From Disastrous to Delightful in 15 Minutes

I was recently doing a marathon baking session at my house when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a huge mess in my kitchen. There were pots and pans and all kinds of things all over the place.

Some of you may be wondering what all the fuss is about, but that’s not the normal look of my kitchen. I feel a bit like Oprah when she bravely goes on TV without her makeup – after all, I’m supposed to be neat and orderly. It just goes to show that things can occasionally get out of control for even the most organized among us. The trick is to have a regular system of getting things back in place. I wasn’t alarmed about my mess because I knew that in no time I could get the room whipped back into shape. After all, everything had a place where it belonged and all I had to do was put it there.

Just like I do with any organizing project, I picked a place to start (I chose the stove) and dug in to pick up an item, identify where it belonged, and put it there. Dirty spatula? – Dishwasher. Dirty cookie sheet? – washed, dried and put in cabinet. Bin of sugar? – Into the kitchen cabinet. I just kept moving to my left – counter, sink, drainer, counter, kitchen table – until everything was put away.

You may think that it’s cheating to put things in the dishwasher because it’s not the permanent home of an item (although when I was first out of college, my roommate and I used the dishwasher to store our pots and pans, but that’s another story for another time). At any rate, I don’t view putting things in the dishwasher as cheating – after all, that’s where they belonged at the moment I picked them up.

Curious about how long it might take me to clean up my mess, and in anticipation of using my experience as material for this blog, I actually timed my kitchen clean up from start to finish. In 14 minutes and 23 seconds, everything was where it belonged. Knowing that the timer was running, I was especially diligent and focused on being efficient in my endeavor. In what seemed like no time, the kitchen was back in shape and I was back to my usual question of who can I get to cook dinner for me?

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your clutter, set a timer, pick a place to start, and just pick one item at a time to move along towards its home.

Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom.