How to Get Your Kitchen Clean and Organized

Is storage space at a premium in your kitchen?  Do you dread cleaning the kitchen?  Or, like I used to be – dread even cooking in your kitchen?  I will admit, I was all of these about 18 months ago.  We had a small galley kitchen in the condo so I had to try to use every nook and cranny for storage.  Sometimes I even forgot I had items because they were stored in the utility room on the lower floor.   Now, we are in our forever home, with a BIGGER kitchen, I have lots of cabinet space.  Does it mean, I am totally organized?  LOL!  Definitely not but I do have a cabinet or two that is empty.  I have lots more counter space and do love spending time cooking.

Here are some tips to help you get and stay organized in your kitchen – regardless of the size…

1. Use Magnets:  Are you using your cabinet doors as a clever way to give yourself additional storage? I honestly never remember this one.. I have LOTS of cabinets and even though there is lots of counter space, I would like to “hide” some of the kitchen utensils.  Cabinets are a great to store knives so you don’t have to use a knife block or take up counter space… just make sure you use a strong enough magnet to keep the knives in place.  I think this will be one of hubby’s next projects – to install some for me.

2. Labeling System:  Labels are a great way to help you organize your kitchen or for that matter any space in your home. It takes the guesswork out of where to put things when others want to help or are looking for something.  Labeled cubes have been the saving grace in our new house.  It allows hubby to look for things by me simply telling him which closet and which cube to look in.  Putting things away is easy for everyone when they can see where things are supposed to go. Your labeling system could be as simple as plastic storage containers with small a labels OR clear containers so people can see what is inside.  Maybe it is plastic crates with labels or even just a piece of tape to say what goes in it.

3. Add Storage By Hacking “Unopenable” Drawers:  We all have those “fronts” in our kitchen, right?  I had them in the condo and this would have been a great way to gain some counter space.  Unopenable drawers look like a drawer but don’t have a handle.  What if you could make use of those un-openable drawers beneath the sink or above a counter?  We have sink drawers in our new kitchen. I was surprised I actually use them and remember things are there.  LOL.  I keep the bottle brush and extra scrubbies.

  

 

 

4.  Use A Tension Rod To Hang Cleaning Products.  A tension rod can be a great way for storing and organizing spray bottles so you have additional space in an otherwise cramped under-sink cabinet.  I think I would put it a little further back in the closet so I had more space in the front.

5. Clean Your Blender Quickly.  Do you love smoothies but hate cleaning the blender?  Do you use your blender to chop up the garlic?  Here is a quick cleaning tip: pour warm water in it with a tiny bit of dish soap. Put the lid on the blender and turn it on. Now it’s all clean! Just be sure to give it a quick rinse after to get rid of the soap residue.

6. Clean Your Stainless Steel Appliances With Flour.  Tired of chemical in your cleaning products?  Here is a tip from Mother Nature Network. Just apply some dry flour onto a microfiber cloth and buff it into your stainless steel appliance, sink or counter. Then rinse it off and the surface should shine like new.  If you are looking to clean your stainless steel pans………try heating some water with vinegar in the pan.  Use a wood spoon or non-stick spatula to loosen the stuck on mess.  Let it cool and then wash as usual.  I hate to admit I use this trick more often than I want to.  LOL

What are some of YOUR best tips for keeping your kitchen clean and organized?  Share them with us.  Have an Epic day!

How to Spring Clean Your Closet

Show your closet some TLC

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and it’s time to dust off those shorts – spring is here! You’ve spring cleaned your bathrooms, your pantry, your kitchen (pretty much every surface now smells lemony fresh and you’ve worked up a sweat), but there’s still one last space that needs a refresh: your clothes closet.

Giving your closet a good spring clean is the perfect way to declutter your wardrobe and go into the season with a fresh slate. Follow along with us as we take stock, make some small changes and get our closets spring ready.

Step 1: Clear everything out and clean your closet

Pile them on the bed, the floor, the desk – just get those clothes out so you can see what you’re working with. You’ll probably find that some non-clothing items have snuck their way into your closet, things like holiday decorations, books and knickknacks. If you have the space, store or display these elsewhere so your closet can be a one-stop getting dressed shop.

