Love, Joy and Peas: kitchen clutter

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Quick and Easy Tea Nook Clutter Busting

Happy tidy Tuesday and Spring! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues with a quick flat surface area / kitchen counter clutter busting project.

We have tea almost every day but this little tea nook to the left of our range is a clutter magnet. The above photo is an "after" clutter busting image. It includes one thing that wasn't in the "before" photo below. Can you spot it?

This "before" photo shows a much messier tea nook. Most of this stuff isn't clutter in the sense that we don't use it but it is clutter in the sense that it doesn't belong there.

So I removed everything from the area, cleaned the empty space, put the out of place things where they belonged and then returned the things that did belong.

Then I noticed the cup hook with nothing on it. I searched for and found the missing oven mitt and hung it back up (see the topmost image - that was the extra item not present in the "before" photo). I like the tidied tea nook much better this way.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Quick Kitchen Counter Organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/14-minute-kitchen-counter-clutter.html
Microwave Area Clutter Busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html
Organized Utensil Drawer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-simplifying-home-8-week-journey-week_21.html

Monday, March 4, 2013

14 Minute Kitchen Counter Clutter Clearing Project

Before decluttering

As I mentioned in my desk clearing post, I love quick and easy decluttering and organizing projects that immediately make a difference. Above is a photo of my kitchen counter before I spent 13 minutes and 51 seconds (which I rounded up to 14 minutes for the title) decluttering, cleaning and organizing it. That 14 minutes included removing everything but the blender, loading the dishwasher (I'd decided to do a timed project right after I emptied it and noticed how cluttered the counter was), placing a new roll of paper towels on the holder (not pictured), recycling the old paper towel tube, purging the clutter, categorizing what I decided would go back, dusting everything that needed it, and putting everything that really belongs somewhere else into a basket for distribution later.

Above is the "before" picture of my cluttered kitchen counter. As you can see, it's kind of busy and there's too much stuff out which limits the work area for cooking.


After decluttering

The "after" picture is a breath of fresh air. I didn't fuss with my husband's sponges or "his side" of the counter (not pictured) but I think our shared side looks a whole lot better. While it does mean the kitchen is more his than mine, I'm truly blessed with a wonderful husband who cooks dinner every night so I definitely want to respect his space.

I relocated the phone to a little shelf that rests on the left side of the counters. I also keep bananas there but there's plenty of room for both. That was a well spent 14 minutes and these quick successes make it easier for me to stay motivated to plug away at my larger, long-term decluttering projects.

I hope this inspired you in some way! If so, I'd love to hear about it. You're also welcome to join my clutter b usting Fac ebook community. Whatever your goals, may God bless you and keep you!

Full links and related posts:
16 minute desk decluttering project: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/16-minute-desk-decluttering-project.html
My personal home vision post : http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-home-vision-new-series-on.html
Easy exercise motivation trick: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/easy-exercise-motivation-trick.html
Clutter Clean in 2013 Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ClutterCleanIn2013
My 2013 reading goals: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/01/ten-terrific-goal-boosting-books-for.html