I mostly keep our house tidy. But some spots are habitually cluttered. The kitchen cabinets just don't stay neat, and the pantry? It tends to be where we all stash items we don't know what to do with. The area is not very large, maybe 6 feet by 15. There is a freezer, refrigerator, and three shelving units where we stash canned goods, pasta, rice, cleaning supplies, paper products, small appliances like the Crockpot and Instantpot, and bins of grandchildren's toys. It also houses platters and cake dishes for celebrations, extra plates for parties, vases, extra silverware, candlesticks, etc. It's a wonderful, functional space, but sometimes it gets so messy I don't know where to begin fixing it. I've been thinking about it and recently decided to give up some of my decorative things to make space.
My wonderful, capable daughter tackled a few kitchen cabinets last week. The difference after she worked her magic was striking. Then she said, "Saturday, we fix the pantry." She's a busy woman with a home of her own to care for and two small kids, but she cheerfully volunteered her time to help me move from overwhelmed to organized. She started by sorting through my decorative things, making a big pile of stuff she thought I didn't need. I argued about some items but let a lot go despite some pangs of longing. It took us (with "help" from the babies) the better part of two days, but now the pantry is decluttered, clean, dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and, dare I say, beautiful! I keep going there just to look at how tidy it is and smile. I have the best daughter. Her excellent attitude, hard work, and encouragement made this odious job (almost) fun. Mimosa's helped.