Organization in the Kitchen

Confession. I didn’t claim the title Messy Mom because I thought it would be a cute alliteration. Nope. I am the messy mom in a very literal sense. So when I decided to do a series about the kitchen I figured kitchen cleaning and organization would not be included in any of the 31 days of writing.

A lot of people with the intentions of curing me of my messiness have asked if I have read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” It’s life changing! from what I hear. The problem is I have read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and her zen voodoo magic had no power over me.

I went into it with an open mind because I used to do yoga so I the idea of spiritualizing my sock draw didn’t scare me. Despite my best efforts I finished the book and was still messy. Maybe it was just bad timing.

There is a cleaning book however that I have recommended before. It’s called 8 Minute Organizer: Easy Solutions to Simplify Your Life in Your Spare Time by Regina Leeds.

It’s less spiritual than The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and more practical. And although it didn’t REVOLUTIONIZE my entire life, it was really helpful. The author goes through each room in the home and gives really straight forward step by step advice about getting your house in order and most of challenges take 8 minutes. I talked about the mail system before and that has been great.

Another cool tip from the book is to have a kiddie corner in your kitchen. You choose a low shelf or cupboard for the kids to have access to the dishes that they use.

This fits in perfectly with what I shared about kids in the kitchen. Now my little guy can get his own plates and cups which is a win for both of us.

Also each chapter has an exit ritual. These are things you should make an effort to do each time you leave the room. I loved this concept for maintaining a clean house. When I read this book the first time,  I made an exit strategy for each room in our house, printed them out, taped them in each room, and had a family meeting to explain our new system. Now, if my husband is reading this he is probably belting out the laugh heard ’round the world because while the exit rituals are still displayed in each room no one even glances or thinks about them. Or maybe they are just hard to spot behind ALL THE CLUTTER. Another messy mom fail. As the saying goes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Fortunately, my messy house doesn’t result in eternal damnation.

I’m going to get my act together one of these days. Until then, this is my mantra (and yes, this is my kitchen).