Have a little too much clutter around the kitchen? Just take 15! Fifteen minutes to feel re-energized, reduce your anxiety, and get something marked off your to-do list. I guarantee you will feel so much better, just by following these few simple steps:
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Make sure you have 15 minutes where you’re not distracted:
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Shut off your phone
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Turn off the TV
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If you have small children, make sure they are occupied
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Set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes
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Open one of your kitchen drawers and start dumping
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As you go through the pile, start placing like items with like items
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Throw obvious trash away
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If you come upon something that belongs in another drawer or area of the home, set it aside
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Keep sorting until you have gone through the entire pile.
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What do you have left?
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More twisty ties that you can every use?
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Three potato peelers?
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Broken cheese slicer that doesn’t work right?
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Evaluate and make those tough decisions:
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Do I really ever use this?
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When was the last time I used it?
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Do I really need three potato peelers at one time (you might, but only you know the real answer)
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Can I use something else to do the same job?
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After you have decided what makes sense for you to keep, start assigning a place to store your items.
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Does it make sense to keep it in this drawer?
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How much space does it take up?
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What storage shape and size do you need to store it properly?
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You don’t need to spend any money. Look around your house. Do you have a small gift box or plastic container that would hold those twist ties? It doesn’t need to be fancy, just make sure it’s large enough (but not too large) to fit in and hold the items your keeping.
- Try to store like items with like items.
- Corn holders in one container
- Twist ties in one container
- Silver ware in one area
- After you’re all done with placing items back into the drawer, distribute the items that you set aside to their appropriate place. If you need to organize that area, save it for your 15 minutes tomorrow.
- Now all you have to do is maintain the drawer by going through it every month or so and making sure what’s in there belongs there.
15 minutes is a short amount of time to fix something that has been weighting you down for a long time. Now take the rest of your day to enjoy your newly un-cluttered kitchen!!!