I have not been very attentive to recording our projects around the house over the last couple of months, but I am excited to share our kitchen reorganization project. I did not bother to take any “before” pictures for this one, because I figure everyone knows what a cluttered kitchen looks like!
When I moved into the house last fall, I didn’t spend much time finding meaningful places for my dishes, glassware, cooking tools, etc. Compared to my last apartment, I had plenty of space so I didn’t worry too much about using the space efficiently. Once Daniel’s belongings and wedding gifts arrived this summer, it was quickly a cluttered mess! Without a pantry, we had food items spread over several cabinets, and kitchen items jammed in every corner. We also multiple versions of several items- the mugs I liked to use vs. Daniel; three different partially complete sets of pots and pans; various kitchen applications rarely used (e.g. partially broken crockpot, a George Foreman grill that always seemed impossible to clean). So, it was time to start fresh.
Daniel kicked off the project last weekend by building shelves in the broom closet so that we could finally have a dedicated pantry. This allowed us to sort our food goods and neatly contain them in their own separate area of the kitchen.
This weekend, we loosely followed the Mari Kondo method to tackle the rest of the kitchen goods. Section by section, we emptied the cabinets and only returned the items we truly love and actually use. We parted ways with miss-matched mugs, the set of dishes I bought when I first lived on my own, and baking pans I never actually used. By the end of the afternoon, we had compiled quite the haul for goodwill. Even better, now it’s easy to access the things we use day to day and my nicer set of dishes and entertaining platters are all tucked away in the dining room cabinet.
For the first time in months, I came downstairs this morning to clean, empty cabinets! It was wonderful! I enjoyed my moment of zen, only to hear Daniel say “But doesn’t it look too empty, like a rental unit or something?” Oh, Lord how he tests me!
