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When you walk into a kitchen the FIRST thing that you notice is the counter tops and if they are cluttered or not.  A home IS NOT homey by having a counter full of things.  There is ABSOLUTELY  no need to have EVERYTHING on your counters.  If you want to declutter your kitchen quickly—-clear off some counter space.  Now this does not mean you should take everything and shove it into a cupboard—NO!!!  You need to find a place for everything.

The insides of your cupboards should be clean as well as your drawers.  The last thing to do is the surface.  There is probably some type of paper clutter in here—-REMOVE it.  If you need to have a spot in here, designate an area for that.

Put appliances AWAY.  It takes only a few extra seconds to take out your appliances to use them.  I use our water kettle all day long, I leave that on my counter top.  I have no toaster, no blender, or no salt and pepper shakers.  Everything is put AWAY.

I do store my large kitchen spoons on the counter in this container.  I find that if they are in my drawers they are more susceptible to getting jammed inside, so I put them in here.  Out of the way, but convenient for me as I am mixing up some meals.

I took a photo of what I use to dry my dishes on now.  I used to have a drying rack BUT it took up so much space on the counter and then I felt it was a pain to keep taking it out for each meal.  I got this XL microfiber drying mat from Walmart for like $6. The BEST investment.  This has minimized the amount of dish towels we use and it absorbs so much water.  I LOVE it.  Well worth the small investment.  I keep 2 in rotation.

I have nothing else to show you for the counter tops.  I have nothing else to obstruct my work, nothing else to have to wipe down each week, nothing else to create more STUFF in my life.  It works best this way.

Clear it off!!!! Find a place for everything, put away all the pretty knicknacks and decorations.  Keep it simple.  Make your life simple.

If you are worried you will miss it, put it in your box to donate and then let it sit.  If you decide in a few weeks that you REALLY want it back, go get it out.

CONGRATULATIONS you are FINISHED with your kitchen.  If you bought the book there is ONE MORE STEP for this room, but we will not do a post on it.  Look for next weeks—the Dining room.

Interested in digging deeper into decluttering your home??  My ebook is available to purchase and covers all these series and more.

The bible tells us to be JOYFUL and ENJOY our life and what we have.  Some of you might be saying, “yeah right Amy, you don’t know at all what is going on in my life. You don’t know that I ONLY have gotten 3 hours of sleep for the last week, or you don’t even know what type of mess I woke up to today.”

And you are right….I don’t know what types of things have come your way.  But I do know that we ALL go through ups and downs in life.

This is what I woke up to in my kitchen this morning……..

Seems no one knows how to wash dishes after having snacks at night, except me.  No one seems to know where the trash can is except me.  Oh and whoever’s turn it was to put dishes away it seems has slipped their mind………(sigh)

I know that being joyful can be a hard task to come by at times.

I was reading in Psalm 27 today……

In summary it was about David.  David had suffered many hardships in his life.  The amount of things he went through are way more than I will  ever experience in my lifetime.  He was in fear for much of his life that he was going to be killed.  Do I sometimes live in “fear” to feel like I won’t measure up as a wife and mother?  Do I have “fear” that my children are going to be screwed up by my parenting methods?  What did David rely on to get him through his fear?

Only by the power of God

David realized when he put his trust in the Lord that he would “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living”. This is what kept him going – even when he was hunted like a wild animal.

We need to be enjoying our lives and having JOY instead of walking around in fear or anger or sadness.

What does God say about having JOY in our lives:

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

Proverbs 15:23

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

 Proverbs 17:22

We have ALL heard the saying….

When Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!!

How true this is for us as mothers, because we set the tone in our home.  If I am in a discouraged, negative mood chances are my children are going to portray a negative spirit as well.  If I am snippy to my husband, he will probably be snippy right back to me.

Our jobs as wives and mothers is to be JOYFUL.  Maybe your husband is neglectful to you and you feel  bitter towards him and all you want from him is to be a better man. Be joyful with your husband—- you make him happy and let God make him good.

Even going through the mundane tasks of life can make it hard to be joyful.  It seems we can get ourselves into a rut if we are not careful. If we tend to be negative and not watch our words, before you know it we can crush our child’s spirit and lay insults to the man we were created to be partners with.

We create the messes that we get ourselves into.

If you have a tendency to “crush” your child or husbands’ spirit ask the Lord how to show you JOY in your life.

You sometimes hear about people FINDING joy, but it is a CHOICE to be joyful.

We can ALL find something to be JOYFUL about.  There is ALWAYS something even little to be THANKFUL for.

There is no pit that is so deep that God’s love isn’t in it.

We choose EVERYDAY who we will serve.  If we believe Him than we have a cause to be JOYFUL.

The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH

Nehemiah 8:10

Recognize if you have been spending time with the Lord if you do not have strength to be joyful.

If you are the most joyful person in your home it will have an impact on your child and in your home. Don’t believe me, take God’s word and try it!! It is catchy.