Home Challenge: January 2016

52 weeks to an Organized Home!

This is what I've been doing. Plan. Organize. Control. From now on, I am going to imply the management functions on everything I do. Planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.

Planning, by making the list:

My photos are all a blur! This sucks!

In January, I did the first 5 on the list. Honestly, I already did "almost" all, but I'll share according to the list, okay. Just so you know, I have to follow these steps (a must) to make sure I organize perfectly; it's L.A.S.T:

L = Like with Like

A = Assign a home

S = Store

T = Tag. I use the cheapest labelling tool. The masking tape!

Organizing/ Taking action, every one reads, know how to plan, make a list and sometimes day dream but putting words into actions? Not every one does it. I made a promise to myself to get everything done, by hook or by crook.

1. Kitchen Counters & Sink

I made myself put away everything (movables) off the counters. The only things left are the Coway Water Filter, microwave, oven and the dish drainer. Yup! Believe it or not. All my tupperwares of food/condiments etc, are all kept in the cabinets. Even my rice cooker, electric kettle are put in the cabinet and only taken out when I need it, and kept again after. It's much more tidy that way. Every thing has a home now, yippie!

The colour of the tiles are dull. Got to do something about that.
This will be in my home improvement listing.

2. Kitchen Cabinets & Drawers

Well, I can't say much, because there's not much space in my kitchen. I've tried my very best to think of a way to organize everything in the cabinets and drawers since everything which was originally on the counter must be kept away from public's eyes. When I first implement "everything off the counter", it was like I organized one part and made a clutter in the other parts. Later, I thought, I have to start somewhere. Also, while I have nothing to do, taking my mind of food and staying home this month, I just had to put it into action. So, ta-da. It's not that impressive. I still need more compartments.

Top Cabinet 1: Tupperwares
Top Cabinet 2: Plastics Containers
Top Cabinet 3: Electrical goods (Blenders and Food Processor).
Top Cabinet 4: Tumblers and etc.
My heavy mixer had to go under the sink.

Top Cabinet 5: Jugs, mugs, cups and glasses.
Low Cabinet 1: Plates and serving dish.

Low Cabinet 2: Pots and Pans
Top Cabinet 6: Toaster, Kettle and more tupperwares (formulas and sugar)

Drawer 1 & 2: Utensils
Drawer 3: Baking tools

3. Pantry & Food Storage

I don't really have a pantry with such small space. But I do have one cabinet to store the dry food. Before, I hardly have anything in the cabinet because I never cook. We had dinner at my mother's on weekdays and weekends are usually take-outs. Don't judge me! My husband doesn't eat rice. He prefers bread. I really don't care what I eat, so there's no reason to cook. *shrug un-guiltily*

Anyway, nowadays, when the kids are getting older, they eat a lot. So I'm more than happy to cook. And, the tiny food storage became a bit tight. I am struggling to make this an organized cabinet. Although, I still need a few more compartments. Categories; canned, dry, baking, beverage, drink mix and etc.

My small food cabinet. I could stack more compartments but it'll be difficult to grab and go.

4. Refridgerator & Freezer

Also, nothing much in the refridgerator and freezer. We buy what we need that day. So, nothing is kept too long. Just a few categories will do.

Dairy, medicine, colourings, leftovers, seasonings/ condiments, veggies and fruits.

I won't share the photos in this post because I am still working on organizing it. I'll have it done before the end of this month.

5. Recipes

I kept a book since I've got married (8 years) and categorize by type of food; gulai, veggies, western, desserts/ kuih-muih and Laura Vitale's. Others; grocery list and baking conversion. I will be creating a new section for Atkin's (low carb) menus.

But the disadvantage of jotting down recipes in a book is that when you run out of pages for a certain category, it'll not be organized any more when you start writing under different sections. I thought of keeping my recipes in a binder but it'll take more time ;P Okay, I'll do it after I have no more page for a certain category. In that case, I'll just finished what I've started and not waste paper.

Nope! I've decided! I will create the binder and have it done by the end of this month!

I don't have staffing or directing because it's just me. The kitchen is my territory! So' I'll do this on my own. I'll have my staff (everyone you lives in this house) and there will be lots of directing and nagging, when the time comes. Muahaha! *evil laugh* Nah! Everyone will just have to do their part.

Controlling:

After all that effort, I won't let any one mess up my kitchen. And I am trying hard to remain every thing where they are. I reminded everyone in this house to do so. I kept saying "I won't ask you to clean anything but please just don't make a mess. That's good enough."

My Reminder: Always put away stuff where it belongs (their home) after use and wash dishes immediately (or by the end of the day) so that the dishes are dry in the morning. Plus, it's easier and faster to put away dry dishes in their home and prepare breakfast.

Can't wait to plan for the next 5 on the list (#6 - #10) for February!