How to keep kitchen counters/laundry area clear?

[Satori]

ok, my kitchen counters are a disaster. Like call a pro to straighten it out (not filth but clutter) I can not for the life of me keep them clean and neat looking. Some of its because of some my large kitchen appliances don't fit in any cupboards like my crockpot and things just I dunno, pile up and fast. A lot of it is small stuff that I don't really have an organized place to put it and I'm at a loss of how to organize it to begin with. I am seriously organizationally impaired and soooo tempted to bring in a pro to get my kitchen in shape.

So, tips for keeping kitchen counters clean?

My other hot spot would be the floor in front of the washer/dryer, ugh, don't even know how to begin to describe THAT mess. I got it all cleaned up last night but I know it will quickly be a mess again. We have a bad habit of just throwing dirty laundry there (I gave up on baskets, the kids keep dumping them out and stealing them them no matter how much I yell) and groceries over get dropped there until I have time to put them away. I've tried putting them away right away but the instant we get home its pure chaos with the kids and I need to deal with that. By the time things settle down its a few hours later and I'm dead tired and before I know it its a couple days later before I start putting things away and it takes a few days of a few minutes at a time (in my defense its a LOT of food, we shop a month at a time) then things just start adding to the pile that I can't figure out how they got in there to begin with!


ETA: Workable solutions found, thanks for everyone's advice!

[ms.shell]

for the laundry room, my dh could.not.stand me piling dirty laundry in front of the washer and so he bought several of those large pop-up type hampers (they are like the size of a barrel). I have one where i pile up handwashable or dry clean/ very delicate or special stuff, and a red one for reds, and a couple for towels/whites and general laundry. Plus a smaller one in each son's room, which gets brought in but not left there. This has eliminated the problem and looks much neater. He got the buckets at Lowe's on clearance for just like $2, which is why he bought so many. I also have a big one in my closet for out of season (or right now, maternity) clothes.

Kitchen counters. Well, I would say if you dont want to pile stuff on your counters, then dont let yourself! Do you not have a drawer or two in the kitchen that could be used to corral small cluttery things? I am thankful to have plenty of cabinets and drawers in my kitchen; i know some kitchens don't have as many. If you don't, maybe you could get a good deep basket to serve as a "junk drawer." If it was like a picnic basket or something else with a lid it could even look nice and not "junky." Or maybe you could stash it in a cabinet instead of on the counter. I can't stand having stuff on the kitchen counters, because i need them to cook, and plus having stuff on them makes it harder to clean well. So I don't tend to put things up there...when I shop, I put my bags smack on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, in front of the fridge. Somebody will get them put up quick enough, because who wants to walk around groceries on the kitchen floor. If there are lots of dry goods i am too busy to put up immediately, i put these on the kitchen table to wait.
We did used to accumulate some clutter on the section of counter immediately beside our back door; i didnt need that space for food prep and it was a convenient place to set seeds and garden tools or bubbles or toys or household tools or whatever....clutter piled up there. I had a basket there to hold the random stuff, but it didn't look nice. I wound up putting a small fish aquarium and some goldfish in there. That way, we CAN'T pile crap there anymore. And then I made space in the cabinet above that space to stash things we need by the back door. Another thing is, we have a little wooden "bill sorter" that hangs on the wall for paperwork, which ended our problem of piling mail and bills on the table.
If I didnt have enough cabinets or drawers in my kitchen I would get a bookshelf or hutch or something to help. Once when i was super poor i used an old tall dresser in the kitchen to store stuff.
I bet if you take EVERYTHING off your counters and give them a good scrubbing with rosemary or peppermint vinegar (and water) you will love your clean counters so much that you will figure out other places for everything (except appliances). And then don't pile stuff up again! lol or if ya'll tend to do this still, then use flylady's "hot spot" principle and add a 5 minute sweep of this area to your daily list.
Good Luck!

[Delicateflower]

I don't think you mean your children steal the baskets. It's their home, and their basket, after all. Mine love playing baby dinosaur hatching with two of them

A lot of it is small stuff that I don't really have an organized place to put it and I'm at a loss of how to organize it to begin with.

I have tons of those 99 cent plastic shoeboxes which stack. All that small junk has a home in one of them, and if there's no obvious home, I make a new one.

[LZP]

For laundry, I make sure the hamper always has room in it, and generally, unless company is coming, the lid is off of the hamper. (DH and I will put things on TOP of the hamper lid instead of taking that one TINY extra step of opening it when we're really tired! )

So, I agree- PPs idea of the pop up hampers would work in front of the laundry area! Or, I have a rolling cart with 3 bins that I use to sort all the clothes once I bring them to the basement. It has a top part with a bar for hanging clothes too, but they make it without also.

