Next week is the
As most of you know de-cluttering is banned during scrub week: scrubbing is about proper elbow grease with no time to waste on trips down memory lane. I know. It’s enough to put you off your dinner, but heck who knows, with the right spirit (gin, housekeepers?) we might even begin to enjoy it…
And so lets get the kitchen ready for a thorough scrub, remembering that this is your only chance to bin all that is neither useful, nor beautiful…
1.) Go through every cupboard, fridge, freezer, pantry,
basket and drawer and throw away anything you
know is junk.
2.) Put things that don't belong in the kitchen in another
basket ready to be returned to their rightful homes...
3.) Start shaking half used jars, and bottles: look at
herbs and spices, dried ingredients, bits
of saved this and that and decide if they are past their
best; if so chuck em! If not, decant as much as
possible into more
attractive containers and make it your mission in life
to do away with as much manufacturers
packaging as possible: unless
of course Persil is paying you to flash their ugly
packaging around your kitchen...
4) Now cast a critical eye over your counters,
around your sink, by the bread-bin, on the open
shelves: what’s there that is never used?
What’s gathering grease and dust?
We vintage girls are prone too gathering junk and
the kitchen isn't the healthiest place for it to fester:
if it's an ornament you never even notice
anymore, move it somewhere
where it will be appreciated. If it's a small
appliance used once in a blue moon, hide it where the
rest of the family will forget about it and you can
eventually make the daring decision to find it a more
worthy home.
5.)Don't have anything out you don't use
on a regular basis: this doesn't mean you've got
to clear the decks (minimalism isn't for me!), but it does
mean asking yourself whether some utensils, appliances
or bits and bobs are taking up the space you could
do with to display all those things you have
to go rooting for...
6.) Now let's look at cleaning equipment: if there
is anything toxic hiding under the sink, you know
it's got to go!!!
Dispose of it safely and make room for the
Brocante cleaning recipes we will be whipping up
for the scrub...
7.) Pull out the drawers: in our house the
knife and fork drawers collect all kinds of stuff
and nonsense. Get shut.
Let the forks reclaim their rightful home and move
on to the linen drawer: anything tatty is outta here!
Now to that junk drawer we've all
got: identify anything important, then tip
everything else into a carrierbag and tell
the rest of the family it's on its way to the tip
in five days. Be strict.
8.)Down on your knees and into the cupboards.
Let’s face it something's just shouldn't be offered house
room amongst your vintage tableware so ask them
politely to find a new home.
Chuck out anything chipped or cracked. No dithering.
You will find another one just like it, if you are brave
enough to set it free. I promise.
So bin it! Now!!
9.)And finally onto the work surfaces: it is essential
when it comes to the scrub that we can see what we are
doing and that there is room to temporarily put things we
are cleaning; so your job here is to move as much stuff as
possible (temporarily or otherwise),
so we can think straight. Ok?
And that's it! I'm sure you will
whizz around that little lot in a jiffy.
Just remember not to bother cleaning
or straightening things, as
you will only have to do it all
over again next week...
Good Luck HouseKeepers!
Other Things To Do At BrocanteHome
Browse the Bookstore
Discover a curated list of books to enhance and support life the BrocanteHome way
Life Love & Vintage Housekeeping the by BrocantePrintables on Etsy
Create your own Brocante Life Book, plan Christmas, set up routines and rituals or live life the BrocanteHome way with my guided workbooks and planners.
Take a Course
Discover mindful, meaningful days with self-led, habit-coaching courses from BrocanteHome.
Goal Setting for Homemakers 
The Brocante Round-Up! 
The Brocante Round-Up! 
The Autumn House
No wonder you're feeling tired. I need to go for lie-down after READING that little lot…
I plan to do each step above with my right hand, my left hand will be holding a glass of wine to help me through it.
Oh how I wish I had cupboards to clean!Boxes don't really count do they?
I'm ready for the scrub!!