Decluttering Your Chicago Kitchen for a Breakthrough Overhaul
Sometimes, decluttering your Chicago kitchen by yourself is easier said than done. This was one of those times. In a breakthrough overhaul project, Mise En Place Home Edits collaborated with a tiny kitchen. More so, the space lacked natural storage options. Statistically, many feel that decluttering would eliminate housework by 40%. But like any other opportunity, our team analyzed the environment and formed a game plan.
Decluttering Your Chicago Kitchen: Understanding the Environment
Starting out, the homeowners ordered two baking racks. We planned a small enclosed, pantry cabinet. The space featured considerable chaotic elements. For four years, the renters occupied the cozy apartment and time forbid them from tackling long-running organizational challenges. Dishes laid everywhere. Many of them piled up in a metaphorical shrine to Schrödinger. And, once again, the space lacked storage capabilities.
Mapping Out the Process
Mise En Place Home Edits visited the apartment and mapped out the environment for our plan of attack. We ran to Home Goods (a Mise En Place favorite) and secured a utensil crock, multiple lazy Susan’s, pot lid holders, and some can storage solutions.
Upon our return, we pulled everything out towards the kitchen’s center. Fortunately, the homeowners provided folding tables for additional temporary storage. Right off the bat, we placed the food into the brand-new pantry cabinet. By the time we were through with our changes, the original cabinets merely contained spices. Oils and remaining essential cooking ingredients moved to a turntable. The knives sat directly adjacent to the stove.
Decluttering Your Chicago Kitchen: Stations, Everyone!
Our team created a coffee station. Naturally, we placed mugs and coffee in the cabinet above the pot. We stored the glassware above that cabinet.
Wine glasses gained their own dedicated space. After the clients recently purchased a sweet, red bar cabinet, we felt it would be the perfect home for their luxurious stemware. Since we’ve freed up so much space by this point, we successfully relocated the stock pots to the area above the kitchen sink.
Organizing with Bakers Racks
The bakers rack featured wonderful, pre-attached S-Hooks. Thus, we hung the whisk and other utensils. The measuring cups also found their home there. Utensils and all baking dishes, from Pyrex to the beautiful cobalt blue Kitchen-Aide moved to that same bakers rack. This simplified baking storage.
Other small appliances migrated into the second rack. These included the toaster, deep fryer, and the blender. This created an easily retrievable solution without consuming precious prep and cabinet space. Baking dry goods and dog treats moved there as well.
Decluttering Your Chicago Kitchen: Unveiling the Kitchen Criminal
We moved the cleaning products into the pantry cabinet and used under the sink to store the real criminal of kitchen organization–the Tupperware. Special note: Store Tupperware with the lid on. This cuts down searching. Having said that, remember to fully dry the Tupperware prior to doing so. Otherwise, Tupperware builds up an unpleasant odor. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
In total, the couple owned four unique sets of dishes. This moved two of them to the chopping block. After weeding out those two, we kept the two favorites. On another note, the silverware containers didn’t fit into the drawer. After doing some measuring, we replaced them with a new container. However, this didn’t mean chucking the old one. Instead, it obtained new life for the cooking utensils. Moral of the story: Measure twice. Shop once.
As always, we collected the cutting boards, baking sheets, pots, and pans. then, we stacked them vertically, saving vital storage real estate.
Decluttering Your Chicago Kitchen: Attack the Counters Before They Attack You
Now, only the counters remained. We all approach countertops differently. Some like to lay everything out, so they know what is where. Others, prefer not to see the visual clutter (too much anxiety). At Mise En Place Home Edits, we favor the second perspective.
Unless you are using the item at least one-two times a week, you can move it to a new spot. This may not be an option with all kitchen layouts. We may not use the slow cooker every day, but we prep and cook every day. That precious counter space is needed. Clutter makes the project and cleaning up seem like a larger endeavor if it feels like it is attacking you.
Summary
After all of our hard work, Mise En Place Home Edits restored our clients’ kitchen space. Best of all, they had perfectly usable counters without sacrificing for “visual clutter”.
While we were able to return a clean kitchen to this happy couple, we’re helping countless others throughout the Chicagoland area. To start decluttering your kitchen, contact the judgment-free, Chicago organizational experts at Mise En Place Home Edits!