Have you missed any of our prior days’ tasks so far? Click here to view all the daily challenges through this one!
It’s day #4 of the 30-day organization challenge.
We had an awesome first few days getting our home office and what we like to call the “business of life” in order.
Well, now it is time to move into the kitchen! We consider this another important area to handle towards the beginning of the challenge because the kitchen is very much the central point in the house. An organized kitchen also means that you have a better chance of fixing meals at home, making the morning routine smoother and easier and overall making life a little less stressful!
So let’s get in there and get our first task in the kitchen organized!
Day #4 Challenge – Clean out your plastics in the kitchen (Tupperware, storage containers, etc.)
This may be another easier one as well.
We have plastics in two places: the lazy Susan and a bottom drawer.
My lazy Susan before!
My plastics drawer before.
I pulled it all out, wiped out all of the shelves and drawers (using our homemade antibacterial wipes) and putting much of it back in an organized way.
For my lazy Susan, I put all of the plastic storage in the top, sorted by size (toddlers love this activity too!). For the lids, I decided to use gallon size ziplocs to keep them all together, which I actually have done for a while, but they eventually make their way back out. so they needed to be put back in. One suggestion that Alex had a few years ago was to have one set of plastic containers instead of a bunch of miscellaneous containers that we are shuffling through to match lids and sizes. He use to get so frustrated, even when it was organized, to try and find matching parts in the morning when he was trying to get to work.
So a few years ago, we found that IKEA has these great BPA free plastic containers that are really affordable (around $4 a set?). So we threw out all of our old plastic storage and replaced with one set. I did win the green set, which is a very high quality BPA free set and so I now have that in there too, but not too many odd options. 🙂
On the bottom, I have a couple of odd/end kitchen tools (Vitamix, salad spinner, etc.) and then the travel mugs. Alex after said, “why didn’t you put that plastic water bottle in the recycle?” Well, that is because it is actually a spray bottle that our 3 year old loves to have filled up and take outside and spray. It is one activity that keeps him busy while I get other stuff done. So I kept it. 🙂
For the drawer, I threw some of the stuff away, then I put the kids playdoh kitchen tools in a ziploc, which made a huge difference. Then I put the lids to the travel mugs and cups in the front of the drawer, so they are easy to get at.
That’s all there is to it!
Have fun as you dig into those plastics and storage containers!
And…. to help you as you are working on the kitchen for the next few tasks, don’t forget to see these clever ideas and get some DIY Organization Inspiration!
>>>>> If you have stumbled on this post, you can join the challenge and receive the tasks each day via email here <<<<<
To help you find some thrifty and DIY organization ideas, see our organization category HERE (click on the organization tag!) and our Organization Pinterest Board HERE.
Looking for encouragement, inspiration and a place to ask questions and share answers? Request to join our private Facebook group HERE.
Barb
For me, I’ve found that the lids to the various sized containers stack nicely under the containers they fit on–I stack the lids for the small square containers, then I stack the small square containers on top of the lids. That way they’re all in one place and I don’t have to dig around for a lid.
Ginger
I’m not too bad with this already. I know it takes up more space, but I ONLY put a piece of plastic storage back if it has its lid on. I get tired of looking for lids no matter how they are ‘organized’. I simply feel this is quicker and easier in the long run and my fridge isn’t that big anyhow, so what we have in plastic storage is about the max as to what would fit, if all were loaded w/ leftovers, in our fridge.
Kathleen
I actually have gotten rid of almost all of the plastic in my kitchen. I recycle some of the larger pieces of plastic that sugar comes in by donating or disposing it.
I really need to figure out a way to store the glass jars that I have. I freeze food in them rather than use plastic containers whenever possible.
This morning, I gave a couple of wall in the kitchen a second coat of paint and in the process cleared the counters a little more. Now, with less things on the counters, the area looks more open.
Connie Kannel
So far everything that you have presented I have done within the last n=month. But excited to see what else you have in store.
Alex
Awesome! Great job!
Nancy Brewerton
The first two organization challenges, clean off desk and files and piles are the hardest for me. I must be very messy. I always have papers on my desk I can’t seem to find a home for. The piles are my biggest challenge. Should I put the piles in a basket and figure it out later? Later never seems to happen.
As for my purse, I seem to clean it out often enough that it isn’t a problem for me. I went to a smaller purse as well. I don’t carry as much around in a purse as I used to. That has its pros and cons.
I recently cleaned out my cupboard with plastics and storage containers, so this was a problem for me right now.
I have been making cards, so I plan on focusing more time on day one and day two.
This is my messest area because I do a lot in this area.
Sheila & Grant
We have been getting rid of plastic and going with ceramic or glass. We do save jars (Plastic/glass) as containers for my craft business for beads, wire, fishing line, etc. Once I have no use or the plastics, they get recycled to hubby’s workshop for spacers, screws, nails and other small items to make these items easy t find and store. We need to clean out all our over bins in the RV motor home, wash them out and sort back into the allocated places. That will take a good week,especially with seasonal clothing and footwear. When we buy in bulk, we often have to store in more than one big jar, so excess goes under the couch (another storage area). With Covid-19, we stock up by buying one extra bag of oatmeal, for example. Since we use oatmeal for our breakfast every day, we hate running out! Living in 320 sq. ft. can make our rig feel overstuffed when we bulk buy. But, I also dislike shopping every week as well!