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Spark Joy: A tidy kitchen

Barb and Wendy at Simply Spark Joy help you to create a clutter free home on the Black Press Media
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The joy of cooking in a tidy kitchen

A kitchen that you love will become the heart of your home. It will serve as a social place for your family to gather and help you set the tone for the rest of your house and your life from day-to-day. Having a tidy place to cook, eat, and spend time with your loved ones can help make your day more enjoyable and even affect your ability to develop healthy habits.

If you take a moment to visualize your ideal kitchen and the time that you spend there, what do you see? We find that many clients visualize their kitchen as being an inviting space that helps motivate them to prepare meals and spend quality time with their family and friends.

Here are some recommendations on how you can tidy up your kitchen and achieve the type of space that you just visualized for yourself:

  1. Reduce the items in your kitchen to what you use. No amount of organization is going to make your kitchen any bigger so it’s crucial to be realistic about the space you have and what is essential to your day to day routine.
  2. Save space by reducing duplicates. Take stock of the items you have multiples of and consider how many you use. Common items to have more of then you need include coffee cups and wooden spoons.
  3. Ensure that everything works. Items will only spark joy for you in your kitchen if they are in working order.
  4. Keep your countertops free of clutter, especially around your sink and stove. Not only will this free up space for you to cook but it will make it easier to clean too. If your goal is to create a kitchen that you feel motivated to cook in, start with creating a space that’s easy to clean!\Organize by keeping like items together and remember, what matters most is your ability to see what you have. Organizing this way can help inspire efficiency and by giving all of the items in your kitchen a home, it will be easier for you to both tidy and cook in your kitchen.
  5. Go into the grocery store with a plan and be conscientious about what you buy in bulk. Planning out your meals and using recipes will make it easier for you to begin cooking at home. Utilize the cookbooks that you love but try out online recipe websites for new inspiration. We love America’s Test Kitchen and the New York Times Cooking!
  6. Go to bed with a clean kitchen. We know that this suggestion sounds impossible at first but if you start with small things, like unloading your dishwasher at night, you might find that the positive effect that it has on your sleep and your morning will motivate you to keep it up.

Tidying up your kitchen is a way that you can care for yourself and your family. Although it’s difficult to build a tidying routine, you will be rewarded with an inviting space, the joy that accompanies sharing a home-cooked meal with your loved ones.

“From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change.” Marie Kondo

READ MORE: Spark Joy: The art of giving and receiving

READ MORE: Spark Joy: A goodnight’s sleep

READ MORE: Spark Joy: Declutter and organize your home forever

Who are Wendy and Barb?

After assisting each other with complete home tidies, they jumped at the opportunity to attend the San Francisco KonMari training seminars in December 2016. They spent three days with amazing like minded participants sharing the same tidying passion and feel so fortunate to have been in the presence of Marie Kondo. This inspiration motivated them to complete the KonMari Certification Process over the next ten months.

They currently both live in the sunny Okanagan in beautiful British Columbia, Canada otherwise known as “wine country”. Their families support them in this tidying craze and are excited to see them be their true selves.

Barb Haymour: barb@simplysparkjoy.com

Wendy Chamberlain: wendy@simplysparkjoy.com

simplysparkjoy.com

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