Organizing Kitchens In Ashburn

Organizing Kitchens in Ashburn is no different than anywhere else.  But, kitchen organizing is a big undertaking so be sure you set aside enough time and possibly enlist the help of a professional organizer or friend.  Eliminate all possible distractions or interruptions if at all possible because the last thing you want is to stop that momentum to deal with something else and then walk back into your kitchen with everything spread out all over the place.  You may scream, turn and high tail it out of there once you see how your belongings magically multiplied!  Don’t panic, now is the time to roll up your sleeves, blast some upbeat music and dig in.

Before you dig in, you do need to prepare by gathering some essential tools.  The most important tool is the multipurpose trash bag.  You may need some extra boxes for donations, and a box labeled “elsewhere” for all of those things that mysteriously land on the kitchen counter but have no business being there!  You will also want some cleaning supplies since while you already have everything out you may as well clean it too. 

Now to begin, designate a place for those “must keep” items that will go back in the kitchen.  Start pulling things out of those cabinets and begin making decisions immediately about whether to place in in your must keep pile, donate pile, or the trash if it doesn’t even work.  Work your way through every single cabinet, even the ones you think are pretty organized because once everything is sorted out you may realize the kitchen is not as organized and as efficient as you thought.  Trust me, everything out.  Pretend you are on a treasure hunt to discover the most rare and forgotten kitchen item.

Be really honest when deciding on all of those gadgets and gizmo’s, special pots with only one purpose and counter-top appliances.  When was the last time you used the item if ever?  If you haven’t used it, or haven’t used it in the past 6 months or more, donate it.  Yes, you spent good money on it but that doesn’t mean you need to keep it where it will just continue to clutter up you utensil drawer, cabinet or countertop making it hard to find the things that you actually use. 

When placing everything back into the cabinets and drawers think of the kitchen as having zones for different tasks.  Place items together that have like purposes.  For instance, set up the coffee, tea, sugar and creamer in the cabinet above the coffee maker.   A food prep zone would make sense near the sink where you can wash, cut and dispose of waste in the same location.  Keep your knives and cutting boards near this zone.  Keep your spices near your prep and cooking areas.  If you are a big baker create a baking zone with all of the frequently used items together. 

A good general rule of thumb when placing any item into each zone is to keep the most frequently used items within arms reach in each zone (whenever possible).  Then the less frequently used items should be kept further out of reach based on the amount of use.  Seasonal items should not be sitting with your day to day supplies.  They need to be stored either in the basement with your seasonal decorations, or in those crazy little cabinets above the fridge that can only be reached by standing on the counter if you are like me and are vertically challenged. 

If you have limited cabinet space you may want to consider buying special racks for stacking dishes above each other.  This is a great way to maximize wasted space.  Also, that awkward space under the kitchen sink has a special shelf that can be configured around the pipes in order to utilize that vertical wasted space.  Both items can be found at kitchen supply stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens And Things.

Now get in that kitchen and set it up so it works for you!!  If you think you need hands on help from a professional organizer contact Maria White at: WWW.ENNUFFWITHTHESTUFF.COM.

Article written by:

Maria White

ENUFF WITH THE STUFF

Sort, Stow & Let It Go!

Organize To Sell

Clutter, What Clutter?

Is your home sitting on the market but nobody seems interested?  Have you taken a cold, hard look at how your house really looks to an outsider?

Sure that quilt that Aunt Martha made for your wedding is sentimental and beautiful, to you; but is it going to take people’s attention away from the size of the room, will they notice the lovely crown molding and chair rail?  The plain truth is that you have to accept when you put your home on the market, it no longer belongs to you.  You have to let go of the feeling that it is your home because now it is just your temporary housing until it becomes someone else’s home.  If you want potential buyers to see your house as their new home then you will have to get real about the clutter.  That means Aunt Martha’s quilt should be packed away along with all of your family photos, nick nacks, and vacation mementos.  The kitchen walls and refrigerator should be void of anything made using glue, crayons or glitter!  In other words, blank walls and fridge allow the new homeowners to envision themselves in that space.  If you also have a great deal of ethnic artwork throughout the house tone it down by selecting just a few pieces to keep out. 

Built-in book shelves are a big asset to a home, if they can be seen!  Try eliminating 40-50% of the books and knick-knacks.  I don’t mean that you should leave empty shelves, you just need to spread things out now and place them in a more visually pleasing manner to draw attention to the shelves themselves.  And won’t home shoppers be impressed with all of the available space still on the shelves? 

This may sound like a big task to tackle, especially if you have been in the home for a long time, but you will benefit in several ways if you get your home decluttered.  First, you may actually sell your home faster and not have to drop your asking price, that means more money in your pocket.  By decluttering you will have less to pack and fewer boxes to pay the movers to move, again more money in your pocket.  After decluttering, you will have less stuff to unpack in your new home which will also make it easier to keep organized!!

This whole process is essentially a pre-move weeding out.  Begin with 3 boxes well labeled with: KEEP, DONATE, & TRASH.

The first category should be obvious but isn’t to everyone so I’ll spell it out.  If it is broken, missing pieces, worn out or you don’t know what it is, then it is considered trash.

The second category is where people have a tougher time.  Remember, you are going to pay someone a lot of money to move your possessions so make sure they are really worth keeping.  The general rule of thumb most professional organizers use is to only keep things that you find useful, beautiful or that you truly love.  Also ask yourself when in doubt, what is the worst thing that can happen if i get rid of it?  Can I replace it or get the information in the future?

The last category is donation.  All of those items that passed the trash test but didn’t pass the keep test should get donated.  The great thing is that when you donate your things to a charity there is someone else out there who will use it, love it or think it is beautiful and you will be preventing perfectly usable items from filling the landfills.  Two good deeds with one act of honesty with yourself, how great is that?   If you want to add another good deed to the process involve your kids with searching for a children’s charity where they can donate and help deliver their long forgotten and unused toys.

Now put the trash out at the curb, put your donations in the car and tape up that box of “keep” items and you are well on your way to selling that house and moving into your new home!  Congratulations.

Written by:

Maria White

ENUFF WITH THE STUFF

Sort, Stow & Let It Go!