I was blessed a year ago with my sister moving in with me to finish her studies, and I can't even start to say how much change that brought into my life, firstly I have finally had a chance to really connect with my little sister after she has grown up to be a beautiful bright little lady, secondly I finally have a hiking buddy, thirdly its amazing how much a younger person can bring into a family, youth in their 20's and before the added responsibilities of motherhood, marriage and caring for others, have a unique enthusiasm and spark to them, that we as mum's usually no longer have, they look at things very differently and they find opportunity and fun in things that we see as problems.
Having a younger person in the house sometimes make you reconnect with your younger self, they remind you of how you used to enjoy life before responsibilities got too heavy on you and made you forget yourself, your hobbies and things that used to bring you joy. You see how they can get so taken by a project for hours and days, just being immersed into it that they are no longer thinking of any other worry or problem in life, and it’s beautiful!
Getting closer to the point, my sister put her touch in a lot of things in my life during that year, and one of them was my kitchen, her eyes caught the clutter and the disorganization that made my life harder. Clutter is not only a matter of having a beautifully looking house, clutter increase our level of anxiety to a great degree, it makes our lives much harder, and it definitely reduces our tolerance span to other things in life.
When you get home and everything is out of place and the house is a mess, unwashed dishes in the sink, a pantry that is almost impossible to find anything in, a fridge that holds food from ancient times, and even just getting to the spice you need is a challenge! How can that help anyone be calm, happy, and peaceful? How can that help someone who is trying to clean their diets and make home cooked meals when just finding those celery sticks is like finding a needle in some hay, when the house and your kitchen is cluttered you feel clutter and organized too, in your emotions and in your thoughts, and every other task you had in mind becomes harder.
When you start clearing out the clutter, having a more manageable system, making things easy for you to find and to put back in place, your emotions calm down to, your emotions know its place, and know when its supposed to come out, and doesn’t become all over the place, shouting and loosing control over every little thing here and there.
My sister's project started with a kitchen investigation, to locate all problem areas and take measurements, followed by some online research on the best cheapest solutions, and lastly a shopping list with all the needed items and some measurements, most of accessories she used where bought from the dollar store or Wal-Mart. The whole project cost around $50-$60, not so bad for the amount of stress it saved me, and the convenience of actually knowing where things are when I want them, it's no where close to perfect magazine like kitchen organizing, which would actually completely put off the whole purpose of the project, which is to save time and reduce stress! so don't get overwhelmed by amazing looking kitchens on magazines, these are not for use, these are just for photographing, aim for what will work for you and make your life easier.
PANTRY
My glass and plastic jars are from Ikea from $3.99 to $4.99, of course if you can storing food in glass is so much healthier, as plastic can leak harmful chemicals in your food by time. I store all by flours, beans, lentils and seeds in these jars, they are easier to see and use, and also keeps them fresh longer.
Labels and liquid chalk pens were bought as a package from amazon
Storage Boxes transparent storage boxes can make it easy for you to locate your things, yet have them neatly fitted, I found these discounted in Tjmaxx stores and also at Walmart
SPICE RACK
My spice rack was one of my messiest shelves, which really annoyed me when I am in the middle of my cooking and I can't find what I need!
The spice jars were from Ikea 4 packs for 4.99
The 3-Tiered spice rack was from the dollar store, they were cheap enough that the jars were falling of them because they weren't straight so my sister fixed them in place with some elastic bands, which worked perfectly!
Some Corner Shelves were added here to accommodated for the increased number of cups, again from the dollar store
Dividers for pot covers
TEA AND HERBS
Divider boxes from dollar store
Small storage boxes with lid were on sale at office depot for $1
Black board tap for labeling from dollar store
Jars for loose teas and herbs from $1 store
FRIDGE
The fridge was challenging, as I buy a lot of fresh produce my fridge gets overcrowded easily, things get lost inside, no one knows where or how to find them, until they finally get spoiled, I really needed a system to allow everyone in the house to know and make the best use of the food in the fridge, here is what I cam up with...
I bought some black board sheet sticker and I cut it and sticked some on the front of the fridge and some on the drawers, I hung a pen on the fridge, now I write everything that I have in the fridge on there, and I ask everyone to just cross out anything that they finish.
That made it so much easier for us to make use of the food, but also to know whats missing if any of the house members will go grocery shopping.
DISH WASHER
Finally, what I dread the most was dished, I hated always having a sink full of dishes, a messy kitchen and standing hours everyday to do the dishes.
I analyzed the whole situation and my plan was as follows, early in the morning first thing when I get up, I would empty the dishwasher while the kids decide what they want to have for breakfast and all. That means I am starting the day with an empty dishwasher, everyone would be responsible to put any dishes or utensils they use in the dishwasher directly, for me that usually works and gets the dishwasher full by the end of the day, then I can turn it on before going to bed and then empty it again first thing in the morning.
What used to happen before as that the dishwasher wouldn't be empty, to dishes would pile in the sink, then it would mean I have to find time to empty the dishwasher, clean the dry dishes and load the washer again! That very small change to the routine saved me tons of time in the kitchen.
Now things are not perfect, and there is still much room for improvement, if you have tips that worked for you please share them with us! let us know what works in your house.