Once everything’s out, it’s time to clean. Wipe down shelves and drawers and use a broom or vacuum to sweep the floor. Most vacuums have a wand attachment that’s especially handy for reaching dusty corners, high and low.

Step 2: Put your winter wardrobe into hibernation

Those scarves, gloves and fuzzy hats have served you well, but the snow is long gone, and your sandals are just begging to be unboxed! It’s time to say goodbye to cold weather clothes to make room for spring essentials.

Start by going through all the clothes you took out of your closet. Things like heavy coats and sweaters can be folded up and stored in bins in the basement or hall closet for next season (a few Deluxe Utility Totes can handle the job). As you go, set aside anything that you didn’t wear or only wore once all winter. If these don’t fit or just don’t fit your style anymore, donate them or sell them to give them a second life.

Step 3: Take stock of your spring wardrobe

Time to repeat Step 2, but with your spring clothes. Take them out of storage (or from where they’ve been squished at the bottom of your dresser) and go through them. Set aside anything you didn’t get much wear out of last spring, that doesn’t fit or that’s a style you’ve outgrown. Add these to the donate and sell pile.

Step 4: Now for the fun part – organizing your closet!

The first step to getting your slimmed down spring wardrobe into your closet is figuring out what to hang and what to fold. This can vary depending on what clothes you have and your space, but here are some tips to start.

Hang things like blouses, dress pants, jackets, dresses and any pieces that wrinkle easily. You may also want to hang favorite items that you reach for frequently. For everything else, folding will do just fine. You can fold t-shirts, jeans, shorts and activewear. When organizing your hangers, pick a system that works best for you. You can organize your clothes by type, color or even by how dressy or casual they are.  

Another idea is when you hang your clothes, place the hangers in reverse or backwards.  Once you wear and wash an item, place it back in the closet with the hanger facing correctly.  Then at the end of the season, you will be able to which clothes you actually wore.  It will make cleaning out the closet easier each season.

 

Step 5: Bins are your best friends

A few good storage bins are all you need to pull off a mini closet makeover! Bins are helpful for separating clothes, storing folded items or organizing accessories. The Your Way^® Cube in canvas is the perfect roomy storage cube for jeans, t-shirts, pajamas, activewear and more. You can also find this bin in some fun neutral prints.

We love the Canvas Storage Caddy for accessories – its pockets make it perfect for sunglasses, belts and scarves – while the Felt Display Bin is a cute way to keep your purses and wallets all together. The finishing touch to any Thirty-One storage bin? Personalization! Add embroidered words to label what’s inside or go for a fun monogram or phrase. 

Step 6: Last but not least, upgrade your hamper 

When it comes to laundry hampers, choose one that’s large enough (to avoid clothes all over the floor) but not so big that it takes up valuable closet space. We like a soft-sided hamper like the Stand Tall Bin – interior metal rods add support and structure without being too rigid or bulky. Plus, the long straps make carrying heavy loads so much easier. This is another great place for personalization, so have fun with it!

Say hello to fresh starts

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to clean you out – just take it step by step. Soon your closet will be refreshed, full of clothes that bring you joy and so organized that getting dressed will feel like a total treat. For more bins and caddies to tackle your spring cleaning projects, check out our bestselling organizing styles.

Looking for the prefect solution to your organizing challenge?  Be sure to comment below or reach out to me.  Want to know how to get your #wishlist for FREE or at a deep discount? Let’s do a BINGO & Bags virtual social…..

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Throwback Thursday: Spring Cleaning the Closest!

When it doubt what to post, I always go back to the first year I started blogging – 2013.  I can’t believe how long it has been.  The timing for this post is perfect given the crazy weather we have been having in Jersey….. well everywhere.  

