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Original poster

Is everyone's kitchen as hectic as mine? (Photo)

563 replies

harlacem0507 · 13/02/2025 13:38

A little bit outing but I wanted to know if people can relate to this hectic kitchen of mine! It gets cleaned and tidied every day but most things I can't seem to store anywhere as have very little storage in my house, but honestly, does this kitchen seem 'normal' or very unorganized, messy, chaotic etc? Because I'm not sure if I'm being overly critical to myself for having a kitchen like this or I do in fact need to seriously organise it better! (The white blob is my son!) For context I have a husband and 3 children aged 13, 7 and 15 months and work part time.

Is everyone's kitchen as hectic as mine? (Photo)
OP posts:
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11
BunnyLake · 13/02/2025 14:19

I’d be concerned about the trip hazards. A lot of it could be cleared up quickly (coke cans etc) but my kitchen can also get too much at times I even had a Flymo parked in it for a while 🤦‍♀️

WoahThreeAces · 13/02/2025 14:19

My kitchen is about an eighth the size of that 😂 I wouldn't even get a bike in mine.

Anxiousaboutmortgage · 13/02/2025 14:19

You need to start putting things away not down . Why is the butter still there after making a sandwich just put it away right after

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FigAndOlive · 13/02/2025 14:19

Sorry but it looks very messy to me, it would drive me crazy to be in a space like that. You asked me so hope you’re not offended! I have a 10month old and 3.5yo and my kitchen never ever looked like that, not even close. I think there’s too much things you can bin and definetely declutter, if you don’t have space to store it, it should go! Keep just the essentials

Original poster
harlacem0507 · 13/02/2025 14:19

Sunnyside4 · 13/02/2025 14:15

If you tidy it every day, I suspect you've taken that photo at one of the worst times when there's been a lot of traffic. We've got things on the work tops due to lack of storage, but keep the rest of worktops gets a tidy, clear and wipe over twice a day - if you took a photo just before that happened, ours wouldn't look great. Having said that pepsi cans would be cleared and cereal boxes put away before then, but we've all got different circumstances and lives. I know people who've got immaculately clean and tidy kitchens, others that are worse than that (and they generally don't seem to worry about it!)

Yes I did, it was just as dinner had been finished and nothing had been put away so this is at its absolute worst (don't think it can tbh) and I took the photo because I was demented looking at it and knew I wanted to shame myself

OP posts:
PlasticineKing · 13/02/2025 14:20

Yeah I’m not meaning to pile on here but that kitchen has the same vibe of the flat I had when I was in my early twenties and a student. I genuinely couldn’t cope in that mess.

TadpolesInPool · 13/02/2025 14:20

MonkeyTennis34 · 13/02/2025 14:15

I love your kitchen.
It looks busy, homely and full of love and life.
Mine looked exactly the same when the DCs were younger.

Behind every immaculate house is a very dull woman.

I disagree with this. Having a tidy home does not have to involve lots of time spent tidying. You just need systems put in place.

Eg we have a box under the counter for recycling. Its just as easy to put an empty bottle in the recycling box as it is to leave it on the counter.

Putting things away and not down takes seconds, like that margarine tub. And like the Ella pouch - its the same time and effort to put it in the bin as it is to put it down in a dirty dish!

Adropintheocean1 · 13/02/2025 14:20

It just looks untidy…

Bike & toy away
Clear the side
Washing away and airer down
Clear the table
Job done.

People acting aghast are being ridiculous.

Upstartled · 13/02/2025 14:20

Oh, just to add. I think the broken window theory is applicable on a domestic level. The messier a home is the more licence people feel to leave a trail of destruction in their wake. I find the tidier a home is, the more likely people are to pick up after themselves.

So, while it feels hard right now, I think the push pays dividends.

Grammarnut · 13/02/2025 14:20

HeadNorth · 13/02/2025 13:45

I feel stressed just looking at that photo! Even when the children were at home, i don't think the kitchen every looked like that - random cans, tipped over bottles, opened packets of cereal, sauce bottles out, dirty plates on the side etc etc. Maybe I was just lucky to have more storage but most of these things I would put away as used, not leave lying on surfaces.

