My KonMari Journey: KOMONO: Kitchen - Food (Part 2)

Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing - KOMONO: Kitchen - Food (Part 2 - Food Storage/Plastics)
If you are new to my blog, Welcome! In case you missed it, be sure to read my Introduction and Getting Started post, so you know what the KonMari Method is all about and the reasons why I am doing it.

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.

2. Sort by category, not by location

3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Momentos (Sentimental)

As suggested in the book, I will start doing the KonMari Method with my own 'stuff' first, then I will work though the kids items, because I am too sentimental and would find it hard to part with their things right off the bat. I also need to get my head around this new process of de-cluttering, tidying and organising, so hopefully when it comes to purging my kids stuff, it will be a lot easier (well, let's hope so).

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The fourth category of the KonMari Method is KOMONO (Miscellaneous). Now for me, this category is probably bigger than the Paper category. Do you remember in my Introduction post, I mentioned I felt overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I had stored in containers sitting in my office, well majority of them fit into this category. I have containers of miscellaneous items - that I haven't really touched for the past 3 years and includes stuff I have kept for over 10! This category may take some time, however I will be following Marie Kondo's recommended order (see below) and will hopefully (fingers crossed) find a new home for everything and only "keep things because I love them, not 'just because'" (Marie Kondo) - which is totally why I always rebound, and why I NEED the KonMari Method in my life.

Over the next couple of weeks or however long it takes me, I will be tackling Komono (miscellaneous items 1) which includes:

• CDs, DVDs 
• Skincare products
• Make-Up
• Accessories
• Valuables (passports, credit cards, etc)
• Electrical equipment and appliances (digital cameras, electric cords, anything that seems vaguely 'electric')
• Household Equipment: Stationery & Crafts  
• Household supplies (expendables like medicine, detergents, tissues, etc) 
• Kitchen goods/food supplies <------YOU ARE HERE
• Other 

As always I will be keeping these three rules in mind when doing my purge:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible.
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

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In the book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying', Marie Kondo doesn't really go into much detail when talking about the Komono (miscellaneous) in the kitchen. It is an area of the home, I believe, that needs to be broken down into sections, otherwise it could be very overwhelming to do it all at once. I am glad I purchased Marie's second book 'SPARK JOY' because she does split this sub-category into three sections and really breaks it down.

The three sub-categories for the Kitchen Komono are:

1. EATING - e.g. Cups, Glassware, Crockery (Plates & Bowls), & Cutlery - things you use for eating
2. COOKING TOOLS - e.g. Utensils, Vessels, Appliances, and Baking Supplies
3. FOOD - e.g. Food supplies, Storage containers (including plastics)

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Today I am sharing KOMONO: Kitchen - Food (PART 2) 
(Food Storage / Plastics).

I have decided to divide the third sub-category of Kitchen - Food into two parts. Last week I shared how I KonMari'd our Pantry and Fridge/Freezer, this week I am sharing our Food Storage (including containers, drink bottles, kids plates etc)...here we go. 

I must note that over the years, I have culled my food storage/plastics collection a lot. Every 6 months, I open my overflowing drawer or cupboard and get rid of a few things, and then re-organise the rest.

This is our food storage/plastics/drink bottles etc...minus Miss B's lunch box and drink bottle (who was at school when I took these photos). It was a pleasant surprise to see I didn't actually have THAT much in terms of food storage. Only keeping what we really needed for our family. That being said...we do have  a lot of water bottles and kids plate sets. So the purging began...

Fast forward 10 minutes...
I have returned items back to the drawers. Using baskets, I have corralled like things together, to make it easier finding things and returning them.

The top 'Food Storage' drawer consists of containers, mostly for lunches or snacks on the go plus an extra cereal container, lids and straws for our glass mason jars, our thermos and a couple of moldable ice trays (that I mainly use for my 2 year old's snacks at home).

The second drawer is home to the lunch boxes, sturdy plastic cups when we have the kids cousins or friends visiting. There is also the popcorn container and a couple of spare drink bottles. In the front basket, I keep all of my son's plates and bowls. This is his basket - he likes to get them himself and puts them away once they are clean. I know we don't need that many plates, but my son loves them and they are handy to have when his friends (or other little kids) come to play. 

I have managed to purge a few drink bottles, a couple of plates and a few containers that didn't have a matching lids or lids without matching containers. I have probably used the containers to store smaller items in - the joys of KonMari. 

The biggest surprise of all, is that now that I have finished KonMari'ing my kitchen (YAYE!), I am left with two, yes TWO empty drawers! I have this big drawer (pictured below), which is located under the plates drawer and a smaller drawer under the cutlery drawer. I have NEVER had empty drawers in my kitchen and I can tell you now, the feeling is great! I am really happy. Thank you KonMari. Over the next couple of weeks, I will see how the kitchen is functioning and if I need to move things around, I know I have this extra space. *Happy Dance* CLICK!

In case you missed it...Check out the before and after photos of our Pantry, Fridge and Freezer.

Yippee! I have finished the KITCHEN! 

It feels so good to have an uncluttered, organised kitchen. I have no problems with friends and family going through my cupboards and drawers. They will be able to see, at a glance, what I have and will be able to find things easily. Now to make sure my own family (partner and daughter) return things to the right place. I have already found pots in the wrong place - I had to giggle, obviously they didn't read my  COOKING blog post. 

The last sub-category of KOMONO is OTHER, and Marie Kondo doesn't really elaborate on this much in her book, so it kind of left me a bit stumped. I have searched Pinterest, other blogs and YouTubers, who have been documenting their journey and have come up with a few ideas that are relevant to my home, and maybe yours too. I will be starting the OTHER sub-category with Linen, so watch this space.

Next week: My KonMari Journey: Komono: OTHER

Join me next week when I share my KonMari purge of our Linen Cupboard (bedding and towels).

Please note: The Komono (Miscellaneous) category has several sub-categories, and I will be sharing a post for all of them (some will be combined, some will be split into two parts). Watch this space or  Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post.

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I am super excited about this journey and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join me - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post and together we can tidy our homes and change our lives, once and for all. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.

Charlene

If you would like to give the KonMari Method a go, and you don't have the book - Here is a checklist of the fourth category - KOMONO (Miscellaneous items 1) . Click the image below and Save/Print. You can also view my previous checklists HERE.

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