# Organizing experiment/ The power of one.



## doozie (May 21, 2005)

I've been reading minimalist kitchen blogs and came across some writings on the power of one.
One dish, one bowl, one fork, etc.
For us it would mean two of everything.
My silverware drawer is absolutely clean and organized now.
The cabinets with dishes, glasses, etc. have everything easily very accessible.

(I've placed the extras in a tote, and if we have visitors, they would come out of storage, I'm not ready to get rid of anything)

It's a start, and I'll see how I like it. I always clean utensils and bowls as I use them while cooking anyway, so this should be doable for us.

If I do, I can see leaving some things on top of the microwave and freeing up the cabinets for canned goods, or extra pantry storage.


----------



## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I'm repeating a story, but years ago, with a house full of kids and guests and relatives, the counter was always cluttered, the sink always full, the dishwasher always running and the utensil drawer and dish cabinets always empty.
Kids couldn't find where they put their glass so they grabbed another one. My wife thought the solution to the perpetual cleaning was to buy more dishes and more forks, etc. 
No, the solution was #1, to teach the users to wash and rinse their own dishes and put them away.
#2 eliminate the excess kitchenware. I took extreme measures; 5 people in the house and I kept 5 of everything in the drawers. The complaining was horrendous for the first week, then the stars aligned.
When there are only 2 dishes in the sink, it isn't such a chore to wash and dry. The dishwasher went into hibernation.
People didn't misplace their plates because there were no extras.
Now, we don't do that anymore that we are empty nesters, but I wish we would.


----------



## doozie (May 21, 2005)

When my kids were home in the summer and beyond I had to start the use your very own color cup, they were responsible for their cup and I never found a sink full of things a to wash ever again


----------



## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

We call them "all day " cups.


----------



## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

I re-use/handwash my ice water cup around the house for a week or two, until I finally replace it with a clean cup from the cupboard, and put it in the dishwasher.


----------

