Few cooks have the luxury of having too much storage… most of us have too much "stuff" and too few places to stash our "stuff!"  Have you ever paid attention to how much of your time is spent finding what you need to accomplish a task?  Perhaps it's time to spend a day reorganizing your kitchen workspace.  It will be time well spent.

Here's a few simple ideas to help you get jump started:

1. The more frequently an item is used the closer to the core of your work area it should be stored.  Conversely, the less frequently an item is used, the further to the edges (or ceiling) you should store it.
2. Take on one drawer at a time or one cabinet at a time.  Done over the span of weeks it can be very easily accomplished.  Look at every item in the drawer.  Why do you have it?  Have you used it?  Is it broken?  Is it dull or less than functional?  Get rid of anything you can truly live without.
3. Have you used an item in the last year?  Since we cook some specialties only once a year, I generally utilize a 12 month rule (rather than the more common 6 month rule).  In other words, have I used this item in the last year?  Do I intend to use it in the next year?  If not, donate it!
4. Do you have a pantry?  A good pantry can solve many storage issues, especially of items that you rarely use, but are important to keep.  If you don't have a pantry in your kitchen, can you carve one out of a corner of your garage to organize storage for your rarely used kitchen equipment?  Getting them out of your daily work space yet still easy to access can make your kitchen live much larger.
5. Banish fussy finishes from the kitchen.  White tile  counters or floors?  Copper bottom pans?  Unless you love extra cleaning chores, purchase items that will be easiest to maintain.  I've had white tile, white linoleum, Mexican saltillo tile and wood floors in my last 4 kitchens.  By far the easiest to maintain was the wood (as long as I kept water off of it) and then the second easiest was the saltillo tile.  A good heavy sealer every couple of years and they were easy to scrub but never looked dirty!  Another example is the cannisters, bread box & counter decor in my new kitchen are all antiqued, textured surfaces.  They look great all the time and require less daily maintenance than the highly polished fussy items they replaced. 
6. Granite counters really are as great as advertised.  My last kitchen came equipped with granite countertops.  Honestly I wouldn't have spent the money to put them in myself before having them.  They're durable, the mottled surface always looks clean even when it isn't and having no grout lines to clean really is awesome!  Also, install an under the counter mounted sink and you'll cut your sink area cleaning chores in less than half.
7. How many serving bowls, mixing bowls pans or cookie sheets do you really use?  Do you have odds and ends of old sets that don't stack well to conserve space?  Treat yourself and buy new stackables and donate your old ones. 
8. Do you waste time looking for the right spatula or whisk in messy drawers?  I use two beautiful matching containers placed on either side of my stove.  I place my wooden or plastic tools in one and metal tools in the other.  They look great, are easy to access and things don't gather dirt in the bottom of the drawer.
9. Do you really need multiples of the same item or can you get by washing your dishes more frequently?  Sometimes less really is more in that it forces us to clean up as we go and we'll have less mess to deal with in the long run!
10. Some gadgets really are as good as advertised.  Those spin 'n store stackable containers are wonderful.  We never lose a lid, they're always handy and they store in almost no space at all.
11. Buy the best you can afford and take care of them… whether it's knives or pans, any money spent on cheap goods is wasted in the long run.  Be careful not to buy the latest fad, look to ease of care for the surfaces and recommendations of other cooks you trust.  Remember, sometimes the most expensive isn't necessarily the best.
12. Match your equipment to your cooking style.  If you're a gourmet cook who loves trying out every interesting recipe and the harder the better, then splurge on the specialty equipment necessary to accomplish the task.  But if you're a basic cook, most of the specialty items that sound so amazing or "time-saving" end up costing you more time in the storage space and maintenance they require!

More later.  Have a great day!  It's time to start gearing up for spring cleaning!

Audrey Jeanne Roberts

One of the most common mistakes all of us tend to make when someone asks us to do something, is give an immediate answer.  Our mouths say "Yes" before we consult our hearts or our schedules!  Get in the habit of answering, "Thank you for asking me to do that, let me pray about it and check my schedule.  I'm really blessed that you thought of me.  I'll get back to you tomorrow on my answer."

Waiting a day to say either "Yes" or "No" gives you time to fully think things through and formulate your answer.  If it's really hard for you to say "No," it gives you time to write down your reasons for the answer so you can remember under pressure.  Also, if your answer is "Yes," a thoughtful yes is much more valuable and appreciated than a hasty one.  If you practice this principle, eventually most everyone in your life (except those that are truly dysfunctional!) will begin to understand that you are careful with your time and commitments and will begin to honor that thoughtfulness when you give your answer, regardless of what the answer is.

