How To Tame Your Crazy Kitchen (And Eliminate Messy Mornings)
Take a look at your kitchen. Now look at your bedroom and go back and compare it. You’ll notice that no matter how bad your bedroom is, the kitchen is always worse. While bedroom clutter involves a few clothes on the floor and perhaps a hairbrush left out on the vanity, the sort of destruction families can wreak on kitchens is far worse. You have food debris everywhere, a stinky sink full of dirty water, and piles of filthy plates and cookware lying around all over the place. It’s a disaster zone. Messy mornings are the most significant challenge. You have to wake up and somehow deal with the clutter while getting everyone else ready for the day ahead. It doesn’t always happen!
That’s where this post can help. We take a look at some of the techniques you can use to tame your crazy kitchen and make mornings more serene for everyone. Here’s what you need to know:
You’ll notice that no matter how bad your bedroom is, the kitchen is always worse. While bedroom clutter involves a few clothes on the floor and perhaps a hairbrush left out on the vanity, the sort of destruction families can wreak on kitchens is far worse. You have food debris everywhere, a stinky sink full of dirty water, and piles of filthy plates and cookware lying around all over the place. It’s a disaster zone.
Messy mornings are the most significant challenge. You have to wake up and somehow deal with the clutter while getting everyone else ready for the day ahead. It doesn’t always happen!
That’s where this post can help. We take a look at some of the techniques you can use to tame your crazy kitchen and make mornings more serene for everyone. Here’s what you need to know:
Declutter What You Don’t Use
The first step is to audit your kitchen cabinets and get rid of everything you don’t use. As you go through this exercise, you’ll be surprised by just how little of the possessions in your cabinet you rely on daily. While they might seem useful, you are probably only using about 20 percent of the stuff in your kitchen on regular weekdays. The rest of the time, it is going unused.
If that sounds like you, take action. Decluttering will free up more space for the 90 percent of the time you operate in the kitchen. If you want to keep something you use rarely, put it into storage out of the way.
Use More Vertical Space
You can also reduce clutter by using more vertical space. Look for clear wall sections above head height that you aren’t currently using. These are ideal for shelving and magnetic strips.
You might also want to consider using the space behind the door, particularly if you live in an apartment. Hanging pouches from the rear for things like spices or crockery frees up space and doesn’t feel as cluttered as keeping it out on the side.
If you have a microwave on your countertop, look for areas where you could mount it on the wall or inside a cupboard. Again, this will help you use more vertical space and stop everything in your kitchen from feeling so cramped.
Play Calming Music
Playing calming music might sound like a bit of a strange strategy for taming your crazy kitchen, but it can work. Putting on the right tunes transforms the atmosphere and helps to put you at ease.
Many people move their home assistant into the kitchen for this purpose. You just say something like “Play me relaxing music from my playlist,” and the device will get on with the task.
Installing a sound system is another option. But of course, this will take up space you might not have.
Golden oldies are great tunes to play, especially lively songs. These get you in the mood to work on tidying up while making you feel good at the same time. And that’s precisely how you master messy mornings in your kitchen.
Prep The Night Before
Another option is to prep the night before. Getting everything laid out means that it’s just a matter of putting food in lunch boxes when you get up.
Designate a time after dinner for preparing food for the next morning. Better yet, cook a meal the night before that you can have the next day as a healthy breakfast. Make it so that you look forward to what you eat in the morning instead of dreading another bowl of dreary microwaved oats.
Keep The Surfaces Clean
When taming your kitchen, you also want to keep the surfaces clean. Leaving them dirty can attract pests quickly, especially in the summer.
If you keep items in your cupboards, ensure you seal them in airtight containers. Ensure nothing can get inside and start nibbling.
If you have a fruit bowl, find out how to get rid of fruit flies. Don’t leave half-eaten fruits on your kitchen counter or table. Put them in the refrigerator and eat them within 24 hours to prevent spoilage.
Minimize Decision Fatigue
Another pro tip for taming the kitchen is to reduce decision fatigue. Write a calendar, setting out what you’re going to eat on each day of the week (making sure you include enough variation). Don’t get into the habit of having to figure out what you’re going to eat next, every time you step into the kitchen.
Putting a system in place like this can take time, but once you master it, you’ll discover that using your kitchen becomes significantly easier. You also start to eat healthier because you know what you’re going to eat instead of reaching for the most convenient item.
Delegate Tasks
You can also decrease kitchen craziness by delegating more tasks. Getting family members involved in chores like place setting or toasting can help reduce the amount of work you have to do.
Of course, if you have young kids, you’ll still need to do the chopping and blending yourself. But there are a surprising number of tasks children can perform, from drying the dishes to sweeping up any muck on the floor.
Add Space-Saving Tools
Space-saving tools are another mainstay for those wanting to reduce kitchen craziness. Brands are constantly developing solutions that aim to make your life easier.
The best of these are pot racks. These mean you can get large crockery out of the cabinets and onto the walls, preferably close to the stove.
Another option is chopping boards with storage compartments. These have little pots you can attach where you can put pre-chopped items before you add them to a meal. (This prevents you from having to find makeshift containers).
You can also try things like stackable organizers for your sideboards. These can help you make your herb and ingredient collections more manageable and mean they take up less space.