You could then have a separate bin for kids stuff, household, and adult stuff maybe. Then you'd not have to teach the kids sorting per-se, they'd just have their own "place" for clothes instead of tossing in a giant and growing pile! sanity for everyone.

what are the little things in the kitchen that need a place? we didnt have enough cabinet space, so I got some freestanding cupboards for the opposite side of the kitchen as another PP mentioned. we put our "nice" stuff in there: matching dishes and glasses, serve ware, etc. and the "ugly" stuff like go-cups, plastic pitchers, etc go into the cabinets with solid doors.

we use photo storage boxes in the glass door cabinets for corralling corn cob holders, drinking straws, dish cloths, and anything else that doesnt stack nicely or have a place in the other cabinets. they look great stacked one on top of the other all in the same color (and labeled if you choose!) and it's easy to find what we need.

maybe some more info about what is actually getting cluttered in the kitchen could help us give you even more ideas. I really really like organizing. live nearby?

[Happiestever]

I put away all kitchen appliances right after I have used and washed them. I also have the pop up hampers for the kids. Each kid puts their dirty clothes in their hamper right away, which makes laundry and the sorting so much easier. Well it would be easy if I didn't have to lug it down the way and into a shared laundry room..... Or you could try to throw the clothes in the washer with whatever you normally have the most of. Say your always washing towels/linens, well throw them in the washing machine instead of a basket, and just turn it on when it gets full. I would totally do this, if I had my own machine.

ETA if the appliances are too big, but used a lot, maybe you could make a cover for them. And as far as papers or whatever, look for some of those wall sorters, cubbies or whatever. Then you can put all the kids artwork in one cubby, mail in another, markers/magnets, you get the idea. I have found shelves to be a lifesaver.

[sunshineafterrain]

For the groceries
Tell your children beforehand that you are all going to help put the groceries away, if it works for you, give them the option of playing cooperatively instead.
This way they'll either be helping -or playing nicely so they don't have to- with the goal being the groceries are put away and the thought of it is not hanging over your head for days Even tiny kids can carry things to you, or put them on a low shelf, and they'll like doing a "big grown up job" with you- if they are past that age then they have to be responsible by behaving while you work

For the baskets, get some that they can play with, the rest are for laundry only and are off-limits

Good luck!

[sagewinna]

Can you set the kids down with a snack while you put away the groceries? I find it's easier to deal with things right away (mail,groceries, etc) so I don't put it off indefinitely.

The kitchen counter clutter is a monster I fight daily. If I don't it gets out of hand quickly. We have a small kitchen with limited cabinet space, so some appliances (and big pots) that I use once a week or less get stored in a hall closet. The less I have on the counter, the less likely I am to clutter it up.

[Satori]

I wish it was as simple as getting the kids to help or getting them to eat a snack. I wasn't joking when I said chaos, bigger one starts begging to go outside and play which I can't let her do without someone to watch her which then gets the little one begging too and at the same time there starting to fight and snipe at each other and they literally start bouncing off the walls within seconds of walking though the door if it hasn't started before that point. My kids are special needs with the older one having serious mental health issues which make things difficult on a good day. Shopping day just sends her over the edge since she's been holding it together while we were out so she lets it all out the second we get in the door. I'd love to find someone to watch her while I do the shopping then put away stuff but so far that hasn't worked out so well. The past several weeks I've been able to get my shopping done while the little one is at the nursing center 2 days a week and we've been able to keep the trips to about 2 hours for the weekly errands which has really helped.

[hillymum]

With the groceries, delegate! As soon as my children could follow directions I had them putting none breakable items away for me. Now they either go play/do their own thing and give me space or they do the job themselves.

laundry..... i stopped sorting clothes years ago! They get thrown from the bedrooms to the family room to the laundry room every evening and go straight in the wash. i wash, dry and fold them and put them in piles on the dining room table and each child takes their clothes and puts them away. Dh puts his away if he is here, of not I do it. I might be a SAHM but I'm not a slave. Everyone shares the work load.

As to keeping surfaces clear I have no idea! I do my best to put trash papers in the recycling bag and pencils/pens away in their containers but the little things get thrown in one area (hopefuly). When it looks really bad then I have a sorting out session.

[mumkimum]

In the kitchen, for big stuff like pots/pans/kitchen electric's we gave in a few years ago and got a big wire shelf for the dining room to put most of that extra stuff on (we like to cook, so there's a lot of it for our small kitchen). Other even less occasional stuff goes in the basement with our cans/etc.

