View this post on Instagram
With the dynamic situation in the world and all of our collective overwhelm at what’s happening, if your house is anything like mine, it’s gotten a little out of control. Lots of things have been taken out, played with, and used and not many things have been put away. It always makes me feel better – calmer and more under control – when I’ve taken a little bit of time to declutter.
If you live alone or have a full house with a family, this simple, yet effective practice will have you feeling calm, cool, and collected in no time. Nicole and I call this the #Neatnik15 or the #Family15. If you have a family, this is a great way to pull together as a team and to teach your children a feeling of responsibility and empowerment.
Here’s how it works:
Set a timer on your phone or the stove for 15 minutes. Everyone in the family does as much as they can for 15 minutes cleaning up, putting away, and decluttering. You can assign areas of the house or categories to each person or you can keep it more freewheeling. You would be amazed at how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes! If you don’t get it all done in 15 minutes, no problem. If you want to keep going, set the timer for another 15 minutes. If not, you’ve gotten a lot done and can do it again tomorrow or another time. Make this a regular part of your routine and your house will be well-organized in no time! (Share your experiences with this technique on social media using #Neatnik15 or #Family15 and tag us at @NeatnikDC!)
My family and I swear by these short, but effective clean up sessions. Try it and see how you feel. Please let us know about your experiences!
(Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and Neatnik will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. We have experience with all of the products listed below and recommend them based on that experience. Please let us know if you have any questions about anything linked to below!)
Many of us have goals this year to be more organized around the house. And some of us also have a goal around healthy eating and wellness – everything from cooking more meals at home, to eating less processed food, or making healthier choices that promote weight loss. These goals can be a challenge, but the good news is that you can tackle them all simultaneously by focusing on your pantry! They say the kitchen is the heart of the home – well, I say the pantry is the heart of the kitchen. Having an organized pantry can help you cook more, shop smartly and efficiently, and help foster the choices you and your family want to make with regard to food. And you can do all of this while creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing display just like those #pantrygoals posts on Pinterest!
Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to help create your very own pantry makeover at home:
Clean It Out
Start by taking everything out. Give the shelves a good wiping down. Sort through all of the food and discard stale and expired items and donate or toss items you don’t eat or don’t want to be eating. Sort everything else into categories – pastas, rice, condiments, baking supplies, etc. This helps you start with a clean slate and you’re organizing what you’ll actually use and consume.
When possible, use bins that allow you to see the contents on the shelves in your pantry. This helps you easily see what you have and if you’re running low on anything. The bins can be plastic, but they can also be wire baskets. Look for risers or tiered organizers for cans and bottles that can get crammed onto a shelf. The risers will help you see the items in the back. Lastly, think about using a Lazy Susan for spices, oils, or other bottles and cans. This makes everything more visible, accessible, and easy to use.
To decant or not to decant – it’s always the question. This is a personal choice of whether or not to empty bags and boxes of food into matching or at least more substantial and sustainable containers in your pantry. On the positive side, decanting things like flour, sugar, rice, and grains into your own jars can make them easier to use, easier to see when you’re running low, and a uniform, matching set of labeled jars or canisters can make your shelves look very pleasing to the eye. Having your own containers makes it much easier to buy items like lentils or grains from the bulk bins, too. I recommend you take packaged bars and snacks out of the often large cardboard boxes they are sold in. Decanting them into a bin or basket can save a lot of space. On the negative side, decanting can be an extra, annoying step that busy people don’t always feel like they have time to do. I personally have found that decanting things like flours, sugars, rice, and lentils makes a lot of sense for me. But for things like breakfast cereal, decanting it just not worth it for my family. We go through it too quickly to make decanting cereal something we can keep up with.
When putting your pantry in order, place the things you use the most, in the most accessible spots. For example, if you don’t bake often, don’t put your baking supplies front and center. Perhaps your morning smoothie supplies and your kids’ snacks would be items you’d want to make easiest to access. It’s all a personal preference, but you’ll want to think through what you will need to access most often when placing your items. When you’re placing your bins and baskets, place like with like and make each bin or space on the shelf a different category of food.
If, like me, you’re someone who is always striving to eat healthier and eat less processed food, these sorts of goals should be central to your pantry organization. As a professional organizer, I love to see the #pantrygoals photos on social media with all of the beautifully sorted bins of colorful chips, bars, and other processed snacks. But while those processed food colors look great, those products are foods I try to make more of a “sometimes treat” for my family. I say this because more than any other single factor, your environment influences your choices. If you’re working to choose less packaged snacks, for example, you may not want to have them on display or front and center in your pantry. It’s putting a visual temptation in a prominent place. Opt to put the healthier choices where you can your family and see them and reach for them!
While I know for some of us it can feel like the end of the world is coming, as a professional organizer, I’m here to tell you should not stock your pantry as if it is. You do not need to prepare and stock for a hurricane unless one is actually coming. When you buy things like paper towel or canned goods, think about how much you actually need in the near future and just buy that amount and store it. And then, as I like to say, “store the rest at the store!” Otherwise, you’re taking up valuable real estate in your home and cluttering up your pantry with unnecessary bulk. In most circumstances, you can buy more when you need it – I promise you!
(This blog was originally published on the Mabelhood, the blog of Mabel’s Labels, on February 20, 2020.)
Receive news, updates, offers and more!
