Fall Decluttering Challenge- Day 2
/How did your kitchen decluttering go yesterday? I must admit, most of my problem was that things simply needed put away in the right place. I did go through my pantry and canned goods and made a big difference there. I am making better use of my storage containers. Then I made a double batch of rice krispie treats to get the marshmallows out of there. Now everyone is happy!
I even cleaned under the kitchen sink. The dumbest thing that I threw away was a $1 refill bottle of window cleaner from Dollar General that was under the sink when we moved here almost 13 years ago! Why was I saving that? When I ran out of Windex I never remembered it and now I use Norwex cloths anyway. Every time I cleaned I just moved it back to it’s spot. Why???? I think sometimes I get so used to stuff being here that I don’t even realize it is clutter.
DAY 2: THE BATHROOM/LINEN CLOSET
8 people share our 1 bathroom. It isn’t always easy. Fights break out often. There is a big cupboard where we store our linens and cleaning supplies. That gets pretty messy. It is also where we have our washer and dryer, so it doubles as a laundry room. Needless to say, it is a challenge to keep the bathroom decluttered. I definitely need to work on that again today.
Here are some things that I do to minimize what we store:
We don’t have many extra sheets. Sheet washing is usually a one-day project. I have no choice but to finish so that people can go to bed.
When blankets wear out and are not longer soft we give them to someone who can use them for dogs. A lot of shelters would gladly take them!
I don’t use a wide variety of cleaning products. I am a big fan of multi-purpose and I really love Norwex cloths.
As tempting as it is, I don’t stock up on paper products anymore. I don’t have enough space to store 30 rolls of paper towels, so I can’t take advantage of any deals that require me to buy that many. The hassle is just not worth it.
I really should get a pic for the blog one of these days, but we have a towel rack in our bathroom. My husband and I made it together. I painted our names above the hooks so I know who didn’t bring their towel back and I can stalk them down. I have 16 “good” towels to rotate them and 6 or 8 extras. I wash the towels every couple of days.
Today’s bonus mission is the medicine cabinet. We don’t have a medicine cabinet. I keep them in a high cupboard in bins. Since the flu infested our house last winter they are overflowing. We were desperate. I am checking dates and pitching stuff that we really don’t use. This is actually a really important thing to declutter!
I found an article on the FDA website about safe disposal of medicines (read it HERE) or you can look for a location that will dispose of them for you (see HERE).