Better living through getting rid of stuff

Now that I've reorganized in the kitchen, I can usually put away everything from the dishwasher in less than 2 minutes. Before, it could take quite a bit longer. What I did was put everything that's commonly used (my most commonly used glasses, plates, bowls, and cutlery) in the cabinet that's right next to the dishwasher. This way I can stand in one spot, stack a bunch of like items from the dishwasher in my hand (easier because they're lightweight Corelle), and put them away, all with very little movement. Only one type of thing goes in a stack, and there's no delicate rearranging needed to get things into that space.

I didn't really get rid of that much stuff, despite the title of this blog post. I did get rid of a few things, but mainly I separated them into the "very commonly used" area, and the "not so commonly used" area. The most commonly used items are VERY accessible, as they should be. And the others are on the other side of the kitchen.

One other guideline that I have is consolidating on one type of plastic storage container. For instance, the only plastic storage containers that are allowed in the "very commonly used" area are ones that stack easily, and use the same size lids (though the containers themselves are different sizes). I happen to use the Rubbermaid Easy-find Lids variety, but there's others that are similar.

At the house of some relatives, it can take a long time empty the dishwasher, and clean things up in general. There may be multiple sets of dishes, multiple sets of cutlery, dozens of knives, each with a separate home, some on the other side of the kitchen. I'm absolutely not saying that my kitchen setup is better, but it's definitely suited to me - someone who's more efficiency-minded than most.