The kitchen is the one area of the house that everybody uses and is usually the focal point of the house where conversations are held while cooking or where we eat together as a family.

That makes it especially important to keep organized so you are not wasting time looking for things and getting frustrated rather than enjoying family time.

Follow these 5 simple tips to stay organized in the busiest part of your home.

 

Like with like

Keep like with like. Sounds simple but it is easy to get away from. Organize and keep all of your spices, food containers and pots together. And when you are storing your food containers keep the lids on the containers if you have the room. How many times have you found the container you need but just couldn’t get your hands on the lid for it?

Just this one simple tip will keep you from running from cupboard to cupboard or drawer to drawer looking for something.

Clear is better

Use clear containers. Now that you have sorted like items with like items, use clear plastic containers to keep things in. Just by opening the cupboard you will see that all of your sauces and gravies are in one container and perhaps all of your desert packages are in a larger container. In our house we go through a variety of cereal type snack bars.

When we get home from shopping they come out of their box and are placed into a clear container so we can see the choices we have, quickly grab the one we want and be able to keep everything in one place.

Risers for your shelves

Be able to see everything. Storing and organizing your spices may just be the biggest challenge. We all try to organize by alphabetical order but when things get put back everything is thrown off. Purchase an inexpensive tiered rack (riser) so the rows of spice containers are stepped behind each other for easy visibility. Just like tiered seating at a sports event. Keeping them in alphabetical order when putting them away will be a lot easier.

A Lazy spin

Purchase a Lazy Susan or have one installed. Don’t feel bad about using something with the word lazy in it. This item can be an organizing life saver. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Spin the shelf and what you need comes to you!

No more having to reach to the back of a cupboard or take everything out to find what you need.

These are especially great for corner cupboards or those lower cupboards with hard to reach spaces or hidden corners.

Clean out your refrigerator.

This seems obvious but we all put items in the fridge and just forget them. Have you ever found that green surprise in the back of your fridge or that container of salad dressing with a best before date older than your kids? I have.

Diarize the cleaning of the fridge and you will always have room for groceries when you get home from shopping and not find those nasty surprises.

Follow these secrets and you will have a well-organized kitchen.

If getting your kitchen organized feels overwhelming to you or you just don’t know where to start, contact us here for your free telephone consultation and we’ll work it out with you.

Before you know it Halloween will be upon us. Will you be ready?

Halloween has changed over the years. It can be as simple as dressing the kids up to go door to door collecting treats to something more elaborate as a house party.

Pre-planning works wonders

Give it some thought ahead of time. Society has changed where there are some parents that do not want their children going door to door for various reasons. Is the traditional door to door canvassing still in your plans?

Are you hosting a neighbourhood party where you can control what goes into the treat bags?

Make a list of everything that needs to be done ahead of time to save the stress of stopping on the way home and avoiding the rest of the last minute shoppers and bare shelf horror. Candies, pumpkins, treat bags, party supplies and of course costumes should all be at the ready.

Do you bake those orange coloured cookies or other themed baked goods for Halloween? If so, take stock of what you have versus what you will need and ensure you have it all on baking day.

Halloween décor

Like Christmas, we only use the Halloween decorations once a year. Bring them out a couple of weeks prior to the day and put up those scary witches and goblins around the house for the kids.  Make sure you toss anything that is broken, damaged of that you don’t care for anymore.  Get your kids involved in the decorating as well.

We like to add a touch of fall colour to our home and this is a good time of the year to do it.

Chill out with the ghosts and goblins

On Halloween night have your handouts ready at the door. If you live in a kid friendly neighbourhood you may as well pull up a comfortable chair and enjoy the wide variety of costumed characters coming to your door rather than continually getting up and down.  Get yourself a costume too so you can chill on your front porch!

Take care of your pets

Do you have a pet? Think of them as well on Halloween. Some are spooked or alarmed by constant door knocking or door bells and others do not take well to strangers coming to the house.

Know your pet and ensure that both they and your visitors are safe.

Loot bag survival

Lastly, be prepared for the arrival of your excited kids coming back home with their loot. Make sure they know the house rules and have an area ready for them when they get home to inspect their goodies before they dig in.

Don’t forget that once Halloween is over, the décor and costumes should be put right back in the Halloween storage bin and tucked away for another year.

My mother allowed us to eat anything we wanted the night of Halloween but we were limited to just a few items per day after that. Our loot seemed to disappear quicker than I thought it would.

You don’t think my mother was helping herself to our candy do you?

Contact us here for a free telephone consultation to start you on the right track to an organized home!