Self Help

We should get and keep our homes organized in the least possible amount of time. I don’t think it is unrealistic to say that our work can be accomplished in two or three hours each day. If you work and don’t spend all day at home you will have less time and less energy for housekeeping. Nevertheless your goal can be achieved!

To accomplish this, a lot of cluttered surfaces need to be cleared. Special temptations for clutter are the top of the toilet tank and the bathroom window ledge. Kitchen windows, and kitchen counters, too, fairly beg to have things put on them: bottles, jars, tissue boxes, and
appliances.

The clutter turns any dream of cleaning these surfaces into a nightmare. There is no such thing as a quick swipe at the bathroom or kitchen in your morning cleaning when all these things have to be moved. The best way to achieve order in the bathroom is to get a shower caddy and put the shampoo and conditioner bottles, the soap, and the washcloths on it.

As much as possible, have a bare counter in the kitchen. For a long time I fought this idea. I noticed that two of my “Squeekie-Cleanie” friends had almost completely bare counters. Still, I resisted clearing my kitchen counter because I thought it was an unnecessary and rather extreme step. Then I tried it. What a difference it made!

Clearing my kitchen counter and color coding my clothes in the closet were the two moves that had the most satisfactory results for me. I didn’t think either one was particularly important, but both turned out to be significant helps. I took the canisters off the counter and distributed them in several separate places in the kitchen cabinets. I put the blender under the counter in a place that had been cleared by throwing away some unused item.

I felt I had to leave my toaster and my coffee maker on the counter, although my Cleanie friends keep theirs underneath. But since then I have gotten rid of my toaster, so that spot on the counter is empty. When my family wants toast, I broil it in the oven.

Now you are going to tell me that you don’t have room under your counter. I know the problem. I am sure that men design kitchens and have no idea how much room is necessary for storage. However, let me tell you of one woman’s experience. She had her kitchen remodeled. During the remodeling, she put her kitchen equipment on a table on the back porch. After the remodeling was finished she decided to leave it on the porch and to get items to be stored in the kitchen only as she needed them. At the end of three months, half the things were still on the back porch. If you used this method, how much would be superfluous and left on the back porch?