Many homeowners in Denver Colorado, and around the world are now working from home.
That’s a compelling reason to make sure that your home’s most important room – the kitchen – looks, operates and feels great. It’s easy to overlook kitchen clutter during the hustle and bustle of the average day when everyone in your family seems pulled in different directions. However, if you are spending most of your waking time at home, reorganizing and refreshing your kitchen not only will make you happier, it’s also likely to make you more productive.
Review and refresh how you use your kitchen.
Do you need to take a deep dive into your refrigerator? Has your cutlery drawer become a tangled web of utensils that you rarely, if ever, use? Make a plan of attack to refresh your kitchen to help it function more effectively and simply make it more enjoyable to use and be in the space.
Clean out your fridge. Take everything out of your refrigerator and freezer, shelf by shelf. Throw out anything expired as well as anything that you haven’t used for more than three months. You know what we are talking about – that jar of pickles, jellies, salad dressing, etc.
Clean other appliances. Run your dishwasher with nothing in it. Rinse your waste disposer with white vinegar. Ten minutes later, pour boiling water down the drain. Then run your waste disposer with ice cubes and lemon rinds. Degrease your cooktop. Use the self-cleaning function on your oven. Empty the crumb tray on your toaster. Clean your microwave. Replace the filters on your coffee maker and refrigerator. Run only water through your coffee maker. Clean other countertop appliances used regularly.
Declutter drawers and cabinets. Tackle one drawer and cabinet at a time. Remove everything, and wipe down the drawer and/or shelves. Determine the contents that are used regularly, used rarely or not used at all. For the later, either dispose of those items or donate them to a charity. For rarely used items, e.g., the turkey roaster used only on Thanksgiving or Christmas, consider another location in your home to free up counter or cabinet space. Donate or toss duplicate items – how many peelers and melon ballers do you need? Inventory your knives. Sharpen those that you use frequently, and consider a new home for those that you rarely use.
Tackle the pantry. Pull out each item and ask, “how does this item make me feel?” If the response is not positive, either toss the item in the trash bin or donate it to a food bank. When you restock the pantry, replace items in a logical order. Put all canned goods together. Designate a separate area for baking ingredients, spices, grains, nuts, etc. Reorganizing your pantry by category not only will help you to eat healthier, but it will also save time for meal preparation and cooking. When you empty your pantry, it’s a perfect time to clean shelves and containers.
Take care of your sinks and faucets. Wash your sink and pay attention to joints and seals where grime can accumulate.
Clean countertops and open shelves. Take everything off your open shelves and countertops. Do a thorough curation. For each item, ask if this is something that you want to look at every day. If not, donate or relocate.
Don’t ignore windows, walls and floors. Vacuum your ceiling, walls, and the floor. Wipe down walls and cabinet exteriors with dish soap and warm water. Send your window covers to a launderer or dry cleaner, or if they are washable, throw them in your washing machine.
If you would like additional tips and tricks for making your kitchen look, function and feel the best it can be, please give us a call.
How to Work from Home
In these uncertain and challenging times, you might have to transition to working from home, what are the most successful practices? Author and frequent blogger Austin Kleon offered the following guidance from his book, Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad.
- Take one day at a time – Don’t spend time worrying about things you can’t control. Try to create beauty every day.
- Establish a daily routine – Working from home is filled with distractions, especially with the schools closed.
- Create a comprehensive to-do list. Prioritize your most important tasks.
- Avoid the temptation to look at email or the newspaper when you first start your day. The first hours are generally the time when you are at your sharpest. Take advantage of that time to engage in creative tasks.
- Put your phone on airplane mode for at least one to two hours per day and longer if you can.
- Stay light and play. “You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO…. You are only responsible for your work, so DO IT.”
- Clean up when in doubt. If you are stuck on a problem, take some time off to clean up. It will help to loosen your mind.
- Naps are a secret weapon. Have a cup of coffee or tea. Lie down for 15 minutes to let the caffeine kick in and then go back to work.
- Talk a walk or schedule time for exercise. Fresh air is good for your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. “Demons hate fresh air.”
- When the workday is done, it’s over. Tomorrow is always another day.
We have Four Colorado Locations to Serve You
JM Kitchen & Bath Design – Denver
2324 S. Colorado Blvd
Denver, CO 80222
(303) 300-4400
Showrooms Hours: Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm, Sat 9 am-3 pm
JM Kitchen & Bath Design – Castle Rock
1375 Caprice Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80109
(303) 688-8279
Showrooms Hours: Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm *Saturday 9-3 Open by Appointment Only
JM Kitchen & Bath Design – Colorado Springs
4557 Austin Bluffs Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
(719) 596-9990
Showroom Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30 am-5:30 pm Saturday 10 am-2 pm
*Appointments are encouraged, however, walk-ins are always welcome.
JM Kitchen & Bath Design – Arvada * Coming Fall of 2021
Arvada Market Place
