Keep Your Kitchen Organized And Clutter-Free With The Circle Rule

Keeping your kitchen free of clutter is a task easier said than done. This high-traffic area of your home sees a lot of action, and, given that it's used multiple times a day, it can be tough to keep clear of messes, spills, crumbs, grease, etc. If you've ever taken a look at your kitchen and immediately become overwhelmed by the mess you have to clean up, you may want to give the "circle method" (aka the "circle rule") cleaning hack a go. Apartment Therapy writer Laura Wheatman Hill swears by this method, one that her father taught her over the course of many years and life lessons. Instead of letting the feeling of overwhelming stress freeze you from action, you start cleaning in a circle, starting at one point and working your way slowly and carefully to the next until the task is complete. It may sound simple, but the theory has legs to it. 

There are a lot of cleaning hacks available online; some you may have already tried. What you can do, however, is combine them with the circle method for the ultimate cleaning session. You can add on the 20/10 cleaning rule, where you focus on cleaning for just twenty minutes with a timer set, and then make yourself take a ten-minute break before starting again. There's also the "tidy toss" method by Holly Blakey, which recommends you clean cluttered areas by tossing them into organized bins and forgo any unnecessary and time-consuming organization. If you've struggled to find an organization tactic that actually helps you to pick up your kitchen, you can combine these tricks with the "circle method," and they may actually work this time around. 

It can be helpful to try and pick up an area of your home, namely, your kitchen, by working in small sections as opposed to focusing on the entire space at once. More likely than not, the latter will be too overwhelming, and you may not get as much done. When applying this "circle method" to cleaning your kitchen, it means starting your focus small or in one particular section before slowly widening it to include additional areas. You can allow yourself to expand your "circle" once you've finished one area. This could mean setting a starting point, like tidying up your kitchen island. Next, you can tackle your stovetop, then your fridge, then your floors, then your windows, ever widening the cleaning circle. If you want to create a schedule or routine for this chore, you can set a different starting point for different days of the week and hang up the schedule on your fridge. 

One core rule of the "circle method" includes not allowing yourself to get distracted and move to other rooms. Even if you find items that need to go somewhere else in your house, like your bedroom or bathroom, you can place these objects in a pile in the corner to redistribute later. If you leave the room, you're more likely to lose focus. This trick is helpful beyond organization. If you've lost an item, start searching for it where it typically belongs, and then expand your "circle" as you continue your search. It will hopefully help you to minimize any overwhelming stress and keep you focused until the task is complete.