, and then got lazy and put all the gifts in bags} Bring a sense of organization to the chaos, but allow yourself a catch all or two, and before long, you’ll find that they serve a purpose. You’ll actually know where things are, without needing therapy for your anger management problem, derived from never being able to find anything.

#thelazygalsguide There’s strength in numbers, so don’t forget to share on instagram with a hashtag. This is a judge free zone, because aintnobodygottimeforthat. You’re seeing our messes. Now we want to see yours! Post the pretty and the ugly. You guys inspire us, and we can’t wait to see your struggles and your triumphs! Go ahead and share.

So without further ado, a few things to tackle in the kitchen:

The food zone:

The Fridge

Allow your sections to hold related items, and keep them together. Check for expired foods, and toss. Empty out everything if you can, and give it a good wipe down… you’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel when you clean out that fridge.

Things get crazy crowded when you have a large family and one fridge holds all the food. {I know, total first world probs.} Keep it neater by cleaning it out often. Another option for bigger families {or maybe even families with a teenager?} is investing in a deep freezer or an additional fridge, so that good food can last longer and you can save more money without fiftteenkazillion trips to the store.

We purchased a cheap one on sale, and it sits in our garage. So when Lazarus took his last breath, we were able to wait a while before purchasing what we really wanted. We weren’t in a state of emergency. Yes, that is a luxury to have the space for it, so do what works for your family. It makes a huge difference in actually being able to see what you have.

Either way, stay on top of that fridge, so food doesn’t have to go to waste. There’s nothing more frustrating. Or guilt-inducing.

The pantry

Once upon a time, we had wire shelving and couldn’t see anything. Yes, we would clean it, but we knew the space could be used in a better way.

I know. Shameful. Keepin’ it real.

Here, you can read more about our pantry makeover, but we found that cutting down on bulk, with designated spots for food, really helped out in the organization department. And it may sound silly, but when things are pretty and functional, it truly motivates us to keep it that way.

Moral of the story? Find what works for you and go with it.

We wrote more about storage containers here, but we love cutting down on bulky boxes, with changeable labels, so it’s easy to see what we need at a glance.

Cookware

How many pots/pans/bowls/mixers do you need? Make sure you’re being realistic if you’re prepping for big meals, that you have all you need. But without going overboard. And sometimes, it’s an issue of just stacking it neatly so that it makes more sense within their little spots.

Cookbooks

One can never have enough cookbooks. Just make sure you actually use them, and corral them all in a realistic manner, so that you can find what you need. I may or may not still need to organize all of my recipes…

The entertainment zone: 

Plates and bowls, napkins and cups, goblets and silverware…

know what you need and where you plan to keep them. Since I am a stuffer at heart, I’ve loved the open cabinet look for all the pretty things that we also use every day.

And because they’re open… they stay that way. We even have a place for linens in the top of our pantry, which we have room for now that we’ve added another shelf. Make it work for you and you’ll love that kitchen!

The wellness zone: 

If you’re anything like us, you may store all things medicinal, from vitamins to tylenol and essential oils in your kitchen. Keep them all together, but purge the out-of-date often. It’s easy to let them pile up so you can’t find what you need, when you need it. It may seem silly to add, but it’s a game changer with all things late night fevers and that desperate search for the thermometer/bandaid/fever reducer.

We keep ours separated in little tupperware containers by likeness, in the cabinets. For example: children’s medicines, sinus medicine, adult pain medicine, etc. It’s not pretty at all, but it works.

The all-things-kids zone: 

You guys may do homework at night in your kitchen. Or art projects during the day. We have this ongoing thing that as soon as our home is clean, we’re breaking out another project in our kitchen to trash it up. You may rotate with school when you homeschool. (Right now, we’re doing a lot of that in the kitchen, because of our new little {furry} arrivals are also being potty trained).

Clean off the surfaces often, keep things together, and make it easy for littles to reach. We have a drawer that contains pencils/crayons/glue/scissors/anythingtheycouldeverneed, along with a space in our pantry that contains all things art supplies that is an easy to go for little hands and arms, within reach. It will make it easier if you’re not always having to answer the beckoning call of “Mom-where’s-the-coloring-paint-paper” thing… every 3.5 seconds.

If you like a little handholding, here’s our printables for the kitchen, here: {organization-kitchen, the kitchen {blank}, donationsheet-kitchen} They work great with our 2015 planner!

Create a little space for everyone in your home in the zones, and your kitchen can’t help but work more for you!

As always, let us know if you have any questions… we can’t wait to hear from you! And we’d love to hear your tips for your kitchen, since every single space is different. We love learning from you, so share below + don’t forget to share with #lazygalsguide on instagram!