So the last time I entered an organizing blog was in May. I suggested everyone start cleaning out their master bedroom. I was on my way and my son graduated from high school and then the summer began and life just got away from me. I am sure there are a million of you out there that either had a similar situation and life just got busy. Now we are heading into fall. It is really hard to believe.
So let’s just continue getting our homes organized either to get ready to put your house on the market for sale or just for peace of mind. I suggested the Master Bedroom first because this is your sanctuary and this helps us feel at peace and a sense of organization when this area is clean and under control. If you did not have a chance to get it started in May, then let’s go ahead and start this now. Start to clear out summer clothes and pull in the fall wardrobe. Get rid of clothes that you NEVER wear and those that you think you might wear but never do. Get rid of shoes, belts, bags, coats ect. You can donate these items to your favorite charity and get a receipt to help you with your taxes. If your room needs a fresh coat of paint, new comforter, pillows ect. Toss the old magazines and books stacked up on your night stand. One tip for you, if you don’t have good reading lamps, then invest in some that have some character that match your decor. You can get some nice lamps for not toe much money at places such as Target or TJ Max. New curtains or blinds will also make a huge difference. Clean carpets or mop the floors, and don’t forget under the bed.
For those of you that have a clean Master, the next room we are going to tackle is the Kitchen… Yikes. The Kitchen is number two most important room in a house, and it is important that it’s harmonic, peaceful and a place that everyone enjoys. Let’s get started.
My suggestion is to first declutter your cabinets. Do you have old plastic tupperware that you have had for 20 years that has melted in the dishwasher or is stained up and you never use? Toss!! Get rid of old cookware you never use, old plastic cups, and on and on. Clean out pantries, old canned goods that your family will never eat and old spice racks full of unused items. Give to the local food bank or shelter.
Once you’ve decluttered, wipe down the inside and outside of the all of the cabinets and floors. If you don’t have liners in the cabinets you might want to put in some of the rubbermaid shelf liners to protect the bottom of your cabinets. A great suggestion for under the kitchen and bathroom sinks from one of my colleague, is are to purchase vinyl tiles with the peel off back that you can cut to size. Lay those under the sink so you can easily wipe up cleaning chemicals that might ruin the wood on the bottom of the cabinets, use these under the sinks only, of course. You can find vinyl tiles like this at a place like from Lowes or Home Depot.
Step back and look at the kitchen. Does the kitchen need a fresh coat of paint? If your cabinets are dated and you can’t afford to update them, then possibly change or add hardware to your cabinets. I like to think of hardware as jewelry. It adds to the completeness of the kitchen. Lighting? Do you have old light fixtures, these are fairly inexpensive to change if new wiring is not required. You can pick up a new fixture for as little as $30.00 in some cases. Again your local hardware store should have a nice selection. Also, I recommend a great store in Santa Fe called Restore. It is a store from Habitat For Humanity that stock all sorts of goodies for the house, they are located at 2414 Cerrillos.
Two very important tips to remember for your kitchen: Always have a Clean Stove, and a Shinny Clean Sink. These two things help bring perfect harmony to the kitchen. Good Luck!
Let’s try to complete this by the September 24 at the latest. For those of you who don’t need to paint and ad fixtures and hardware then you will be done sooner, then add some fresh fall flowers in a nice vase and enjoy!!
As you go along I this organizing journey, I welcome you to send me photos of before and after and I will post them here. Any other ideas are also welcomed in my comments section.
