Abundant Life Advent Challenge: Day 16

I’m stretching you today! You may need a step stool. I’m 5’8”, and I need one for the top shelf of the regular cabinets, but then we have what I call the upper, uppers. And that takes a ladder! Yes, today is all about your upper kitchen cabinets. I understand that some homes no longer have cabinets and have upper open shelving. I this is you, I’m going to step out on a limb here and say, you probably don’t have clutter there. Maybe I’m romancing the idea of open-shelving but I imagine it styled like a high-end kitchen boutique. 

I’ll confess that I added this to the list based on my recent “open-shelving clean out”. We don’t have open shelving, but we do have a few cabinets with transparent glass doors. Over the years, my “tea bar” area accumulated oddities. Since I don’t drink coffee (Yes, you read that correctly. I just don’t like the taste.), my tea bar started as beautiful. Then as my coffee-drinking friends would come for events, I’d purchase random creamers or flavors for them. I don’t use sugar or sugar substitutes but found an overflow in my cabinet. All of this randomness displayed through my glass cabinet doors was not a site anyone needed to see. I purchased these shelf organizers, and love them! They doubled my space! Now, my favorite tea cups and mugs are displayed and easily accessible.

I parted with many mugs and all the expired coffee items that I never reached for. I’m sure my friends will thank me for that one! Organizing this side of my cabinets and making room for the cups I use regularly cleared space in the other cabinets. So, if today’s challenge overwhelms you, start with the one upper cabinet that you hate to open. One is likely packed with things that could easily be discarded. Shoot for sixteen items today … by now, you know what to do with them.

Brenda A. Haire is the Co-founder and CEO of Joy of Pursuit, helping authors write, publish, market, and build an author business. She is the founder of Publish & Tell creating retreats and cozy inspiration for writers. She’s the author of The Worth Saving Series: Knowing Your Worth Changes Everything, The Worth Pursuing Series: A Moved Soul, The Team Solution Series: HR Coaching to Grow Teams and Profit, and The Author Solution Series.