Week 1 progress! Sink is done!

Hell has frozen over...I was able to complete the clearing of the sink area!!

I moved some of the extra cleaning supplies to the main floor powder room & found some supplies where the spray top wasn't working any more (tossed them all) and it made room for the few supplies I had sitting around the sink!

I purchased an on-the door hanger for paper towels.

I even crawled onto the cupboard and cleaned the blinds (which may never have been cleaned since we moved in. 

Before:

LOVE LOVE LOVE it...may toss the purple flowers, but will keep them for now.  HAVE to do my best to keep it like this...will be hard, I'm a slob.  I did manage to keep the pantry good for a year...so many there IS hope for me.

Organize House - WEEK 1: Con't....Counter-tops & Sink

So...I'm trying to think of what to do with GJA's nest of breakfast stuff and thought of a couple ideas I want to ponder:

These are from BB&B



 



 If I can't find a cupboard that is too his liking, then the storage solution must look nice on the counter top.  Not sure that these fit the requirement....time will tell.  Must think of somewhere else I can find something

Another thing I need help with is recycling (papers, cardboard, plastics, tins etc)  Currently, we just keep bags of them and move them into a blue bag on recycle day....which leaves a lot of clutter in the kitchen that drives me nutso.  What do others do with recycling stuff?

Also...I have a roll of paper towel out on the counter and it needs to either be on a stand OR hidden somewhere...here are some BB&B ideas

Organize House - WEEK 1: Kitchen Organization: Counter-tops & Sink

We live like crazy people...stuff piled up everywhere...hoarders-R-us!

It was driving me crazy a few years ago and then MIL got sick and we now have MORE crap in the house...it is everywhere, can't find anything...driving me nuts

My brother and girlfriend will probably be home for Christmas next year...which means...in our crazy, messy house...which I can NOT do!  We must, at a minimum, get MIL's stuff out of the front entrance of the house...at the BARE Minimum.

I've joined a group that is following a place to organize your home...I'm going to 'kind of' join in...knowing that I can't fully do it because a lot of the problem is the hoarded stuff that doesn't belong to me and that particular person has to deal with the stuff or will freak out.

I will try to do the best I can, and if nothing else, posting about it in a blog, will help (I hope) me organize my thoughts about it and maybe formulate plans on how to deal with it.

I worry about PJ because all he knows is living with stuff everywhere...and that will not bode well for his future.

Anyway...week 1 is:  Kitchen Organization: Counter-tops & Sink

Seems pretty straight forward...LOL!

Step 1:  Functions for the Kitchen.
This is loaded... obviously is food prep & cooking & storage.  We also keep recycling there until its recycle day, our calendar is on the fridge and all mail arrives & lives there.  Now I would LOVE to put the mail somewhere else...but there really isn't anywhere else for it...so a organizing/storage method for this is something I have to figure out.  I has to be something that GJA would tolerate because he prefers it to be all out at his fingertips.

Step 2:  Create usable counter space, clear your table.
We are to have mostly clear counters & sink clear...get rid of stuff on the counters that have nothing to do with the function of your kitchen. Apparently, step 17 will help with mail organizer center...HA HA HA...we shall see!

Anything you don't use weekly should NOT be on your counter-top...find a cabinet for it.  hmmm...I think a bunch of this is pretty much dealt with...I may have to re-think some crap that could probably go and no one would care/mind.  Things that are duplicates should go...now this is where we have an issue...we inherited stuff from MIL...and GJA won't part with it because its perfectly good...so now our cupboards are less organized because there's duplicates

Step 3:  Kitchen storage solutions for counter top
Think I'm good for this...although I may re-look at the stuff GJA uses in the morning and see if a lazy Susan would work better...as long as its not nasty because it would be right on my counter-top...of course, it can't be worse that the mess it is now.

Step 4:  Keep Sink Clear of Dishes 2x a day
OK...we are bad for this...I leave stuff in the sink WAY too long...I will try harder to achieve this because I have always know that if you keep the sink clean, it helps make everything else feel clean.

SO..............Here are a few pictures of the current state of our kitchen:

This a view of the island...probably looks cluttered to you..well...its looks pretty good considering on Dec 23 the only usable space was the tiny bit at the front of the photo that was available for use...the entire rest of the island (both levels) was totally covered with papers, mail, cans, baking supplies, recyclables and lord knows what else. 

This, is another part of the kitchen counter area - stuff that someone wants out and available without having to go into anywhere to bring out every morning.  I only use the utensil jar and sometimes the piles of coffee mugs are so large, that I can barely reach over to grab a wooden spoon.

 This is another part of the counter top.  We use the appliances daily...the toaster is only out because GJA pulls it out every night before he goes to bed.  What I do see, that needs a new home, is the cleaning supplies and some travel mugs.

This shows that we clearly need to stop leaving dishes in the sink...a total bad habit that needs to be stopped!  I see a coffee maker that needs to be moved, since we haven't used it in well over a year.

 This is the junk drawer (aka...counter)...all school stuff and any other crap, gets piled here.  I had it all cleaned out last January...and it actually looks better than it did at the beginning of December...but needs work!

One thing that IS 'currently' good, is the kitchen table.  I do, however, prefer to leave my colouring out on the table....so it looks good now, but it won't for long!

 OK...so I can see where I will try to get some work done during this week 1 exercise!  Wish me luck!