A bit untidy. Why a bike? And the washing would do better put away. 15-year-old can do that for you.

Jb2182 · 13/02/2025 14:20

The tea towel on the hob is giving me the jitters 😕

CreationNat1on · 13/02/2025 14:20

5 minutes of putting away, bin, moving items to their rightful place, would make a big impact.

Grammarnut · 13/02/2025 14:20

A bit untidy. Why a bike? And the washing would do better put away. 15-year-old can do that for you.

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 13/02/2025 14:21

No that is not normal, I couldn’t live like that.

ThreeMagicNumber · 13/02/2025 14:22

It's a nice kitchen and looks as if it could easily and quickly be sorted, at lease your floors clean!

Im guessing it's not just you who discards used packaging instead of putting it in the bin. So getting everyone to put things back where they came from (toys etc, anything that's out on the counter that shouldn't be, things in the bin) will easily help keep it tidier.

You said you work part time, is that as a nurse? Spotted what looks like a tunic on the door. If it is and you have three kids (a teenager and a toddler at the same time, you're braver than me) it's understandable things sometimes get on top of you. Don't be hard on yourself, it's quickly resolved.

Coffeeishot · 13/02/2025 14:22

Buy a plastic garden. Box for the bike and other outside toys you can unlock it for him to get his bike in and out the bikes are only going to get bigger and more of them as the kids grow.

BunnyLake · 13/02/2025 14:22

Jb2182 · 13/02/2025 14:20

The tea towel on the hob is giving me the jitters 😕

Oh yes. I can’t have tea towels anywhere near my hob they have to a good foot away at the very least.

Motherrr · 13/02/2025 14:23

Mine looks something like that usually. I wish it was tidier and more minimal but hey there is shit strewn everywhere when you have small children...

PinkPonyClub25 · 13/02/2025 14:23

Why so much rubbish on the sides?

easylemonsqueezy · 13/02/2025 14:24

Good lord I could not cope with that
Sorry

Sprinklepartyfun · 13/02/2025 14:24

Honestly, mine looks like that at times. When everything is going smoothly in life it mostly stays tidy or only is a tip briefly, but if things get hectic with work, the kids get ill, we get ill etc. Then it's hard to keep on top of.

At the moment it's a tip because I'm midway through a DIY project elsewhere, the kids aren't sleeping and I'm averaging 4 hours a night, so I'm absolutely zonked.

Some people I think are just better at keeping places tidy than others.

Actually going to look at it now, it's not as bad, but it's also a bit bigger. There's an overflowing bin that that needs sorting out, The dishwasher could do with filling with stuff from the side, there's a few bits of shopping to put away, theres stuff from my kids craft project on the table, stuff that needs to go back to the shed and paints that have come from the shed for the DIY project.

recipientofraspberries · 13/02/2025 14:24

My kitchen is almost always very tidy (not immaculate), as is my bathroom; but the rest of the house usually looks like your kitchen does. I find the kitchen and bathroom relatively easy because everything has a place and a function, whereas the living room has so many things in that don't have specific designated spots. I know the key is to find everything a home, and I'm gradually getting there, but in the kitchen, the cutlery goes in the cutlery drawer, the plates in the cupboard, the tupperware in the drawer, etc. It's much harder everywhere else where it's more free form.

Princessconsuelabananahammock9 · 13/02/2025 14:25

Can your son put his bike in the shed and get it out each morning?

That’s what I used to do.

It’s messy but honestly if you set the timer for 30 minutes I bet you could clean most of it up.

It can be very overwhelming to start but this is super manageable!

PonkyPonky · 13/02/2025 14:25

How do you prepare food with no worktop space? How do you eat at that table? If you’re happy with it though it doesn’t really matter how other people live. I personally need my kitchen to be clear and tidy all the time but that’s how I like it. You can have yours however you want

Pippinsdiary · 13/02/2025 14:26

Mine definitely looks similar at certain times of the day before I’ve had chance to reset it. By whole house does. Is this how it always looks?

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