Smaller kitchen stuff goes in a few places: I have 2 crocks for either stove-related cooking stuff (wooden spoons, flippers, ladles, etc) or counter-related cooking stuff (whisks, scrapers, etc). I have some small baskets that go in cupboards or drawers (or have at times been out on the counter) for measuring things and small misc. kitchen tools that get used frequently. And then there's a drawer for small misc. kitchen tools that don't get used frequently. Stuff that's only for baking is in another drawer.

I also find it helps the counter to seem cleaner if you group whatever you need to keep out on the counter as closely as you can - not line it up along the back.

[freestylemama]

Wow mama! It really sounds like you've got a lot going on. In our house if laundry needs to get done, we do it. I know that sounds simplistic, but it really works- if there's laundry to be done, we do it and we keep it moving most of the time- I fold at night and sometimes even watch tv as a treat for doing it! The key to a clean laundry room is not allowing laundry to pile up. I don't really understand why you're not using hampers or baskets, but that would probably help you transport laundry better. Maybe make a game and include your kids in the work so they feel like part of the activity and they are less likely to destroy the baskets.

As for keeping a clean kitchen. . . the key is to declutter and then make cleaning it a regular part of your rhythm. Maybe when your kids are in school you can clean and shop? That works well for me.

Good luck!

[Satori]

Originally Posted by freestylemama

Wow mama! It really sounds like you've got a lot going on. In our house if laundry needs to get done, we do it. I know that sounds simplistic, but it really works- if there's laundry to be done, we do it and we keep it moving most of the time- I fold at night and sometimes even watch tv as a treat for doing it! The key to a clean laundry room is not allowing laundry to pile up. I don't really understand why you're not using hampers or baskets, but that would probably help you transport laundry better. Maybe make a game and include your kids in the work so they feel like part of the activity and they are less likely to destroy the baskets.

As for keeping a clean kitchen. . . the key is to declutter and then make cleaning it a regular part of your rhythm. Maybe when your kids are in school you can clean and shop? That works well for me.

Good luck!

I gave up using them because the kids take them every time and end up destroying them. I'm limited to when I can do laundry as its only been the last 2 weeks I could do laundry at my house (dryer died a few months ago) and even now I can only do it on good weather days (which is not today! ). Baskets just do not work in our house period, the kids refuse to leave them alone and abuse the heck out of them. As for doing it while at school, were homeschoolers

[Drummer's Wife]

Since you mentioned possibly getting professional help, I wonder if you would consider taking pics and explaining how much space/cabinets you have, and maybe we could help you brainstorm where to put things?

Do the appliances that are out get used regularly? (like several times a week?), if not, and if there isn't enough other stuff you could move or get rid of in the cabinets currently, I would probably store them elsewhere in your home... like the top shelf in a closet, or under a bed, or something. I don't even like having the toaster on the counter, and we use it for bagels frequently.

I hate clutter, (though, I would be embarrassed by the amount of paperwork, electronics, and random-ness on my kitchen counters currently this thread may just motivate me to do it tonight), and find stuff just multiples with numerous kiddos (and myself) conveniently dropping off a handful of legos, or field trip permission slips, junk mail, video games, etc, on the counters. It does get overwhelming when it piles up. I have a lot of counter space, and more than adequate cabinets/pantries, but in a way, that means more stuff seems to accumulate in the kitchen.

Could you grab a rubber-maid tote (or 2) and shove stuff into it so you can clean the counters and then go through the stuff and find a place for it - only putting back what truly needs to be taking up counter space?

The laundry room - I like the idea of the tall hamper/sorting bin things. I put a plastic hamper right in front of the washer in the laundry room and it really helps me not toss stuff on the floor right there. If my kids take it over, I dump their toys out and take it right back.

Maybe try bringing all the bags into the kitchen, and put them on the floor or kitchen table so that even if it takes you a little longer to get the kids settled and the perishable stuff put away, it will still be right there in your way so that you pretty much have to put it in the cabinets/pantry in order to have that space back.

[Delicateflower]

If you're shopping for a month at a time and having difficulty getting your kids through the long trips and difficulty putting it all away, and have no space in your cupboards, why not shop once a week. You'll have shorter trips, less to put away and more room to put appliances in the kitchen cupboards. Win-win all around! And since you're probably at the supermarket once a week getting fruit and vegetables, it's not that much more work.

[stik]

Have you considered having the groceries delivered? You'd still have to put them away, but you wouldn't exhaust yourself and your children going to the store. There's usually a fee, but it's probably less then the loss to spoilage and crushing of the food left in front of the washer.

