The Kitchen Counter
Are you one of those people who haven’t seen their kitchen counter for so long you’ve forgotten what material it’s made out of? Maybe it’s not the kitchen counter but some other collection point somewhere that just seems to accumulate on its own?
We become accustomed to patterns. If a counter, closet, or entire room has been super messy for a long time, that’s what feels comfortable, whether you like it or not. All that stuff has a vibration, even when you don’t like the vibration you feel from it, it’s still what you are used to.
Once you clear it out, the toughest time to keep it clean will be immediately after it’s been cleared out—before the clear vibe becomes the norm.
What vibe am I talking about? If you use “vibes” in your vocabulary, you know what I mean, “you know, vibes!”
If vibes are for hippy hold-overs and new age woo-woos, you can replace with, “what you are used to”. What it comes down to is noticing what the norm is for you.
If the norm is a clear counter, then something on it is “out of place” and you move it to regain what you are used to.
But if you are used to a kitchen counter piled with mail, gadgets, widgets, things to fix, etc. then a cleared off counter will be sending out a strong invitation to park that thing in your hand right there on it, now!
There may be some minor discomfort when transitioning from a space that you are used to being messy to being clear. When you slow down enough to acknowledge that new patterns are being created, then you’ll understand that the best thing you can do is put that thing in your hand where it belongs… That’s how new patterns are formed!
Uh oh, Opening up a whole new can of worms here. I can just hear the junk addicts saying “it belongs on the kitchen counter!” Noooo!
Ok, so transition time is going to be even more in-your-face and potentially causing even more discomfort when you push, encourage, or cajole yourself into putting the thing where it belongs OR deal with the even more potentially uncomfortable situation of: it-doesn’t-have-a-home!
To which I reply, “time to designate a home”. Well, duh, you say. If that were a super easy question, I’d have answered it by now.
I totally get that these are tough questions. Which is why I find myself regularly encouraging folks to be nice to themselves. “Getting organized” is easy to say, not so easy to do. Between time constraints, space constraints, the people you live with, twenty five years of engrained habit, genetic disposition, the dog, and the fresh-baked brownies on the counter, Compassion is an important concept.
Fine, you say, I promise to be nice with myself. Now where should this thing live (the thing that’s still in your hand as you stand at the kitchen counter)? Right-ee-o.
Some factors to consider that will hopefully pop on the light bulb in your head:
- Where do you usually use this kind of item?
- Where are similar items?
- Where would you think to look for this kind of thing?
Then there are a few containers that are just plain necessary in modern day living:
- A utility drawer (or basket): scissors, the spare screwdriver, batteries, labeled container for used batteries, spare and labeled keys, tape, and that kind of thing.
- A place for spare gadgets: spare phone cord, peripheral items for techie things, and other gadgety things that are often black and rarely used ever again.
- A stuff drawer (singular drawer not plural!): keep it small and know that when this drawer is full, you have to dump stuff out to make room for new stuff.
- A place for keys, sunglasses, or other quick grab items as you head out the door.
- A collection place for outgoing: things to return to someone else or to the store from whence they came, to go to the post office, take to the library, etc.
I hope these ideas move you into a solutions mindset. Let finding a home for something be an act of creation, not a chore. Because that is what you are actually doing–creating a home space that you love!
