The Self-Cleaning Home Part 3: Clean Kitchen Counters!

Who-hoo!!!!  We’re rockin’ and rollin’ now, y’all.

So far, we’ve tackled the Kitchen Sink and the Monster Paper Clutter in the Kitchen.  These are finely tuned habits now.  Because if they aren’t, girl… go back to Habit NUMBER 1.

Our goal here is to make our home feel like it cleans itself.  We’re getting these routines deep into the far-reaching depths of our psyches.  So much so that if we don’t get that sink clean, we’re going to feel like we’ve lost a limb… our dominant one at that!

This week for Part 3, we are clearing the kitchen counters.

This is the first time we’ve even thought about getting rid of anything. But here goes.  This week, step back and take a look at your kitchen counters to see if you can get rid of anything. Are there any appliances you don’t use that you can donate? Are there any canisters you don’t really use that you can get rid of?  Is there any miscellaneous junk that needs to be taken to another room?

Take 30 minutes and get all the unneeded and unused junk off of the counters.

Before:

After:

Then take 2 minutes everyday to check back in.  You can do it after you’ve done the dishes so clean kitchen counters become a seamless habit.

Before:

After:

If you have granite counters, use this recipe to make your own cleaner!  It’s WAY cheaper than anything you can buy in the store and it makes that granite shine.

What about the kids stuff that just appears out of nowhere and is nobody’s fault?  

Remember the mysterious Family Circus cartoon character, Not Me?

Keep a bin or a bag nearby to toss all the kids stuff in it.  Like the random lego Batman you stepped on washing dishes or the cute little stuffed Pickachoo that was left on the counter before school.  Throw all their stuff into that bin or bag so when they get home, they either clean it out and put it away or you will.

That threat always gets my boys moving.  They know that my cleaning it up, in reality, is me simply sauntering over to the trash bin and throwing it in, never to be heard from again.

It works. Period.

Here’s a recap of the awesome habits we’re developing:

1. We keep the sink free and clear of dishes. Yay!

2. We keep the paper clutter in it’s bins and shred on Friday (or whatever day works for you). Yay!

3. We keep the Kitchen counters clear of unneeded clutter. Yay!

If you falter on a habit, stop doing everything after it and just focus on getting that habit ingrained.  It just means you didn’t get it knocked into you routine-psyche like we want.

There is no being perfect here, and it’s OK.  Be kind to yourself and love where you are!

xoxo

Gwen

You can find week 4 of the Self Cleaning Home right here!