How changing my habits with my cluttered kitchen counters made me more productive and gave me clarity.
My dad was a professional chef, he taught me all about kitchen efficiency. I learned about cooking tools, ways to prep your station, how to chop fruits and vegetables, and how to batch together tasks to get food prep done quickly.
I watched my dad make family meals in our clean, well organized kitchen. My mom is a minimalist and kept things cleared out. Clutter never accumulated in our house. The kitchen counters were always empty and we cleaned them off daily. We did not have decorations or even appliances out.
As a teenager, I visited friends houses and I was always interested in how someone organized their kitchen. I was surprised that the clean, organized, clutter-free kitchen of my home was not the standard for everyone.
Life moved on. I got married, became a public school teacher, and then a young mom. Somewhere in my 20s I started to believe that household tasks only need to be done when you “feel like it”. When you have energy and motivation for it.
As my life got busier and I had less free time, I stopped being consistent with my household clean up and organization. I had been working all day. I was tired. The messy kitchen would be there tomorrow. Sigh.
As I was healing from my burnout, I went through the methodical process of decluttering my house room by room. (See this article)
One of those places where “the big declutter” made a huge impact was my kitchen. I had to do my kitchen in layers. I divided it up into areas to work on.
I watched YouTube videos for inspiration while I would tackle one section of the kitchen at a time. My favorite is Dawn from The Minimal Mom. Her videos are practical, encouraging, and engaging. I was cleaning out a drawer of utensils when I watched this video and saw my counters in a new way.
A few days later I read in Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and was inspired by her definition of kitchen counters. It was completely different than what most friends and family were doing in their kitchens.
“Many people leave everyday staples like oil and salt within easy reach, but all too often that can lead to a whole mess of items that end up greasy and make a kitchen look sloppy, even if it has just been cleaned. “A counter is for preparing food, not for storing things,” Kondo writes in her 2014 book. “Shelves and cupboards are usually designed to store seasonings and spices, so put them away where they belong.”
And then in her Netflix show she showed the families how to make changes and stick with them. I was hooked!
These experts got me thinking about how I organize my counters.
I saw my kitchen with a fresh perspective.
“A counter is for preparing food, not for storing things.” – Marie Kondo
The questions flooded in:
- Why do I have the toaster sitting on the counter?
- Why do I have my coffee pot on the counter where my oldest is trying to unload the dishwasher in the morning? Where else can I put this morning appliance?
- Where can I put my mixer, decorations, and random stacks of mail?
- Why do I have spots where clutter just shows up throughout the day?
- How can I create a space in our home that is useful and ready for anyone to prepare food?
- What is here that does not belong?
- If I do not have enough cabinet space for my stuff than I have too much stuff. What can I get rid of? What do I no longer need?
I knew clearing that clutter off my kitchen counters was the next big change I needed to make in my home.
I have more counter space in this house than we did in our other house. So I incorrectly thought that I could waste space with stuff and it wouldn’t be a big deal. I was wrong.
After I had decluttered the space, I realized then how important that was.
I finally had a blank slate. The clear counters made space for messy afternoon snacks, cookies with the kids, homemade dinners, and fun science experiments.
One of the reasons I did not enjoy cooking was simply all the stuff that had accumulated.
Before I could make anything, I had to clear off the work space. It took double the energy to get the kitchen ready to make dinner as it did to actually make the food. No wonder I avoided cooking!
Thus began my more consistent evening routine of clearing the counters and doing the dishes. I saw a dramatic jump in my kitchen productivity.
Am I always good at this? Umm.. no.
But here are a few things I am learning.
» Having clear counters is a constant battle of daily cleaning.
I still would rather crash on the couch than stand at the sink after a long day and do the dishes. In the afternoon, it is so much easier to pile whatever I am holding on the counter to deal with “later”. If I don’t pay attention, containers, appliances, and unnecessary stuff finds its way to the counters.
» I must choose to be kind to my future self.
I can choose to be kind to future April who walks into the kitchen tomorrow morning. She will be half awake, doubting if getting out of bed is a good idea. She will want to make a cup of tea and stare into the abyss. She will not want to see rows of containers, dirty dishes, and clutter piled on the counters.
» There is so much beauty in consistency.
Thankfully I realized that the thought pattern I had created in my 20s was not helping me. Basic household tasks need to be done whether or not I “feel like it”. We can choose to continue with what should be done, no matter our emotions.
» Mess and disorder are a part of life.
Maintenance and upkeep are a fact of life. Everything – everything – tends toward disorder if left untouched and unmanaged. If we accept that and build in times for maintenance and upkeep of our homes, our systems, and our family, we’ll find more fulfillment and satisfaction in the work we do. If you’ve been discouraged with the continual upkeep required, just know that the problem is not necessarily you or your system; the problem is entropy and it’s just a fact of life.
from “52 Ways to Organize Your Attitude” By Mystie Winkler – she is amazing!
This concept of clear counters has become a useful tool in my homemaking. To be honest, I do not plan to become a minimalist. But, I do want to have less stuff and more space to do things with my family.
I want my kitchen to be a place where people can gather, make messes, set out trays of food, and not be overwhelmed by clutter.
When I walk into my kitchen in the morning I want to see a clean blank slate for whatever the day holds.
Reflection Questions:
What do your kitchen counters look like right now?
What small changes can you make tonight to clear the clutter?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
🧽soapy hands high five!! – April
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