Over the last few days, I have begun to do some spring cleaning – my first stop is always my closet.  (Honestly, mine isn’t this bad but it is getting there.)  A chance to put away the heavy sweaters, pull out my capri pants, flip flops and short sleeve shirts.  Okay, so the weather may still be a little cool, down right cold,  but to me – spring is here!  

While doing this, I came upon some things I bought and still had the price tag on them. (5 years later and this is still the case!)  You know – the perfect sale, something which seemed right at the time or the never ending impulse buying.  So, I have a Closet Filled with  (some) Regrets.  I saw an article the other day which made me stop and think about what is in my closet, the opener said – 

Only about 20% of clothes in the average person’s closet are worn on a regular basis, says Ginny Snook Scott, chief design officer of California Closets, the designer of customized closets and storage spaces. That’s especially the case for women since “men tend to wear more of their wardrobe, as they stereotypically have less,” she says. “They tend to have less than 10 pairs of shoes that they rotate fairly well, whereas women have four to five times that amount, on average.”

WOW!  This made me take a look at my closet again.  What were the things I wore on a regular basis?  I am a jeans girl all the way in the winter so why do I insist on buying skirts/dresses which never seem to make it out of the closet?  Since I am still on my weight loss journey, (at doctor’s goal but still looking to go lower) I have not been buying as many clothes – holding out for milestones in my journey to treat myself to something new. The St. Paul’s Church Rummage Sale is coming up in May so as I clean out my closet, I add to the pile of things to be donated.  My impulse shopping may be just the right thing for someone else.  What will you do with the “regrets” in your closet?  Do you have a favorite charity to donate to or is there something else you do with them?

I saw a tip somewhere on a blog or Facebook, I can’t remember which which someone shared which I think is going to be my new rule of thumb:

My grandmother always says you should wear something once for every dollar you spend on it. I thought it was silly the first time I heard it, but now I find myself holding up items and thinking “Will I really wear this 25 times?” It definitely helps my impulse buys! G-E-N-I-U-S! 

What tactics do you use to avoid purchase regrets?  

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Prepping to Declutter

Happy Monday!  Everywhere you turn people are looking to declutter their home and their life.  Let’s be honest, we all have too much stuff.  Whether you are a confessed hoarder or just a gatherer – there is plenty of things we can let go of, right?  For some the process is easy.  My daughter used to say when I was in “de-clutter mode” – if you aren’t attached or a have a purpose, you are going.

I would love to say, I am the one who declutters and sells things.  Well, it used to be the case.  Set up at a local flea market, sell things dirt cheap and then donate the rest.  Unfortunately things have changed.  Flea markets are harder to come by and most people are looking on social media to do their shopping.  Now, it just is easier to donate things – to a local cause or to the church rummage sale.

The reality is many of us have a hard time letting go (of anything).   Have you ever thought about “prepping” to declutter?  Let’s face it, decluttering is hard. If it wasn’t we would have done it a long time ago, right?  

I found a great blog post by “Creating My Happiness” with some tips on preparing for our decluttering journey.  With my recent health struggles, I get overwhelmed easily by all the stuff in the house.  I would love minimalism but I am not sure it is for us, but I definitely wanted to get as close to clutter free as we can get.Mental Preparation
Yes, you need to mentally prepare to declutter.  You have to be ready to let go of stuff. I mean it is easy to say “we have way too much stuff” but when we actually have to declutter and toss, we have a hard time making it happen.  We develop attachments to our things, remembering where we got them or who gave them to us. Or are you a “just in case” person?  The one who keeps things around because someday you may need it.

On a sliding scale from 1 to 10, how much stuff do you have; with 1 being completely minimalist and 10 being Hoarders level clutter.  We are probably in the 5 or 6 range in our house.  If I honestly opened all of the drawers and closets.

Now, you know where you are in the scale – where would you like to be?  Be honest about it.    I mean if you are at an 8, you are not going to get to a 2 in just one round of decluttering.  Also, you need to consider if you would be happy living at a 2 with little stuff. For some, it is the stuff which brings them happiness more than it brings them stress.

What to have on hand
You are ready to go.  You have mentally prepared yourself and now you need to make sure you have the tools to help you be successful. Yes, there are tools to decluttering!

