Day 1 – 10 Days to an Organized Home Challenge – Kitchen

Welcome to Day 1 of 10 Days to an Organized Home Challenge!

If you’re a regular here, you know that I love everything about maximizing spaces and having an organized room.

The 10 Days to an Organized Home Challenge (#10DaysOH) is all about freeing your home of access clutter and disarray. We’ll be working each day in another part of your home to get rid of things that you don’t need and make a designated place for everything that you do need.

Today, we’re working in the kitchen. Completing these tasks will ensure you’ll have easier access to items and will know where everything is. Make sure you share before, during, and/or after pics on social media with the hashtag #10DaysOH. If you aren’t signed up for the challenge already, sign up here. You’ll receive an email each day with your assignment.

Here’s your challenge for today:

1. Clean and reorganize your refrigerator
2. Clean and reorganize your cabinets
3. Clean and reorganize your cabinet drawers

If you can do each part of the challenge, that’s great, but if you can work on just one of the above, you’ll already be closer to having a more organized home. Plus, it’ll motivate you to complete the other tasks on later days. It’s okay to do this in smaller chunks as you get time. Keep reading for help with completing your tasks.

First, I want to thank the sponsors that are giving away some awesome products throughout the challenge: Angioletti Designs, The Mad Platters, Gneiss Spice, & Sweet Water Decor. Tomorrow, I’ll be giving away the first item, so stay tuned!

 

 

1. Clean and reorganize your refrigerator

Your refrigerator is probably the most used item in your kitchen, right? You and your family members go in the refrigerator many times a day putting stuff in and taking stuff out. I hate that I’m always trying to make room for food. I also hate that I have to move a bunch of stuff around to find what I’m looking for.

Having an organized refrigerator and making a place for everything will definitely make cooking, prepping, and eating a lot faster.

Start by removing everything out of the fridge. Go through your inventory to get rid of anything after the expiration date and any items that you won’t use.

Then, you need to refresh your fridge by giving it a good cleaning. I like to get a bucket of hot water with a couple caps of Pinesol.

Once your fridge is empty and clean, you can start putting your items back in. I purchased a bunch of plastic containers with lids and a couple plastic baskets to store my food and group like items.

One thing I do often, is put my leftovers in the fridge within the pots they were cooked in. Since I don’t have a lot of pots, I’m often fishing through the fridge for one that I can empty. I’ll work on getting better at putting all my leftovers in storage containers before I place them in the refrigerator.

 

 

Upper shelves

On the top shelf, place eggs, short drinks, leftover foods, deli meats, cheeses, and other ready-to-eat food.

Bottom shelves

On the bottom shelves, place your raw foods. Gallon drinks can go on the bottom shelves, too, but try not to put them below raw foods unless you’re placing raw foods in some kind of storage basket. You want to avoid having leaky packages spill to the shelves below them.

Door

Your refrigerator door is the warmest part of the fridge, so don’t place items like eggs or milk there. Your door is best used for condiments.

 

 

Drawers

Your drawers, or crispers, are usually designed to hold your fruits and veggies. I don’t usually put my fruit in these, though. I use my drawers for potatoes, onions, and peppers.

Here’s some other cool ideas from around the web to help you organize your refrigerator:

 

 

Make sure you clean out your fridge at least once a week to get rid of any bad food, keep track of inventory, and make sure it remains organized.

Clean and reorganize your cabinets

This part can be a little intimidating, but I promise you’ll feel so much better after you’ve made progress.

Organizing your cabinets can be hard, because you have so many different items that need to be stored, like pots, pans, dishware, storage containers, and even cleaning supplies.

Tip 1: Completely clear everything out of the cabinets and clean inside.

Once everything is cleared out of the cabinets and you’ve cleaned inside, you could decide what you need and what you can get rid of.

[disclaim]Items that you don’t want (or need) could be donated to your local donation center. Or, you can do a yard sale and sell your unused items.[/disclaim]

Tip 2: Group your items by type/use.

For example, group all your pots and pans together so they can go in one cabinet (or on one shelf), all your storage containers for another cabinet/shelf, dishware grouped to go in a separate cabinet, etc. Small appliances should have their own cabinet, too (unless you store them in the pantry – we’ll talk all about pantries and food storage tomorrow).

I only have a few cabinets in my tiny kitchen. Some of them are used to house office and craft supplies, so today I’ll be working on getting my cabinets back. (I’ll share before and after photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook with our challenge hashtag: #10DaysOH – don’t forget to check out all the participants photos’. Share yours, too, with the same hashtag.)

Tip 3: Place your items back in the cabinets, being mindful of how you actually use the items in your kitchen.

Plan according to how you use your space. In my case, I place cooking, baking, and food prep items near my stove. My dishware goes in the cabinets near the sink and dishwasher to make cleaning a breeze.

 

 

Tip 4: Use clear plastic containers or decorative storage baskets to corral small items.

Use plastic storage containers or decorative baskets to store storage lids or tiny food packages together.

 

 

Tip 5: Use pot organizers.

Pot organizers, or any other metal racks, are great for streamlining your pots and pans in your cabinets.

 

 

Clean and reorganize your cabinet drawers

Your kitchen drawers can be organized, too. Pull everything out, so you can start with a clean slate. Then, clean your drawers with soap and water.

Drawer Dividers for flatware and utensils

There are so many different drawer dividers on the market – some stylish, some not-so-much. These are great for organizing your flatware, utensils, and other knick-knacks. I’m creating custom drawer dividers for a couple of my drawers. I’ll share photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with our challenge hashtag, #10DaysOH.

 

 

 

Spice Drawer

Remember the spice racks that used to be really popular storing spice jars on the countertop? Well, if you have the space (and like that kind of look), you can store your spice racks on your countertop, but if not, use those cool spice jars (that come with the rack) and put your spices in one of your drawers. I suggest putting them in a drawer near your stove or prep counter.

 

That’s it all I have for now, guys! Now, I want to see how YOU are organizing YOUR kitchen. Make sure you share photos on social media with the hastag #10DaysOH. I hope these tips help! If you have any questions, be sure to leave me a comment below.

If you’re looking for more tips to complete your assignment for today, check out our challenge Pinterest board below. There are lots of pins that can inspire you. Be sure to follow the board. If you want an invite to be able to pin on the board, send me an email at hello[at]whitneyjdecor[dot]com.

Follow Whitney J Decor – Interior Design & Event Styling’s board 10 Days to an Organized Home Challenge on Pinterest.And, if you’re not already signed up for the challenge, it’s not too late! Sign up below:

Which one of the tasks will you complete today? I’d love to know all about it! Leave me a comment below.

Till next time,

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