In our next session, Maria wanted to focus on the kitchen clutter, which she said came from the room not having enough true workspace. That led to frustration. Okay!
We started with a long side cupboard next to the window. Using my “tried-and-true” professional organizer’s method of working top to bottom, we emptied the top shelf, which would hold other items. What? That was TBD, actually a fun part of the process. What would make the most sense to place there? We would find out! On the next shelf down, we put glass baking dishes and a few plastic storage pieces. We consolidated the remaining plastic storage containers and their lids in other spare containers on the two bottom shelves. Still nothing on top, though!
Next, we turned around to work on an extra cupboard piece bought to specifically address to the not-enough-workspace challenge. I started by pulling out a bin. We tossed some of its contents, and set others aside for better storage. I put baking supplies into a spare container. We placed two rolling pins and a silocone cupcakes baking sheet vertically on the left bottom. We would put snacks on the Lazy Susan, our next focus area. The iconic cookbook? We put it on the top shelf of the cupboard we had already cleared.
The Lazy Susan hadn’t been touched in quite a while, so we pulled everything out. We tossed expired foods, cleaned its two shelves, and arranged foods so that Maria and her husband Bobby could reach them easily. In a lightbulb moment flash of brilliance, we pulled from the items to be recycled a pizza slice-shaped piece of plastic, to snugly hold the olive oil and contain any drips. Yay!
Next, we worked on the corner cupboard shelves. We removed glass baking dishes and put them in the long side cupboard next to the window that we’d already organized. Now, there were empty shelves. That’s okay! Maria would think carefully about what might be best there.
We had a bit of time left. We turned to the top of the extra cupboard piece. We put the disinfecting wipes below the sink, and otherwise neatened up. Magically, Maria brought out a beautiful cutting board in the shape of Vermont. Another yay!
Our final task for the session was to clean out the hanging keys holder. We tossed and recycled a few items, stood up a flashlight and also prominently placed season’s tickets for college basketball games. Done!
About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced, and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.