Hello Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts readers! I’m Kelly and I blog over at Here Comes the Sun. I’m excited to be participating in Kitchen Week. Today I am going to give you some tips on how I keep my kitchen clean and organized.
SPARKLY CLEAN
If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a dirty kitchen. Now don’t get me wrong…many a mornings I wake up to a sink filled with dirty dishes because I was too lazy/tired/busy blogging 🙂 the night before to put them in the dishwasher. UGH. It drives me crazy. I really need to work on it.
But, I really try to make sure my counters are always clean. And I haven’t purchased any kitchen cleaner in over a year. I make my own and it is sooo easy and cheap. Want to know how it’s made?
Combine equal parts vinegar and water. That’s it! I put it in a recycled bottle and I have a fantastic cleaner for pennies! I buy the big jugs of white vinegar and it lasts me forever! If you have really tough grime to get off, baking soda does the trick! Just sprinkle some on and scrub with a bit of water. I use this all the time when my white sink gets dingy. It makes it look *almost* new again.
Now that you know my secret for cleaning counters, here is a secret for cleaning messy hands, especially the little ones. You know what I’m talking about…the ones that leave the mysterious greasy handprints all over those walls that you just scrubbed. You know that overpriced foaming hand cleanser? You can make that too! All you need is an empty foaming bottle. Add one tablespoon of hand soap and fill the rest of the bottle with water. I buy the big bottles of hand soap and use it to make foaming soap in addition to refilling all the regular soap bottles.
ORGANIZED AND IN ORDER
Another thing I can’t stand is paper clutter. All those bills, take-out menus, lists, important papers, etc. AAGGGHHH! To tackle this mess, I created a Household Binder.
It includes everything that keeps our family running! I have so much stuff that I have two binders! One is dedicated specifically to our family finances. I keep these binders right on my counter! The best thing is, you can organize your binder into categories to fit your life!
And lastly, my kitchen would not function properly without an organized pantry. One way I keep things tidy is by using plastic containers with chalkboard labels. You can buy the chalkboard labels on many different Etsy shops but I found mine at Staples.
I find that things that comes in bags (sugar,flour,rice etc.) easily spill in the pantry. By placing them in containers with lids, you avoid this potential mess.
I hope you have enjoyed my tips to help you keep your kitchen clean and organized.
Thank you so much for having me, Melanie.
Love it. I hate a dirty kitchen too, especially first thing in the morning. The trick is to just do it after dinner the night before {but it doesn’t always happen and I kick myself in the morning}.
Love the containers, I’m slowly trying to switch everything over so there’s no more bags
Kelly, I would love to see a tutorial on how you organized your household binder! I have one, but I’m not sure that I love what I did with it yet 🙂
Those are fantastic tips! I just discovered the DIY foaming soap trick and it is wonderful!
Great tips! I am totally going to start making my own foaming soap. And the household binder is a great idea!
What amazing tips! I love the labels!
I hate clutter as well and like to keep my counters clear. But the labeling thing hasn’t happened for me yet. Nor the planning meals 🙂
Thank you for having me Melanie! I’m glad people enjoyed my tips.
Meredith…I am currently working on re-organizing my binders and I just might do a tutorial when I’m done!