An Organized Kitchen Command Center

It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but unfortunately for many moms, the kitchen is often the central point for something unwanted – piles of clutter.

My kitchen tends to accumulate a lot of clutter, too. My kids like to do their homework on the kitchen table (even though there’s a desk for them upstairs), so we often have to take the time before dinner to clear off homework, pencils, books, etc.

The kitchen table is also where I tend to leave the mail for my spouse to see when he comes home, so junk mail and newspapers tend to pile up there, too.

Fridge Clutter

Before kids, my husband and I never used to post things on the fridge, as we were told when we bought the appliance that magnets could mar the appliance’s finish. But now, since kids, the fridge is usually where we post school menus, permission slips that need to be signed and stellar spelling and math test results.

Needless to say, my kitchen often looks like a mess!

Clearing the Clutter

I haven’t been able to get my kids to study upstairs (I think they prefer to be near me, as I am often getting dinner ready while they study), but I have cleared off and organized a shelf in our home’s upstairs hallway on which to put recent newspapers, catalogs and other mail.

I’ve also found two nifty refrigerator organizers from Mead at Target. One is a dry-erase calendar, on which I can keep track of my family’s activities, and the other is a magnetic plastic sleeve organizer in which I can put school menus, forms about upcoming school events, etc. Since I’ve been using those fridge organizers, the outside of my fridge looks a lot neater and organized  (but the inside of my fridge is still another story).

I was thinking of adding more organizers to the fridge, like perhaps bins in which to put incoming mail, so I can leave the mail there (and not on the kitchen table) for my spouse.

 

I like this idea I found on Pinterest, which combines a place to organize kids’ school papers with an area to store homework supplies. I also like the addition of painted picture frames (with magnets on back) to give a better appearance to the photos and artwork that often land on the fridge:

Have any tips on how to keep clutter to a minimum in the kitchen? Please share them in the comments.

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