This Week’s Tip Sheet: Kitchen Cabinet and Drawer Organization Ideas

Hello, beautiful friends and welcome to Week 7 of the 52 Weeks to a Simplified and Organized Home Challenge.

This week we’ve been working to declutter and organize the kitchen cabinets and drawers.

And given the kitchen is the heart of the home, this is one of the most important rooms in the entire house.

So, take your time and really think about how you need your kitchen to function.

It took a bit of trial and error for us at first.

Especially, given I set my kitchen up like a lot of people do in the beginning.

Plates in the upper cabinets and pots, pans and baking sheets in the lower cabinets.

After a few years of using the kitchen though, I realized that set up wasn’t a sustainable long-term solution for our household.

So, don’t be afraid to do something that seems out of the ordinary.

If it works for you, it works.

Plain and simple.

Now, on to this week’s tip sheet!

This Week’s Tip Sheet…

Quote of the Week:

If you can organize your kitchen, you can organize your life. ~ Louis Parrish

This Week’s Big To-Do’s:

• Confirm Galentine’s and Valentine’s Day Plans
• Mail Valentines Cards (if you haven’t already)
• Declutter, Clean, Organize Kitchen Cabinets and Drawers
• Order Organizing Supplies, if needed
• Make, Buy or Replace Drawer Liners, if needed

This Week’s Tidy Tips:

As you’re organizing the cabinets and drawers in your kitchen, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind.

Here are a few things that have helped us continually maintain tidy kitchen cabinet and drawers for more than a decade…

• View your cabinets and drawers as a boundary. If you can’t shut your drawers or close your cabinets without something sticking out or getting stuck, it’s a clear indication you’ve breached your boundaries and it’s time to declutter.
• Be mindful about what you bring home. Especially, where small appliances, food storage containers, to-go mugs, drink tumblers, and kitchen towels are concerned.
• Create zones in your kitchen where possible.
• Declutter and organize items by category.
• Let go of items you don’t love or aren’t using on a regular basis.
• Find the right organizing tools. They’re not one size fits all.
• Think about your current lifestyle and how much time you’re willing to invest in maintaining an organization system before you implement it.
• Make it visible, easy and obvious for your loved ones to pitch in.
• Take anything that’s not supposed to be in the kitchen out. I’m always amazed at how quickly the kitchen island becomes a dumping ground for everything from laptops to mail to cell phones to jackets and backpacks.
• Don’t be afraid to keep tweaking things until your kitchen runs as efficiently as you’ve envisioned. It’s a worthwhile time saving investment!

This Week’s Wellness Tip:

Like a lot of you, I’m usually multitasking whenever I’m in the kitchen.

It feels like there’s always something to clean, wipe down, put away or organize.

Lately though, I’ve been taking those extra few moments between tasks to do something that supports my health and wellness goals.

For example:

• Taking 10 deep breaths
• Shoulder stretches using a kitchen towel
• Neck rolls
• Listening intently or laughing with loved ones
• Playing relaxing music
• Repeating an affirmation
• Refilling the water pitcher
• Lighting a candle or turning on the diffuser
• Setting a beautiful table

While they might seem like small things at first these “in between” moments offer an opportunity to stop rushing from one task to another so we can become more intentional about the environment we’re creating and the person we’re becoming.

As always, I hope these tips have helped.

Additional Kitchen Organization Posts to Explore…

How to Organize Your Kitchen Into Work Friendly Zones

DIY Drawer and Shelf Liners

Taming Cleaning Cabinet Clutter

Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Cheering you on,

CoCo

PS: You can find last week’s Tip Sheet here if you missed it.