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An old wicker shelf, a large cup-hook and some plastic bins help to organize all the miscellaneous "stuff" that winds up in the kitchen. Then distribute items once a day to their "proper" homes!
By Karen from Libson, OH
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I am so tired of moving the clutter off of my kitchen counters. It always seems to pile up. It's either mail or my purse, keys and all kinds of other stuff. My cleaning day is on Saturdays but what can I do to keep things organized during the week?
Ginger from Nashville, TN
I follow a simple rule for mail and other papers I bring home: file it or toss it. Its that simple, if you immediately decide to either file it or toss it, then no mess to clean up later. (06/22/2006)
By
Perhaps baskets will work for you. One basket for purses, keys, etc. One for incoming mail until you can begin sorting automatically as it comes in the house. My husband has a worse problem with this than I do. He dumps his nose spray, change, wallet, key chain, papers, etc., on the kitchen island. When I couldn't stand it anymore, but realized he is not going to change because it is not an issue for him, I put a clear plastic hinged small bin on the corner of the island. He still dumps stuff there, but the amount is confined and it is not as big an issue to me now. It's a compromise, but one I can live with now. (06/23/2006)
By Ronsan
Check out www.flylady.net. Great wesite to keep organized. (06/23/2006)
By Margaret
Make clearing the counter the last thing you do before going to bed. Do a walk through before going to bed and put back or toss anything left on top. (06/23/2006)
By Cheryl from Missouri
I have a large kitchen with tons of counter top, including a big snackbar. I'm not sure if I consider it a blessing or CURSE, as it seems as soon as I have the counters clean and clear, then they are piled up again. It just seems like we are very bad about throwing things down on the kitchen counter. I definitely need HELP and some good ideas of how to keep the counters clear. I did clear out one of my many drawers and that is now a "mail drawer", mail I need to look at or mail I've already gone through but want to save for a while goes into that drawer.
I had the same problem with my island. Everything seemed to land on it. I went to the dollar store and bought a plastic basket that would fit on top of my microwave and under the cupboard. Everything is in one spot and neatly tucked away. (06/25/2006)
By LEONA LABINE
I hung up a bathroom washcloth holder over my desk all mail goes there until I can sort it, it has 4 canvas holders on a wood rack, bills in one, letters in another, junk(that may be useful in another, one for stamps and envelopes. My purse I hang on a hook inside of my coat closet, used to hang it on a hanger, but like the hook better.
By Billie Jo
Get a little sand hour glass that times 3 minutes or so. Every day when you get home, turn the hour glass over and remove clutter from your kitchen counters until the timer runs out. At first you will just be getting rid of old clutter but eventually you'll just be taking care of the clutter from that day. Make a "trash" pile and a "file" pile. The trash pile is easy to take care of. You might want to set the timer again to work on the "file" pile. But after a few weeks of just 6 minutes a day, your counters will be clean. Also check out flylady.net if you have a lot of clutter elsewhere in your home. (06/30/2006)
By Allison
Like another reviewer, I also love Flylady! And I use a timer all the time to keep me focused on cleaning for 15 minutes. It's kinda fun to clean like a mad-woman for a mere 15 minutes and then it's over. And then everything (in that area at least) looks sparkly clean. (03/14/2008)
By Heidi Chun
Just for humor! I find, as do my friends, things breed. In the morning I check my email, get it cleared, go to the kitchen, do the dishes, watch my show, go back to the computer and, low and behold, scads of more e-mail! And so goes the day! Things that breed: laundry, dishes, e-mail and my kitchen counter also, but I live with my 4 legged room mate so I'm at a loss as to who the culprit is. My biggest downfall is filing! (06/08/2008)
By Keeper
