Post 11/ Nourish Your Nosh
Photo of the Tidied Kitchen Cabinets, taken by Tori Klotz
2024, Example of how seamless your interaction can be with your kitchen, post tidying.
“Where do you store your oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and other seasonings? Many people keep them right beside the stove because they want them close at hand for the sake of convenience. If you are one of these people, I hope you will rescue them right now. For one thing, a counter is for preparing food, not for storing things.”― Marie Kondo
The calculation
Days tidying: 11
# items tossing: 15 (Kitchen added 0 to this overall total)
items donating: 201 + 4 boxes of trash (Kitchen added 4 boxes of trash to this overall count)
items selling: 67 (Kitchen added 0 items to this overall total)
items kept: 761 (Kitchen added 241 items to this overall total)
Total items tidied: 1044
Total $ from sold tidied goods:
$449.12 [no change from last week, again]
My tidying cost equation:
(sold tidied items) - (tidying supplies cost) = net cost:
$449.12 - $653.74 = (-$204.62) [No change from last week, again]
The confidence I can complete this project:
110% now. With the kitchen as the third room, second to how I glommed the bedroom and personal bathroom together after “the first cut”, the kitchen is ready to get to Thanksgiving. This also means the upcoming week is the first space in which we get to show off the fresh space.
Tackling Komono: Kitchen’s Up!
With clothing, books, papers, and skincare tidied and in their homes, the next logical Komono category for me was the kitchen. After all, what you put on your body and in your mind pairs beautifully with what you put in your body. I was especially excited, when I started this project, to see how the kitchen cupboards would transform—and spoiler alert—they did not disappoint! Check out the photos of my narwhal tea steeper, vibing in its new home on my opaque yellow mugs. Talk about sparking joy!
Surprises from Kitchen Tidying
I didn’t expect how many subcategories of consumables I’d need to sort while tackling the kitchen. While the KonMari Method doesn’t officially separate these into finer subcategories, I found it helpful to do so—parceling out baking supplies, spices, oils, and even kitchen-safe cleaning products.
Though KonMari places cleaning products in "Household Supplies," I decided anything that functions solely in the kitchen (like food-safe vinegar spray or counter cleaner) belonged with the kitchen. I didn’t include bleach or Windex from the laundry room, but the butter and spices? They stayed right alongside my kitchen cleaners.
Kitchen Categories That Emerged
Once I gathered everything onto my tidying canvas, clear categories became evident, each needing a dedicated home:
Daily Dishware
Coffee & Tea Dishware (preferably separate)
Glassware for Leftovers
Electrical Cooking Tools (Crock Pot, VitaMix, etc.)
Baking & Cooking Hardware (pie pans, cookie sheets)
Vinegars & Oils
Spices
Personal Cooking Hobbies (bread-making, fermenting, drying)
Daily Counter Cleaning Supplies
With everything grouped and re-homed, I feel a new sense of order and ease in the kitchen—and yes, my narwhal steeper is living its best life. What’s your next Komono category? Share your wins in the comments!
Another Week of Decision-Making
With Thanksgiving as our finish line for Komono, we now have Kitchen checked of our list and have 3 days to tackle Household. Check in with where we are below:
Skin Care Products (done!)
Makeup (Done! I ended up tidied alongside skincare)
Accessories (I completed seamlessly with clothing)
Kitchen (Done as of November 24, 2024)
Household Equipment (targeting November 25-29, just before Thanksgiving)
Household Supplies (targeting November 25-29, just before Thanksgiving)
CDs, DVDs (after Thanksgiving)
Electrical (after Thanksgiving)
Valuables (after Thanksgiving)
Any subcategory not bolded above is what we’ll focus on after Thanksgiving.
No Prep This Week—Let’s Just Dive In
You’ve finished kitchen and we’re feelin’ the vibes for Thanksgiving. With your crock pot and pie tins in their new home, we get to pull them out and give them life. Hopefully your coffee cupboard is giving you that extra caffeine kick to cruise through Household Supplies and Equipment (2 BIG sub categories in Komono) so your home can be sparking new joy for the Holiday.
I’ll be eager to share with you just how much the two household categories add to the overall count. For now, we can be proud that we’ve documented thus far. I’m over 1,000 items, after Kitchen. Where are you?
With gratitude for joining me thus far and more gratitude in our Thanksgiving ahead.
