Fall Decluttering Challenge- Day 2

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How did your kitchen decluttering go yesterday? I must admit, most of my problem was that things simply needed put away in the right place. I did go through my pantry and canned goods and made a big difference there. I am making better use of my storage containers. Then I made a double batch of rice krispie treats to get the marshmallows out of there. Now everyone is happy!

I even cleaned under the kitchen sink. The dumbest thing that I threw away was a $1 refill bottle of window cleaner from Dollar General that was under the sink when we moved here almost 13 years ago! Why was I saving that? When I ran out of Windex I never remembered it and now I use Norwex cloths anyway. Every time I cleaned I just moved it back to it’s spot. Why???? I think sometimes I get so used to stuff being here that I don’t even realize it is clutter.

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DAY 2: THE BATHROOM/LINEN CLOSET

8 people share our 1 bathroom. It isn’t always easy. Fights break out often. There is a big cupboard where we store our linens and cleaning supplies. That gets pretty messy. It is also where we have our washer and dryer, so it doubles as a laundry room. Needless to say, it is a challenge to keep the bathroom decluttered. I definitely need to work on that again today.

Here are some things that I do to minimize what we store:

  • We don’t have many extra sheets. Sheet washing is usually a one-day project. I have no choice but to finish so that people can go to bed.

  • When blankets wear out and are not longer soft we give them to someone who can use them for dogs. A lot of shelters would gladly take them!

  • I don’t use a wide variety of cleaning products. I am a big fan of multi-purpose and I really love Norwex cloths.

  • As tempting as it is, I don’t stock up on paper products anymore. I don’t have enough space to store 30 rolls of paper towels, so I can’t take advantage of any deals that require me to buy that many. The hassle is just not worth it.

  • I really should get a pic for the blog one of these days, but we have a towel rack in our bathroom. My husband and I made it together. I painted our names above the hooks so I know who didn’t bring their towel back and I can stalk them down. I have 16 “good” towels to rotate them and 6 or 8 extras. I wash the towels every couple of days.

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Today’s bonus mission is the medicine cabinet. We don’t have a medicine cabinet. I keep them in a high cupboard in bins. Since the flu infested our house last winter they are overflowing. We were desperate. I am checking dates and pitching stuff that we really don’t use. This is actually a really important thing to declutter!

I found an article on the FDA website about safe disposal of medicines (read it HERE) or you can look for a location that will dispose of them for you (see HERE).