Table of Contents

-Introduction
-Did you know?
-Monthly Mission – Kitchen
-Check Out These Pages! – Relevant pages and new site additions
-Just Put It Away!

Introduction

Last month we spent a few days in a hotel for a short trip. Upon returning, my daughter said she wished we could live in a hotel because it’s so nice. I told her that our home could look and feel more like a hotel if she would only help to clean up and put stuff away! I mean, I like staying in a hotel too because it’s clean and non-cluttered. And when her room is clean and the living room is clean, she dances around the house saying “I love it this way, there’s so much room!”

The monthly mission this month is the kitchen. I have a few things myself that I would like to revisit in my kitchen. I try to keep items we use often in easy to access cabinets, and near where they will be used. There are a couple things that just seem to be somewhat inconvenient to get to, so I think I need to move them. Also, as my kids are getting older and are more responsible for getting their breakfast and lunches together, the items they use need to be more accessible for them.

Did you know…

Here are some interesting facts about refrigerators:

Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola, Florida invented mechanical refrigeration in 1851.

Electric refrigerators were first sold to American housewives in 1916, at a cost of $900.

In 1932 refrigerators were in 20% of American households, by 1938 they were in 50% of houselholds.

In 1949 the first self defrosting refrigerators went on sale in the U.S.

In 1956, 80% of all U.S. households had a refrigerator, but only 8% of British households had one.

Source: http://www.foodreference.com/html/frefrigerators.html

The kitchen is one of the busiest rooms of the home and a vital area to keep running smoothly. To read more about how to organize your kitchen more efficiently, visit the March monthly mission by clicking here.

Here are some pertinent pages on the website you may have missed along with any new pages.

Kitchen Organization - Suggestions to get your kitchen organized and running more efficiently.

Before and After Photos - If you enjoy seeing before and after photos of organizing projects, you can find them all right here.

Living Room Storage Make-over - See how we recently re-organized our living room (play room) with a new Ikea wall unit that's great for storing lots of stuff.

Kitchen Spice Rack - How do you store your spices in the kitchen? See how my new spice organizer helps me save room in my kitchen cabinets.

Home Filing System - Keep all your paperwork in order so you can find what you need at a moments notice, and learn what to keep and what to toss.

Garage Makeover - before and after photos of my personal garage makeover. See how we tackled the problems and ended up with a functional garage.

Streamline Your Morning Routine - Ideas to help you get out the door in the morning and be on time for work or school.

Bathroom Drawer Make Over - How to organize a bathroom drawer, an example with before and after photos.

Stop Clutter - Quick simple tips on how to stop the clutter from coming into your home in the first place.

OK, so I know I’ve mentioned this before, and in every monthly mission, but it seems to be a major issue, at least in our house. Plus, who doesn’t learn from repetition? I think the following is one of the top causes of clutter. The problem is things not being put away when they’re not being used.

As I look around my living room at the moment, I see slippers, mittens, hats, a robe, games, toys, shoes, books, 3D glasses and laundry sitting out not being used. They all need to be put away. And that’s just this one room. I will also admit that I can’t blame it all on the kids or my husband (oops!).

I imagine that one person could tidy this all up in under 10 minutes and the living room would look clean again (I had just given it a good cleaning two days ago.)

Or, we can choose to ignore it and let another day go by, surely adding to the items lying around, and another and another until it’s a lovely mess. And at some point it will start to feel overwhelming.

Instead, I’m going to set my alarm for 10 minutes and have my family help me clean up this little mess before it gets out of control. Perhaps I should stick with the recommended 10 min. of tidying up before bedtime. Or perhaps a little earlier in the evening because bedtime is hard enough as it is, rushing around to make that 8pm deadline. (Us grown-ups need our quiet time!)

Do you remember my discussion about “if it takes less than a minute, just do it”? Or what about the "Rules of 5" which encourages us to put away 5 things or tidy up for 5 min. Small steps to reach a larger goal. I need to put up some reminders around here as we seem to have all slacked off.

Now, we’re a pretty average family, and our home has a very lived in look. I’m not looking for perfection, just a clear path from one side of the room to the other without tripping over Hello Kitty!

Let’s all go tidy up and put things away for 10 minutes. Ready, set, GO!

Until next time, happy organizing!

Tracy Greene
Plan-and-Organize-Life.com