At Last..........

The Kitchen Pictures!

You have already seen pictures of my my progress here and here so I'll not bore you with the same photos again

I'll get the worse bit over with and share my under sink cupboard and baking cupboard with you as they are the worse (and most shameful!)

These illustrate my 'stuff it in and close the door' tendencies perfectly!

Cringe!

 

Moving swiftly on...they now look like this!

 

 The rest of the cupboards really only needed a quick wipe but I'll share anyway!

 

 

Once inside the cabinets were clean and tidy I attacked the outside, scrubbing work surfaces and wiping doors, cornices and kick boards

I'm really pleased with the results and its so much easier to find and use my stuff, I really make the effort to make sure every time I use something it's washed up and put away!

The test will come next time I want to do some baking!!!!

Lots of Love xxxx

Learning To Fly..................

After reccomendations from 3 bloggy friends I finally found my way over to FlyLady and immediately signed up to recieve a daily digest!

Thank you LissyLou, Laura @ Domestic Doris and Tracy @ Mad About Bags I think this will really help to keep focused and I just had to say................

Check out the shine on that!

 Lots of Love xxxx

Oh Baby........

They might be small but they certainly bring a lot of accessories with them! 

Our kitchen has no less than 3 dedicated 'baby' cupboards.  Recently I have noticed that, as Sophie grows, there is less and less 'stuff' we use from them, yet they are getting messier and messier!

The food cupboard

Sophie Doesn't really eat 'baby food' anymore so, bar a few emergency meals and her cereal, cleared and tidied.  I gave the items that Sophie won't eat to a friend for her baby.

Before:

And after:

The 'milk' cupboard

Before:

 What a mess!! I haven't even looked on that top shelf for weeks! 

 

After:

Bibs and bottles

Most of the things in this cupboard haven't been used for months and months, the bottles and teats and muslin squares are no longer needed, after throwing away anything below par I popped the rest into storage.  We also bought some new bibs in the sales so anything stained or grubby looking went!

Before

After:

So far so good!

Lots of Love xxxx

Where To Start........

When I planned to declutter the house I gave myself just 3 rules:

1. One room at a time.

2. One cupboard/drawer/area at a time.

3. Never try to do more than can be done in the time available

 

I didn't want to set strict rules or put pressure on myself and figured that I would gradually, as I got into the process of  letting go, find my way.

I have decided to start with the kitchen.  My 'Mother Hubbard' challenge has meant that I've already made a start so it seems natural to continue. 

Without further ado let me introduce you to my tiny kitchen (no quick tidy ups, I promise!)

As you can see it really is a small room and if I'm honest isn't in that awful a state.  The usual kitchen 'trouble spots' apply here.  There are a few 'dumping' areas where receipts and leaflets collect and the cupboard under the sink is home to a wonderful collection of cleaning products!

Enough chat lets get going!

Lots of Love xxxx

Old Mother Hubbard...........

You know the nursery rhyme right?  

Well if her cupboard is bare our food cupboard is completely the opposite!

Are you ready? 

(cringe!!! I had to resist the urge to have a tidy before I took this photo, but I want to share the truth!)

I know one might not naturally think of food as clutter (after all we need it don't we?) but when you don't use your 'store cupboard' foods (or can't because they are so far out of date!) that is exactly what it is!

James and I don't shop regularly, we work shifts so aren't always around to do a proper food shop.  We usually buy a few days meals at a time depending on who is at home.  This never works out, of course, as we will forget what was intended to go with what and end up not using everything we have bought.  

These unused foods either sit forgotten of get thrown away, out of date, when the next lot of badly planned shopping gets put away.

As part of my decluttering challenge I have decided to take control of the situation and set myself the task of taking stock and using up the food we have stored in our larder and freezer.  

Obviously I will have to buy a few fresh ingredients and the odd item needed to complete a meal but I intend to use mainly ingredients we already have.

I will, of course, share my endeavours with you next week!

How long do you think it will all last!

Lots of Love xxxx