Survey #241—Full Response from Lisa
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| How often are you troubled by clutter in the kitchen and/or pantry? | My kitchen is a clutter nightmare! |
| What sources of clutter or specific issues do you experience in the kitchen or pantry? | My pantry overflowith. We live in an old home that doesn't have any closet space and doesn't have a pantry. (We are currently using a 6' bookshelf as a pantry. I can't stand seeing the piles of food on display so I hung a curtain to hide it.) My husband and I were just talking about eating from the pantry to get it under control. We went from a household of 4 to 3 and still tend to overbuy pantry items based on how much we used to consume. This week we created a menu based specifically around what we have on hand. We clean out the pantry completely once or twice a year to get rid of expired items, items we don't like, and to wipe everything down. It's not the upkeep thats the issue for us, it's the quantity. There are several items we bulk buy at warehouse stores (ie Sam's Club) because the cost savings is substantial, however sometimes I think the lack of space isn't worth the cost savings. As for the kitchen itself it's probably the number one dumping ground for homeless items. There are things out that we use daily, such as the coffee pot and dish drainer, but there are tons of things that got set down and left. About half the depth of our countertops are covered with items we have shoved out of the way to make enough room to prep/cook. It's such a source of embarrassment for me. |
| What organizing solutions or strategies have you tried or used in the kitchen, and how have they worked—or failed to work—for you? | I have tried doom piles, bins (clear to see what is in a bin AND opaque to hide what is in a bin). I have tried boxing up every single item on the counters and putting the boxes out of sight to see what we really need (if an item is needed we will take it out of the box and return it to the kitchen). After a couple months I toss or donate everything we didn't need. It seems that no matter what I try my family goes behind me to undo all of my work. For example, I hung a mail holder next to the door closest to the mailbox. Instead of using that my husband has decided all mail needs to be set on the kitchen counter and moved around as space is needed. Since he handles all of the bills for the household ideally I would put a container of some sort on the counter where he has been putting the mail, however there is so much other stuff everywhere there is no room for a container. |
| What “one-trick pony” resides in your kitchen or pantry? Why do you keep it? | My one-trick pony would be my crab leg crackers. We rarely have crab legs at home, maybe once a year, but need the crackers for those times we do have crab. Oh, my toaster, although it lives in a cabinet, is a one trick pony. Standard two slice toaster, but I hate toast. I only have it for when my older daughter comes home to visit (she's 23). She loves toast and eats it every morning. No one else in my family likes toast. |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). If we think that your question—and our answer—might be useful or instructive to The Clutter Fairy Weekly audience, we’ll share them in an upcoming episode. | Thank you for everything you do! I've watched every episode on youtube, and frequently rewatch them to get more inspiration. |
| Future topics | How to handle the emotional stress of living with a clutter bug. I have my fair share of "too much stuff" but my husband and daughter are on an extreme level of clutter bugging. No matter how many systems I have implemented we always fall back into the same old "set it down and forget it" routine. |
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