Garbage bags. I love the suggestion of having 2 different color trash bags. This way you can use one color for items you’re tossing, and the other for items you are donating. Kristen of We Are That Family. suggests the items we donate should be things we no longer need, but we would use ourselves if we did need them. Having worked the last rummage sale at church, we sale many things people should have just tossed in the trash or recycled like torn clothes, or broken toys.

Cleaning supplies. Yup, you are going to have to clean as you are clearing out stuff.  Dust bunnies have found a home.  Hairballs (the cat sheds like crazy!).  So, make sure you have a vacuum nearby, dusters, and cleaning spray. My new favorite all purpose cleaner is a vinegar/water mix because it gets rid of odors while it cleans.  I was amazed how well this simple solution cleans.

Your phone. No, it is not so you can check social media or get side tracked from you decluttering mission.  You can take pictures of items you want to get rid of, ask if anyone wants them, or sell them in a local tag sale group. The key is to put a time limit on how long you’ll hold on to these things though. Put them all in one spot (or box) so if they eon’t go, you can donate them.  You don’t want to clutter up another spot hanging on to things for others.

Having a moment of indecision?  Not sure what to do about something you have never worn or used given to you by a family member?  Call a friend, let them be your lifeline.  Use your phone so they can remind you, even though you get rid of the ugly sweater, you’re not getting rid of the love or memories of the person who gee it to you.

So who’s ready to declutter! What are your best tips for getting ready to declutter?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

How to Organize Your Kitchen

Happy Monday!  I don’t know about you but the kitchen seems to be the hardest spot to keep organized.  Mind you, ours is one of those galley type kitchens in the condo so it doesn’t have much counter space to begin with.  Just one thing out of place and it is like chaos.

For most people, the kitchen and pantry are the most used ares of your home.  This is where family gathers, stuff gets dropped and where friends congregate when they come to visit.  Consequently, it quickly falls into chaos and clutter.

Here are some ideas for keeping the kitchen counters clear and the pantry organized. An organized pantry allows you to see what you have which saves trips to the store, money, and time.

Bananas are a must have fruit in our house.  So this is a simple fix to keep them off the counter.  I also find they don’t bruise as easily as when they are on the counter.  Separating them does keep them from turning brown longer but makes for a cluttered counter.

Do you love keeping things together? I hate opening the pantry and having to look around to find snacks. Using Thirty One’s cubes and rectangles allows me to keep similar foods together.  Personalizing the standards like snacks, pasta, etc can be done to keep things neat.  Or, you can use the chalk front and write your own label for those combinations which change frequently.  It makes it easier and faster to cook. Makes It easy to take inventory before I head to the store. Here’s a close-up of the bins:

   

You can use them for various boxes of pasta or bags.  Since we are gluten free, I have found most of the pasta is in bags so the bins make it easy to keep the cabinets neat. Canned good are no exception to the keeping like items together rule. Canned goods can go into a bin, just like boxed foods. If you want to clean the shelf, it’s much easier to move one bin than all these cans separately.

  I believe food storage lids are some how related to socks. They always seem to go missing for no reason and with no trace. Another alternative to keeping them together, and in a place you can see them, is critical to keeping them where you can use them. This can also be used to pot lids.  You can usually pick up stands like this in the dollar store.

 Another solution to those pesky lids is Thirty One’s Double Duty caddy.  This handy bag works for craft, mail, car or cleaning storage solutions. It’s a great diaper caddy, too.  Approx. 10 1/2″H x 10″L x 8″D

 Thirty One’s new Hang It Pocket Organizer is great for the kitchen as a command center.  Pockets for papers, keys, gloves or whatever else is tossed on your counter.  Get organized in the mudroom, office or playroom with this five-pocket organizer which can be tied on a door or hung on the wall. Extra-roomy pockets are great for craft supplies, file folders or even kids’ toys. Dimensions: 20″H x 24.75″L

What are some of your favorite tips for keeping your kitchen neat and tidy?  Share them with us…

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!