DeClutter Confessions Week 1 ~ Kitchen, Pantry & Dining Room ~ SuperMom Monday

If you haven't heard by now I have lost my mind both in the clutter that has accumulated in my home and in deciding to SHOW you before and after pictures of my progress.  You see I am taking part in a De-Clutter Your Home in 91 Days Challenge by Mary Organizes!  Each (not-so) SuperMom Monday I will be sharing my pre & post clutter pics for all the world to see.  So sit back, enjoy the view, you can even join me if you wish...just no judging  =)

 What is so awesome about the Challenge that Mary set up is that she assigns tasks to be completed almost everyday.  So it's baby steps.  And no thinking is involved on my part.  Just do what she says and I'll get rid of this stuff despite my wonderful reason behind it all!  Ok, enough stalling.  Let's get this show on the road already.

Monday

As you can see Mondays task was to clean out the fridge/freezer.  I had already taken the food off my second shelf in the fridge before I remembered to take a picture and there was no way I was going to put it back so I apologize for that.  But this task wasn't as long and scary as I thought it would be.  One thing I was SO grateful for was this fridge tip I tried a couple months back.  It made the job WAY easier!  If you are going to do the Challenge I highly suggest you do it too!

Tuesday

Yep, Tuesday was Pantry day.  Waaaaaaaaay overdue.  And I'm so glad the time came to tackle the beast in which it had become.  The stuff that came out was unbelievable.  Not a whole lot was relocated.  Most was packaged food that I hadn't used in forever so I let it go.  That's really the lesson here.  Letting your crap go!  5 bags plus 1 large bag, a box of dehydrated milk and a box filled with broken down cardboard boxes.  Oh you've noticed the blue buckets lined up on the counter?  Come out this Taco Tuesday post and I'll show you how I've finally begun to meal plan!  

Wednesday & Thursday

 Wednesday's task was to clean out cabinets, Thursday clean out drawers.  Funny how the one organized part of my kitchen is all behind doors!  The bad cabinet I had was my lower corner cabinet.  The cool thing about a Lazy-Susan cabinet is the space isn't wasted.  The bad thing, stuff falls off and you can just turn it to hide the mess.  Until the whole thing becomes a mess.  Then it's time to deal with it.  And I did.  Three bags of junk later and a box of bottles to donate.  I used some colorful tubs that I removed from the pantry to coral the paper goods.  

Friday

Task: De-junk the Dinning Area

Bonus for me my Dinning Room was clutter free so TGIF!  My Dinning area is also combined with a living room that we use as a Playroom.  Sadly I will not have a day off during Playroom week. Boo.

Saturday

My island counter is a hot spot for dumping stuff off and it drives me crazy.  Mail, school papers, magazines, change, hubbies tools that will "just be there for a minute then I'll take it back to the shop!" but stays forever.  Truthfully, it's one of my hot-spots.  I also have a built in desk in the kitchen which is a strong contender for hot-spot leader but I'll fight that one in Office week!  What makes it even worse is my kitchen door is the door everyone comes into, even guests.  I've tried to not let this stuff sit there, but it has to go somewhere!  

I decided instead of continuing to fight this losing battle I would create a place for it to go instead of spread out over the counter.  I now have a specific spot for mail, change, pens, bills and even a section labeled "Don't forget!" for things like school announcements and coupons.  I'll be posting more about this DIY Mail Center on Friday!

Hooray!  I made it through Week 1, only 12 more to go.  Next week, the Girls Bedroom.  Deep breath...I can get through this.  

See the DeCluttered Rooms you missed!
Girls Bedroom ~ Boys Bedroom ~ Craft Room ~ Laundry Room ~ Master Suite ~ Living Room ~ Office Area ~ Closet ~ Landing Areas ~ Playroom ~ Other Bathrooms ~ Garage

Do you have any de-clutter secrets?  What's the worst spot in your kitchen?  I won't judge,  I promise  =)