This video is a collaboration with some of my amazing YouTube friends, started by Dawn from The Minimal Mom. We are all spring cleaning our homes, so check out the playlist to get even more spring-cleaning motivation. 

Welcome back to The Daily Connoisseur. Join me as I spring clean the master bedroom. I plan to tackle other rooms in my home this month so please subscribe if you don’t want to miss those videos. Funny enough I started in this room because I thought it would be the easiest. I know you’re not supposed to do that. “Eat the frog” they say. But this room is my refuge. It’s where I escape to when I need a break. So, I’m starting here in case spring cleaning the rest of the difficult spots in the home with the family requires me to hide in my room for sanity. 

Jeans by Mott & Bow  JLS10 for 10% off 

As I’ve shared before, this room is clutter-free except for my perpetual pile of books. Ben is even more of a minimalist than I am and he keeps all of his electronics, etc. in his office so really all of the mess in this room is mine. Even though this is the easiest room in the home to keep up, I was reminded that even the supposedly cleanest rooms tend to harbor hidden dust. In a bedroom, this can be detrimental. A bedroom must be dust-free as much as possible. 

Bedding by American Blossom Linens  Jennifer20 for 20% off 

 While I’m here, I need to refresh the bed. It’s change-the-sheets day as well. When spring cleaning the hidden places, the rest of the weekly chores still need to be done. People always ask about our bed linens. I’ve told you about these before. They’re from my friend, Janet’s company, American Blossom Linens (Jennifer20 for 20% off) 100% organic and made in America. They are thick, luxurious, and so high-quality. I love them. 

Spring Cleaning 

New life is emerging outside, 

I’m getting restless within. 

Longing for the crisp, purifying air, 

The wind chimes hide the din… 

Of my anxious thoughts. 

Satisfaction sought in this place, 

Hidden spaces gone unnoticed,  

Dust thick enough to trace. 

Trace it, I do, and wipe away, 

The unsightly and concealed grime, 

A spring cleaning for my room, 

And a spring cleaning for my mind. 

               

                - Jennifer L. Scott 

If you find yourself resisting housework, slow down and make it a present-moment practice. Quiet your mind, listen to the sounds of cleaning: the gentle scrubbing, the rustle of sheets, the smoothing of pillowcases, the tinkle of the fan, the soft coaxing of the wind chime... I’ve tackled the hidden places of this room. And the rest of the spring cleaning will address other grimy places that require attention. If you’d like to join me for those, coming up, please subscribe. I wish you a very pleasant spring-cleaning experience. 

Clutter-free January concludes as we explore the concept of Home Storage. Clutter-free January was started by Dawn from The Minimal Mom. You can watch the playlist here for the final week to get inspiration on how to deal with storage solutions as well as sentimental items. You can view the playlist here.  

In this video, I share four storage hacks that have improved my daily life in small ways. 

Makeup storage

The problem: My makeup was stored in my bathroom drawers and was not easily accessible. I couldn't see all of the makeup I had easily and ended up only using the same products while letting others go to waste. 

The solution: This countertop clear makeup storage container is easily accessed from my vanity and clearly displays my favorite makeup. 

China storage

The problem: Our tea sets, china, and seasonal platters and dishes were stored up high in our kitchen, not allowing for easy access. Our beautiful pieces were also hidden behind the cupboard doors and not displayed properly.

The solution: A second-hand refinished china cabinet bought on a local buy and sell website now stores our pretty china tea sets and dishes. These items are easily accessible and displayed beautifully. You can find the tea cup stands here and the dish stands here. 

Toy storage

The problem: Toys were jumbled together and created a mess around the home. 

The solution: A cube storage system with canvas bins allow toys to be categorized for easy clean up. An ottoman that doubles as a storage chest allows for easy clean-up with toys in the family room.

Entryway storage 

The problem: Our shoes, coats, backpacks, helmets, and purses were not easily put away when we entered the home.

The solution: The second cubed storage shelf, minus the canvas bins, holds shoes for our family of 6 comfortably. The hooks on the wall easily store our coats, hats, and backpacks. The helmets now rest on the shoe storage for easy access. We also place our family command center in our entryway hallway as well. 

News

📍The Feedburner saga continues, but I think we have hope! I received all of the missing blogs via email last week. Did you receive them too? Hopefully the issue is resolved and those of you who subscribed to the blog via email are now receiving notifications for new posts now in your inbox. 

📍Check out The Daily Connoisseur digital wallpapers on Teespring. These charming Parisian prints were designed just for my readers. I love having this as the wallpaper on my computer, rather than the generic pictures offered. 

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Happy new year! I am excited to be back on the blog for 2021. This month, I am doing a month-long collaboration with The Minimal Mom and several other amazing YouTubers to encourage you to de-clutter this January. Today, we are focusing on Kitchen organization and decluttering. 

Have a look at some of the other amazing channels participating in this collaboration. They will be posting their videos all week long. You can see the playlist here. I'm in good company! 

In my first book, Lessons from Madame Chic, I wrote a chapter called, Clutter is So Not Chic. This concept was based on Madame Chic's immaculate apartment, which had... no clutter. None. 

In this episode, we are focusing on a clutter-free kitchen. Kitchen organization is key to successful cooking. When your countertops are clutter-free, the nightly kitchen clean is also less daunting. If your countertops are filled with things that don't belong in the kitchen, it's very hard to clean. How can you differentiate between what needs to be cleaned up at the end of the night and what needs to leave the room altogether? 

⚜️ Featured in the video

E-cloth microfiber cloths Jennifer15 for 15% off

Grove Collaborative natural cleaning

Kitchen Essentials on Amazon (food storage, cutting boards, etc.)

