If you, like so many people I know, have been watching Marie Kondo’s “tidying” show on Netflix, you are probably feeling a simmering desire to declutter your home. This may feel like a task insurmountable if you have a large house, tons of stuff, or simply a low level of personal motivation. What if I told you, however, that you could make a big difference in your home with a small level of commitment - just 15 minutes a day? It sounds crazy, but it’s true! They say that the secret to eating an elephant is to take small bites, and organizing your home works with the same strategy. Let’s start with your kitchen, the heart of the home.
What can you do in the kitchen with just a quarter-hour? You have to pick attainable tasks, like tackling your spice cabinet. We all have one, and almost every one of them is crammed to the gills with aging bay leaves, thyme, and coriander. You can’t find anything, and you strongly suspect that many of the spices are expired. Here’s your first task. Take EVERYTHING out - yes, everything - and evaluate your collection. Spices never truly expire, but they do tend to lose their potency after three or four years. Often-used bottles like cinnamon, garlic salt, and curry powder are probably fine, but take a good look at your lesser-used seasonings. If they are old, throw them out.
Another 15-minute magic task is cleaning out the cabinet under your kitchen sink. If you are like me, it’s a jumbled mess. I keep pots and pans under mine, but you may use yours as a cleaning product storage space. Once again, it’s time to look realistically at what you have. You don’t need six bottles of Lysol spray, no matter how germaphobic you happen to be. Whittle down your supplies, especially those that get infrequent use like silver polish and brass cleaner.
The last task you can tackle in fifteen minutes is one that will make a huge difference - your kitchen table. Clear ALL the junk off of it, find a home for the stuff that you actually want or need to keep, and then give the surface a nice clean-down with soap and hot water. The site of a clean table will visibly congratulate you for your work, and inspire you to undertake other projects. Keep an eye on this blog for quick-clean guides to other rooms in your house as you Konmari your way through 2019.
