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One of the benefits that I didn’t even consider when I started my 30 Simple Days at the beginning of January is: TIME. You gain time, you guys. For all of you who do not live in the land of Tracie, I know that you already knew this, but now I know too. I’ll update you in the next week, but I can tell you this, I am LOVING having my kitchen stay – relatively – clean. But, that’s not what I’m here to tell you about today.
Earlier today, I was trying to find my bottle brush to clean out Liv’s tall travel coffee mug that she takes to school every morning and it was lost in the madness that is underneath my kitchen sink. (Don’t mind the one you can actually see in the photo below, it’s old and gross and I would never use it to clean something, but we all know how hard it is for me to throw away actual trash. Here’s how the conversation will go in my head – “Is it recyclable? I don’t know!!! It doesn’t have a recycle number on it anywhere, so what do I do, what do I do?!?” Just throw the stupid thing away you maniac! No, I believe I will just put it right back where it was, so I can have another mental screaming match with myself later.) Anyway.
One of the things I am learning about myself repeatedly, is that what space I do have, I don’t use properly and to its best advantage. It doesn’t matter how everyone else uses their space, I need to organize and use the spaces that I do have, in a way that is going to make sense to my brain.
So, I asked myself, “Why, why, why, am I keeping 372 bottles of cleaning supplies underneath my sink, when I only use a handful of them on a daily basis”? Because that’s where I thought that everyone else keeps theirs. And they might. But, that doesn’t matter in my house. I need to be able to find what I need in that moment quickly or I could decide that I should go take a break and pick up my current book. Two hours later, I will finally remember that I was cleaning something.
I have a fairly large laundry room downstairs that I am usually only in twice a day, that I can store all of my overflow in. Another benefit from this type of storage method for me is that I can see at a glance that I have NINE bottles of Mrs. Meyers cleaning spray and I don’t need to pick another four up when I am in Target the next time. I also discovered that I own three gallons of white vinegar. Sigh. At least I won’t run out anytime soon.
It was also absolutely grimy down there. So I removed every single thing inside the cabinet and gave it a very thorough vacuuming…..
Also, a butter knife works wonders for stuck on…..whatever that was.
I still love this padded shelf liner that I picked up at Wal-Mart (I think it’s actually cheaper on Amazon and I don’t have to put on real clothes and leave my house). You can occasionally find it at the Dollar Tree, but it is very hit or miss there. Wally world and Amazon always have some in stock in very lovely patterns. 
I used up the last of this roll here. I love this pattern. It makes everything look new and clean.
I put back only what I know I will need on a daily basis and the rest goes downstairs into what will be the overflow section in my laundry room. I’ll give you a rundown of what I need close at hand every day:
Mrs. Meyer’s Apple Cider multi-surface cleaner. I like almost all of the Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface cleaners, but I LOVE this one. It smells amazing and it makes me want to clean something so that my house will smell like this scent. It’s awesome.
Scented trash bags. We don’t use these large trash bags for our actual trash cans, but I love having these on hand for when I do need a big bag for something. They smell amazing, but it’s not overpowering.
Eraser Cleaning Sponges. This is another staple at my house. I have my Mama hooked on them too. They are made of melamine which is exactly what Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are made of and they work like you wouldn’t believe. I always have a stash on hand.
Dish Drying Mat. My MIL bought me one of these and I love it. It folds into a small square that I can stuff underneath the sink and it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Soaks up all the water until I get all of the things that don’t fit into the dishwasher washed.
Dishwashing detergent. I was faithful to Finish Quantum Max as my dishwasher detergent for years, but I ran out one day and needed something immediately and Wal-Mart DID NOT HAVE ANY, so I tried something random and it worked just as well in our newish dishwasher (it’s about three years old now) so I haven’t gone back. If you have an older dishwasher that is having problems cleaning your dishes though, try the Finish. It was the only thing that cleaned my dishes in my old decrepit dishwasher.
Microfiber cloths. I use these for so many different things. I have just random ones that I’ve picked up over the years, but I keep hearing great things about certain brands so I may invest in some.
White vinegar. I use this in my dishwasher instead of a rinse aid. It works, so I don’t spend the extra money.
Lysol Wipes. These are something else that I bulk order from Amazon. It’s just more efficient, and cheaper. They work amazingly well, so I always keep them on hand.
Stainless Steel Cleaner. I found a bottle of Goo Gone Stainless Steel cleaner at a yard sale that had never been opened and I bought it for $0.25. It is amazing. But it costs $39.99! on Amazon right now, so I am going out on a limb and thinking that they don’t make it anymore, so when this is gone I will replace it with this, more than likely. I’ve heard great things about it. I have also heard that you can use Pledge or an equivalent, but I haven’t tried that yet. I can see why it would work though, my cleaner is very oily just like a furniture polish.
Scratchers. This is what they are called in my family. I use them on my iron skillets and stainless steel pots and pans. I usually pick them up at my Dollar Tree.
Last but not least…..my bottle brushes. I use these on our water bottles, and travel mugs. I usually buy these at the Dollar Tree too, but they have some that look like they would last a little longer on Amazon. I’m all for something I don’t need to replace every month.
What do you need right at your fingertips in your kitchen? Curious minds need to know.
What’s next?
I have so, so many areas of my house that need micro-organizing like this. I know it’s not exactly the Marie Kondo way of doing things, but I like to break things into manageable chunks so that I’m not overwhelmed. Otherwise, I would end up shoving the entire mess into a closet somewhere to be dealt with at a later date, which may never come.
Making up my own categories, that are small enough to be attainable, in a tiny window of time let’s me get things done. And progress is always a good thing.