When you step into your kitchen, the thought of organizing it sounds tiresome and time-consuming. However, you should not look at it that way knowing very well there is a lot in store for you to benefit from with a well-structured kitchen. The main question that you need to ask is, what are you looking to organize in your kitchen? From the first glance, what is the first thing that comes to your mind that should be organized? Perhaps it’s your junk drawer, or your knives, or the appliances that aren’t well-positioned. Maybe it’s the cabinets, cookbooks, drawers, or the refrigerator and freezer. If all these need to be organized, then you need a plan.
The plan that you are going to use should define your starting point. It should also tell you the length of time you will need to complete the entire process.
This is so you don’t end up wasting time cleaning the kitchen at the expense of other rooms.
Why Start With a Plan?
Working with a plan is the best way to ensure that you meet your organizational goals at the end of the day. The best thing is that a plan will also help you maintain your focus on what should be done at what time. What you should understand is that there are many things that should be organized in your kitchen. Therefore, if you fail to plan, you will find yourself moving from one corner to the other feeling frustrated and worn out that everything looks messy. In fact, you could end up losing hope that your kitchen can have an organized look, just as you had initially imagined.
The best way of planning your kitchen organization is walking into the room and deciding what you will do in a procedural manner. The following is a practical strategy that you can adopt as a plan to organize this room in your house.
Step 1 – Categorize Your Items
The first step you should take is to categorize what you have in your kitchen.
Knowing these categories will help you position everything in its rightful place. During this step, you should take everything out of your cabinets and list them in a notebook. Move from one cabinet to the other as you conduct this procedure without ignoring anything. Remember, you are also trying to avoid clutter from filling your kitchen, so nothing should be left untouched.
Moreover, to save on time, you should not dwell on specifics. Try to categorize your items based on general classifications. This will make the process easier for you to handle. Depending on what you have in your kitchen, there are several categories that you will have including plates, mugs, silverware, serving dishes, pans, cooking oils, spices, food storage, pet supplies, knives, pantry, and miscellaneous items.
Step 2 -Use Sticky Notes to Identify Categories
Handy tools that should not be left behind are sticky notes to help with the identification process. The categories you created in the first step should be labeled using a pen and a sticky note. Give each category a unique label and place them somewhere visible.
After labeling all your categories, it is worth noting that there are changes you will be making concerning the position of your items. This is what organization is all about. You want to store things in places where they can easily be accessed. If some of the things are rarely used, it makes more sense to store them in cabinets that aren’t located close to your workstations.
Step 3 – Identify New Locations
An important step in the planning process is knowing where your items will be stored. You should have a clear plan where your new storage locations will be. It is advisable to think about this based on proximity. With the sticky notes that you had previously labeled, use them to stick in the new locations where you wish to store your things.
Take note that you are not moving things around in this step. This is simply part of the planning. Don’t try to move items in your kitchen just yet as you will only confuse yourself. Simply place the sticky notes on the cabinets and drawers where you wish to store your goods. The significance of this step is that it helps you to visualize how things will look around your kitchen. You can move the stickers around until you get the desired look you anticipate.
After you are through placing your notes in different locations, you can take the next step of organizing. The important thing is that you should not remove the notes during the entire process.
You can see that having a solid plan will guarantee that you find it easy to rearrange things around your kitchen. Picture a scenario where you failed to plan how you will handle the process. Certainly, you will feel overwhelmed with the clutter. You will not know where to start and what to do to make your kitchen look good. This chapter has detailed for you a practical plan that you can use to kick off the process of organizing your kitchen. The important thing to keep in mind here is that you don’t have to complicate things as this will only discourage you.
