How do you keep your island free from clutter?
alexamd
16 years ago
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fnzzy
16 years agonovember
16 years agoRelated Discussions
what do you keep in your linen closet...& how do you organize it?
Comments (31)You could actually do a couple different things. You could have one rod and use hangers. You would have to fold them a bit to fit on the hanger and not drag on the floor, but that's usually how they come from the cleaners. For heavy cloths, use two hangers together for added strength. You could also hang multiple rods at slightly different heights and depths. If you have a walk in closet this works great, but will still work with a reach in. Hang the highest rod the farthest back, then one a bit lower and closer and even a third lower and closer than the second. Then you can hang the cloths right on the rod instead of on a hanger. I like the rod because of it's larger diameter it doesn't leave creases in the cloths. You can also overlap them on these rods. For optimum use of space, you'd need to use multiple rods and overlap. Is that totally confusing?!...See MoreShow me your island - what do you keep in there?
Comments (17)Who gets to use the stool? You, I hope! Nope. :-) I don't sit at the island to do anything and really prefer islands without seating. I originally planned the overhang for a younger helper who would be peeling big batches of apples or doing some other lengthy project. The truth is, neither I or anyone else actually doing a project ever sits to work. I'd get rid of the stool completely, but DH was afraid of not having the option to ever sit at the island, and I've figured out since that it's handy to have a stool right there. I usually grab it to help reach something stored too high up, instead of going to the fridge/pantry area to get one of the step stools. We have the little table in the kitchen for any time I really want to sit in the kitchen. And my desk is just out the doorway past the fridge and freezer set, where I run to check the forum whenever there is 'waiting time' as something cooks. :-)...See Moretips needed - keeping island clutter-free!
Comments (35)A couple of things about FlyLady helped me, like setting a timer for 5 or 15 minutes and just doing as much as you can during that time, stop when the timer goes off. I THINK that kids could declutter at least some things in 5 minutes before bed. Grown-ups can allot themselves the 15 minutes. I also bring the mail in and stand over the trash can while throwing the junk right into recycling. Mail that looks potentially important, I open and then discard the envelopes. The rest of the paper isn't technically clutter, and it gets dealt with some time before bed! Keys, wallets, cell phones, and other stuff like that just have their own space. Of course, that space is generally somewhat cluttered itself, but it is smaller and has a "junk drawer" beneath it, which helps some! A major motivator is that our island granite is heart-stopping and we really love to look at it, though we definitely do most of our prep on it (no prep sink)! Maybe that's part of it - everything that would be hurt by tomato paste, paprika, lemon juice, really any kind of spill - has to go before we start prepping. It's small compared with other islands, 3'x5' so that really needs to happen. Well, good luck!...See MoreSlightly OT - how do you keep your garden weed free ?
Comments (42)Thank you Carol and summersrhythm, I agree with the "can't keep up with the weeds" because everyday I do a stroll I seem to have to pull little seedlings out around my plants and they just continue to grow and grow. We live next to wetlands as well and there are tons of native grasses and plants and those seeds end up blowing in with the wind. I would be so much more at ease with grass to smother out some of the weeds. Every year I have a huge job at the beginning of spring. I may want to try that cardboard or newspaper technique next year instead of digging it all up. Probably just use a string cutter than lay the cardboard over the top and mulch. The digging is so much work, and I have 4 kiddos as well, and it's hard to find the time to complete it every year. Well thank you all for your kindness and compliments! The passion is real here. I love browsing this forum for all of the pictures of other people's roses and hard work. They all are so beautiful!...See Moresholt576
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