With the holiday season fast approaching I am continuing my series on organizing and beautifying every room in your home. Each week I will address a different space with tips for decluttering and decorating. Be sure to follow me on social media (the link icons are found at the end of this message) for more articles and images that I will be sharing throughout the week. Today I am tackling the kitchen! In most homes this room serves many functions, such as meal prep, eating, homework, entertaining, and household management. The kitchen is often command central for the house, so it needs to function that way. Here are some ideas to make the most of your space: 1. Pare down – Most of us store way more stuff in our kitchen than we ever use. Sort through your dishes, glassware, coffee mugs, and storage containers and keep only the number that will fill the dishwasher plus a few extras (if you don’t have a dishwasher, you can pare down even more!). 2. Control cabinet clutter – One reason why kitchen cabinets and pantry shelves get cluttered is because small items get lost in the back. Purchase shelf risers to lift items in the back, or use some small, sturdy boxes to get the job done. Place bagged food items in a bin to keep them from shifting around in cabinets, the fridge, and freezer. Click here for more ideas to help organize your cabinets. 3. Put away appliances – What to do with all that space you’ve made in your cabinets by paring down and organizing? Use it to store your appliances! My rule of thumb is to only give them a coveted space on the counter if they are used daily. Stow the rest and take them out as needed. You’ll be happy for the extra work space on your counters and your kitchen will have a clean, streamlined look! 4. Make your junk drawer work for you – The kitchen serves many functions besides food prep and meals, so it makes sense to set aside one drawer or shelf for those items you are always looking for, such as batteries, tools, office supplies, or stamps. Clear out the actual junk, use dividers to keep small items from rolling around, and your junk drawer will be transformed into something useful! Click here for more junk drawer tips. 5. Decorate sparingly – Most kitchens have a lot of interesting surfaces to catch the eye: countertops, tile backsplash, even your cabinets and flooring are designed to be decorative. Keep additional furnishings simple, such as a piece of art on the wall and a pretty bowl to hold produce.
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