[ikesmom]

Maybe you could keep a sheet on the floor by the washer and then scoop it all into the washer at a certain time each day..or just leave the washer open and have everyone toss it directly into the washer. You could put a pillowcase in their room or restroom.

As for the kitchen cabinets..I have 2 junk drawers that serve as a catch-all for small things..then I have a shelf that holds 3 wicker baskets (deep) . I use napkin holder to hold the recent mail and papers that can't be put away just yet. My crockpots, deep fryer, rice cooker, and roaster are in the garage. Yes..I have to drag them out every time I use them

[freestylemama]

I like the idea of giving your kids their own laundry baskets and then having some just for the laundry. I think you should teach them how to not destroy baskets and a good way to do that is giving them each one that's just for them. . . if that doesn't work, you could use laundry bags.

I also agree about shopping less often so you're not overwhelmed by stuff.

[cappuccinosmom]

Kitchen--most kitchens have at least one cupboard that you can fit larger objects in. Do you just have super small cupboards, or are the larger spaces taken up with smaller stuff. A crockpot can be about 2 inches shorter if you put it away with the lid upside down. Otherwise, put everything else away in the cupboards and line the appliences up along one counter wall. On our counter right now we have a toaster, coffee machine, mixer, and tea kettle. Those are fixtures. We also have a large basket in which bread and fruit goes. Other than that everything has a place in a cupboard or drawer, and if it's not food related, it doesn't come into the kitchen. The only exception is a mug with pens in it and some note paper by the phone. Usually every couple of months, someone will pull out everything from one cupboard and re-organize it because they do get messy with use.

Personally I find that it helps to have a lot of smaller containers within the drawers and on the shelves. That really helps contain things and keep it organized.

Laundry--could you get unstructured laundry bags? One for each kid maybe. When it's full, then they can chuck it down the stairs, and then you can use it to "tie up" their clean/folded laundry and just return it to their bed for them to put away. If you fold a laundry bag lengthwise into thirds, it should wrap pretty well around a load of folded laundry, and you can use the pull-string to hold it in place (and if there's no string, an jumbo rubber band or something. Having things in the bags would keep the laundry pile from becoming an overwhelming, undefined monster.

[RosemaryS-F]

I do mostly darks, so I put the darks right in the washer. When it's full, we do a load. We undress right in front of the washer, which is in our bathroom, too. The whites go in a bin on top of the washer (out of reach.)

[fullofgrace]

I'm short on time but I'll start with the laundry. Nothing is solution-less!! We'll set you up right.

First off -- good for you for acknowledging that what you're doing now isn't working and that it is time to stop that and do something else! I think I said it in another thread, but I am a big fan of doing what works until it doesn't.

Originally Posted by Satori

My other hot spot would be the floor in front of the washer/dryer, ugh, don't even know how to begin to describe THAT mess. I got it all cleaned up last night but I know it will quickly be a mess again. We have a bad habit of just throwing dirty laundry there (I gave up on baskets, the kids keep dumping them out and stealing them them no matter how much I yell)

You actually already have a laundry organization system built in to that area -- your washer and dryer. Stuff the clothes, etc into each one, give yourself permission to ignore them, and then just deal with sorting on laundry day. Done.

And the bolded part? Kids do that. Hee. But much more seriously, as special kids (especially those with emotional issues - have that here, too), that is a very very very healthy and safe outlet for them to use to express whatever out-of-control emotion they may be feeling at the time. Dumping laundry is far less damaging physically and psychologically. Honestly? You've found something they enjoy. USE THAT. I say encourage dumping something when the day gets bad vs anyone yelling, etc. It's all about choosing battles and finding and using what works to our advantage to make the most of our days.

Also ~ to help you stop stressing about what the kids are doing with the laundry for example, reframe it. Now that you are purposely throwing your clothes & things needed to be washed on the floor anyway, so what if the kids dump basketed laundry on the floor and make off with the basket? Technically you've joined in the dumping on the floor fun lately. In the grand scheme of life as a special parent, I rate things the Star Trek way (Geek! lol) - All systems happy & Green. Yellow Alert (keep an eye out). Red Alert (oh crap!) You don't need to be stressing or yelling over laundry when there are sooo many other things to put at the top of the Yellow and/or Red Alert lists. If no one is getting attacked by the laundry or the laundry basket (hey - it's happened! lol) then give yourself permission to let some of these things goooo and then let them go. It really is ok to just embrace the clutter that comes with having children and run with it.