Cleaning Essentials on Amazon (long gloves, etc.)

Wall Organizer and Command Center from 1Thrive 

Riverbend Home a great resource for kitchen linens

Necklace by Rachelyn Jewelry code JENNIFERSCOTT gives 10% off 

Apron from Inspired by Nikki

Pearl Hair Bow by SKYE  Jennifer20 for 20% off 

Paper Clutter

We are going to discuss paper clutter in a few weeks, so I won't go into too much detail about it here. But it's important to remove all paper clutter from the kitchen, if possible. If it is not possible, and you must store bills and other important documents in the kitchen, place a basket on the counter that can hold your papers neatly, so they are not scattered across the counter.

Dealing with Appliances

Only keep the appliances that you use on a regular basis on the countertops. The only three appliances we have on our countertops are: the coffee maker, the toaster oven, the electric kettle, and the Kitchen Aid mixer. I use the Kitchen Aid on a weekly, not daily, basis, but I leave it on the counter because it is so heavy and not convenient to move on a regular basis. All of our other small appliances are kept in our pantry: slow cookers, instant pot, rice cooker, juicer, blender, etc. 

High-priority Items

When thinking about the functionality of your kitchen, write a list of the items you use the most on a daily basis. For us, it's our pots and pans, measuring spoons, cooking utensils, cutting boards, heat pads, and storage aids (like Saran Wrap and aluminum foil). I have organized these to be next to the spot I use them in. Sometimes in the chaos of cooking or putting things away, the drawers will get a little messy, but I easily am able to put them back in order on a regular basis. 

Troubleshoot 

Troubleshoot problem areas and be brutally honest. We had these two drawers under our stove that are catch-alls. They did not have any particular purpose. We put everything from coffee tumblers, to Tupperware lids, to little dipping bowls in there. The disorganization of these drawers really bothered me. If you have a spot in your kitchen that nags at you like that, take some time to evaluate it and find out how you can fix the problem. I put all of these little random items in baskets under the counter and was able to clear up that space for casserole dishes and food storage items. 

Kitchen Linens

Let's talk about kitchen linens. I have three categories of linens I keep in the kitchen: nice dish towels (to wipe our hands on and be on display), cleaning cloths (like my e-cloths and other cleaning rags), and table napkins and linens (tablecloths, placemats, and cloth napkins). These are situated strategically around my kitchen. The nice kitchen cloths are left of the sink and can easily be accessed if a new one is needed. The cleaning rags are under that drawer in the cabinet down below. The kids know if they need to wipe up spilled chocolate milk, for example, to not take one of the nice dishcloths that could stain, but to get one of the cleaning cloths from down below to clean the mess. The table linens and napkins are on the other side of the kitchen near the kitchen table. Make sure you are subscribed to my channel because I will be doing a video sharing my entire tablecloth routine from start to finish. Everyday we go through a lot of kitchen cloths, linens, and rags, so I keep a rolling bin to collect them all under the counter. At the end of the day, I always wash the rags so they do not collect mold or start to smell. Damp cloths are always kept outside until they are ready to be taken to the laundry room. I try to avoid letting damp cloths sit. 

Decorative Clutter

As far as decorative clutter goes, try to look at your kitchen with new eyes. Walk into it as if you are walking into a home you're considering buying. Look around with a fresh perspective. What do you think of your kitchen decorations? Are they adding to the clutter? We might find something we think looks good from a shop and place it in the kitchen as a decor item (think: signs, florals, plants, ceramics, etc.). Do these items really add nicely to the space? Or do they take up valuable counter space and add to the clutter? I had a bowl of pomegranates on my counter from early fall and just left them there as a "decoration", but around Christmas time, even though they had dried up and weren't "bad" necessarily, I realized they looked a bit funky. I had my blinders on because I was used to seeing them everyday, but a large bowl of inedible fruit isn't actually that appealing. The decoration had to go. 

Final Thoughts

A well-ordered and highly functioning kitchen is a beautiful sight to behold. You do not need to be intimidated by Pinterest-perfect kitchens you might see online. Just make your kitchen make sense functionally, take full advantage of your storage spaces, prioritize space for the items you use everyday, and keep on top of your cleaning routine. 

Take comfort in knowing that Madame Chic's kitchen in Paris was very small and dated by modern standards. Yet it produced some of the most delicious meals I've ever had! You don't need the newest and best to have a great kitchen. You can work with what you have now. 

I hope you enjoyed this kitchen decluttering motivation. Let us know what you struggle with the most with your kitchen organization. Or, if you have tips, please share them with us here. Your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on The Daily Connoisseur. 

I hope you enjoy today's video.

News

📍The Oglesby Ohana shares a great review of At Home With Madame Chic on her YouTube channel. 

📍Some of you have mentioned that your email subscription to this blog is no longer delivering. I am working to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience. You can always subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss a video. I always link my corresponding blogpost in each YouTube video. 

The emojams are free to download. I am offering one to each of my subscribers. Channel members for The Daily Connoisseur (in The Chic Society) will get five more emojams as a thank you for your support all year. You can download the Emojam app here. 

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Comment of the Week

Garden Girl writes, "The pessimist complains about the wind....the GENIUS BUILDS windmills! You may quote me :)"

Dear Garden Girl, I am going to quote you. Comment of the week! I loved it and shared your quote with Ben. Let's build windmills this year! :)

Happy new year, everyone! I am looking forward to an excellent year of content here on The Daily Connoisseur. I have much to share with you. I hope you enjoyed today's video. Let us know how you organize your kitchen. What are your tips and tricks? Your comment could be chosen as comment of the week. Thanks and see you on Thursday for a new dinners of the week.

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