#write31days – Two Tips for Cleaning Fast

Today’s task from the Organized Home in 30 Days Challenge was to organize your kitchen cabinets.  This was the first one on the list that I was not looking forward to.  This is something that I have been putting off for months.  Spoiler alert, it took maybe 25 minutes.  And I should have been prepared for it not to take long because the kitchen isn’t even 2 years old.  I’ll show you the before and afters and then I’ll share the two things that I do to stay on task and get cleaning done quickly and efficiently.

Medicine Cabinet Before

Medicine Cabinet After

Not a big difference here.  Just a little tidying up.  I could buy fancy little shelves and other organizing doo dads, but we don’t have a ton of stuff in here and I don’t like buying things I don’t *really* need.

Plate Storage Before

Extra Plate Cabinet After

I made some bigger changes here and this was a bit more time consuming.  I sorted through all of my plates and separated the ones I like to use daily to move into a new home.  The rest got sorted by pattern and size and stored on the upper shelves.  I moved some baking stuff to the bottom shelf to make room for the every day plates in their new home.  More to come on that…

The last two cabinets really just got a straightening up, so I’ll just share the afters:

Corner Cabinet After

I love this corner cabinet. It holds all of my odds and ends.

Cups and Glasses Cabinet

I have way too many mugs and not enough glasses.  Just kidding.  All of the glasses were in the dishwasher.  And probably like 10 more mugs, too.

Ok, so I promised some tips for you.

Quick Cleaning Tip #1

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the state of a room (or the entire house), this is a life saver.  You need to give yourself a little tunnel vision sometimes when it comes to cleaning, or you will get distracted and end up starting 15 different tasks and never finishing any of them.  This method gives you a starting point, and when you have finished making your way around the room, you will have a sense of accomplishment.

Quick Cleaning Tip #2

This one will chop precious seconds off your cleaning routine.  Now, don’t go breaking the rule of Tip #1 and wandering out of the room you’re cleaning to put things away, BUT, in a task like, for instance emptying the dishwasher, put things away as you are taking them out of the dishwasher.  My kitchen is a little tight when the dishwasher is open and I developed a habit of taking things out and putting them “near” their cabinets until after I shut the dishwasher and then putting them away.  Touching all of those things twice adds time to the process.  I mentioned earlier that I changed the home of my every day dishes.  I did that to help me stick to the Touch It Once rule.  My every day dishes now sit in a drawer that is just inches from the dishwasher.

New Plate Storage

Another plus of keeping the dishes in a drawer instead of a cabinet:  less reaching into the tall cabinets for short little me!

 

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