The Heart of the Home

If your household is like ours, everyone spends alot of time in the kitchen.

The kitchen is truly the heart of your home. Think of the activites that take place here: food preparation, food storage, meals and snacks, clean-up, and possibly desk work or homework. Our kitchen has also served as the place for preschool activities, 4-H club crafts meetings, birthday parties from age one to 50, high school and college friends hang-out, and a home hair cut parlor. Throw in the occasional bedtime snack and late night talk session ,family meeeting and staging area and even science laboratory with experiments gone awry. (Some of these have been inadvertent--such as the time we tried to make root beer at home. My kids have a memorable impression of fermentation as upon uncapping our root beer, it sprayed all over the ceiling, cabinets and floor.)(This is what is called false economy--it would have been much cheaper to buy rootbeer!) Since our kitchens are so important, this month let's put our"hearts" into making them fun and functional.

Move It and Lose It--yep, just another way to say Declutter! Take back your "prime real estate", the areas best for storing the things you need/use the most. Get rid of duplicates(how many cool whip containers, let alone stray lids, does a family need, after all?) Make a game with the kids of matching up other plastic containers and lids--pitch loners and extras. Try to get as much off your counters and out of your cabinets as possible. I gave away a bread machine and a ice tea maker because I considered them space hogs. I'd rather have workable space than gadgets--I make tea by boiling water and make bread dough in my mixer. Move out what can be stored elsewhere--my canner and turkey roaster live on shelves in the garage most of the time. I use my coffee maker at most once a week, so it doesn't get a spot on the cabinet either. Move out seasonal or rarely used items from prime space.

Get In the Zone-in kitchen design,we try to store things at their point of use. In the mix/bake zone store mixers, blenders, food processors, baking ingredients, baking spices, measuring cups, spoons, and spatulas. In the cook zone around your range you would store pots, pans, potholders,utensils like spatulas, big spoons, cooking spices like basil, tumeric, dill, garlic salt, pepper, etc. I have acrylic cutting boards, knives and peelers next to my sink for food preparation.

You get the idea. A lot of frustration can be avoided if you have room to work and can find what you need.

Who's the Mom? Freeing up space can help you be amazing. Create an "emergency hospitality" shelf where you keep dips, chips, crackers, pizza crust mix, fancy cookies for tea parties, etc. You can freeze cookies, chili and other items also. (Just keep them hidden from your family) You will be prepared when friends drop by or your son brings 30 people home from school for lunch on the spur of the moment. (You will remember your emergency stash and can quit hyperventilating.) You can also use space to make room for other activities, too. I still have a cabinet full of play dough, crayons, coloring books, and puzzles that younger kids would use at our kitchen table while I worked.

Pace Yourself--do only 1 drawer, shelf, etc. at a time. Don't forget to clean out and reorganize your pantry. Throw out expired items and make a list of what is needed.

Heart and Soul-after decluttering and reorganizing, make your kitchen fun as well as functional. Clean, shine and add "heart". Display a few items that make your heart happy, play soothing or peppy music, burn candles at dinner, post bible verses and quotes to inspire you and most of all--do a heart check. Your attitude and energy put the heart into your kitchen and everywhere else. Nothing says love like a happy mom/wife and great smells coming from the kitchen. (I still remember the smell of blackberry cobbler greeting me after getting home from school--yum!) Remember, you're not just making supper--you're making memories! You're feeding body and soul, so do it with all your heart!