Most of our resentment at being asked to do things comes from feeling pressured into them.  The reality is that no one can really make you feel pressured even if they are pressuring you!  You have the freedom and the responsibility to guard your schedule so that your health and well-being aren't impaired and that you are able to do the best job possible on the commitments that you do accept.

If you enforce a one day response on every decision you make that isn't life or death, you allow yourself time to remember if there's another conflict or that you had a special plan for that day or….  A lot of ill feelings can be avoided on both sides of the equation if you make your "Yes, yes" and your "no, no" as Christ instructed us to do.  What does that simple phrase mean?  It means if you say 'Yes" do it, and do it with your whole heart.  Do it without resentment or grumbling, but with joy.  If you say "No" mean it.  Be clean, crisp and simple in your commuications.

When you give your answer and the answer is going to be "No," don't be overly apologetic about it.  Be clear and decisive in your own heart and communicate your decision clearly without wavering or weakness.  Some people hear that weakness in your voice and assume with a little more pressure you'll give in. 

Also, you don't have to give long drawn out explanations about why you had to say no.  A short informed answer will suffice if you're convinced it's the right answer and communicate it with confidence.  For instance, if I've been asked to help out on a Saturday luncheon with the decorations, but I made a date already with one of my daughters to spend the day with them.  I will communicate my answer in this fashion, "Oh, I'm sorry, when I checked my calendar for that date yesterday, I realized that I already have a prior obligation.  It sounded like fun, perhaps next time I'll be available."

If it's a long term commitment that you're turning down, it would be appropriate to give a thoughtful reason as to why you are unable or unwilling to take on the task.  For example, "Thank you for asking me to lead the third grade Sunday School.  I've really thought about it and prayed about it.  I'm going to say 'No' to your request as I don't believe that I am the best person for that position and will pray that the Lord bring someone who is truly called to fill it.  I really love teaching at an older level, perhaps college age or so, and would consider stepping out into that area should an opening become available."

Remember crisp, clear & confident the 3 C's of communication! 

Audrey Jeanne Roberts

I had some great comments and questions that were generated by the last couple of day's discussions.  We have been talking about how to simplify our lives by learning how and when to say "No."  I'll answer one question here and a few more tomorrow. 

"This is awesome, AJ! But………how do you incorporate what you CAN do with what you MUST do to survive if you are not one of the fortunate ones who can make a living doing what you do best?  Ann C"

Making deep changes in life isn't something that happens easily or over night. Ann is addressing the difference of dealing with today's reality, vs reaching the ideal that I would like to someday work towards.   It is important to recognize without paying the bills, life doesn't happen very comfortably!  So it's not insignificant to maintain "what is" while working towards "what could be someday." 

To begin transitioning to "some day," you might take an inventory of your gifts, interests and skills.  What do you do where time just flies by?  What activity leaves you more emotionally energized at the end of the day (even though you might be physically tired)?  Can that translate into a career?  What schooling or experience would it require?  Have you even researched what kind of fields your gifts would fit into?  If your passion won't work into a career or you wouldn't want it to, how could you incorporate using those gifts in an activity that you enjoy either as a hobby or even as an outreach or ministry? 

While many of us know what marketable skills, degrees or experience we have, very few of us have taken the time to identify our spiritual or relational gifts.  It is these gifts that provide the sustaining motivation to continue doing a job for a lifetime.  Do you like to organize things, people or activities?  Do you like to identify a need and create a program that fulfills that need, without your having to run the program?  Do you like to run the programs that someone else has created and prepared for ease of use?  Do you love to teach?  Do you enjoy being behind the scenes and serving by doing the chores no one else wants to do? 

Let me use the person who loves to teach as an example.  She may not necessarily want to be a schoolteacher, but  loves to teach others any skill that she's learned herself.  If you love creating crafts, would you also enjoy teaching others how to do them?  Would you enjoy teaching children computer skills after school?  Perhaps you would love to teach older adults how to get on the internet, so they are less isolated and depressed.  You may wish to do these activities as a voluteer outreach through your church or local community center, or you may even find that you have the desire to make it a part time business!  

Do you see how many ways you could take the areas you excel in and use them to bring joy to yourself while benefitting others?  If you identified these areas in your life, do you think you could find a way to embrace and utilize them in the midst of your current, less-than-ideal-job to make it more fulfilling and fruitful?  When you know who you were created to be it becomes quite easy to take any ordinary task and transform it into one with great meaning and eternal value.

I will bring this back around to the topic we're discussing and ask you a rather pertinent and personal question.  How can you say "yes" to any new activities you've discovered fit with your spiritual, emotional or skill gifts that God gave you, if you can't learn to say "No" to the demands you've allowed others to inappropriately make on your time?  When you say "No" for this reason, isn't a selfish act, it's an act of selflessness, in that you will serve others and God more effectively if you do it in the activities you were created to do!

Audrey Jeanne Roberts