The Kitchen Sink V5I36

by Misty Crouse

Hello January 2025! I am so excited to start the New Year! I don’t know about everyone else but 2024 was hard. I am ready for a change of pace. The best thing about the new year is clearing out the old. I love to do “The Bowl full of Lemons Challenge” each year. It’s free, has printables to help you along the way, and it is designed to be about 14 weeks or self-paced. Depending on the room or area that week, you could be done in a day. Let’s be clear this isn’t a spring cleaning; she suggests cleaning as you go but don’t get hung up on deep cleaning each room. Focus on decluttering and reorganizing. If the space is organized, it will be easier to clean and keep clean.

You know that stack of mail you have piled up, work papers waiting to be filed away or that shelf in the bathroom that is full of God knows what. This is exactly what this challenge helps you tackle. Doing the hard things, one room at a time. I recommend picking the one thing you don’t want to do and do it first. Everything else will be smooth sailing after that.

If you are New to Organizing, that’s ok. At some point we all don’t know how to do something. It really doesn’t have to be a big too do. You can skip the 14-week challenge and start small. Here are a few of my favorite things.

-Micro organizing, by using small containers to organize drawers, kitchen and bathroom, or even totes. Tote organizing might be the greatest thing I learned this year. I learned that if I use organizing containers or even cardboard boxes in my totes it was so much easier to find what I needed and to put it all back together.

-Small Baskets. I like to use these all over the house. They are great to put a kids name on and as you find their stuff put it in for them to put away later. Store clean towels in for bathroom or kitchen. They are pretty handy to have on hand. I bought a bulk box of my favorite small baskets (24 of small shoebox sized) a few years ago and I use them all over the place. If you find a size, you like for around the house. I recommend this so much; I’ve repurposed them so many times.

- Storage Racks for your doors. Back of doors are generally unused space and I don’t like to waste any extra space. I have storage racks on both sides of my pantry door. Having that extra storage really helps keep everything organized. Same with all the other doors in my house. There are multiple styles of door storage, pockets, shelves, & baskets are the most common.

-Label everything! I know we all know it but sometimes taking the time to do it just feels like a hassle because “I’ll remember”, but that’s the thing, even if you remember the other people in your house won’t and they will make a mess finding it or not put it away where it should go. Then YOU won’t find it. I swear it creates a cycle of messes. Spend time now to save time later.

You can find most of these anywhere from the dollar store, Walmart or even thrift stores. Last resort you can buy online. I prefer to buy my organizing products in person so that way I can see the size and shape, weight and be less likely to need to return it. Plus, spending money locally lets you see your money benefit on the local level.

Join me on February 13th, where I will spill the tea on Laundry Love. Remember it’s a new year, let’s start this year off with some home care & self-care.

Happy Cleaning