Small change, big impact.

Sometimes I just need a change. I look at certain areas of our home that have looked the same for years and suddenly (or maybe not so suddenly) they appear stagnant. Boring. Screaming to be spiffed up.

Like this counter top in the kitchen, for instance:

It's not horrid. A little cluttered maybe, but I hadn't changed anything because I always told myself these were items we used all the time. That is until the other day when I was scrubbing the splattered I-don't-know-what from the canisters and I realized we haven't used the smaller two canisters for quite some time. And you know what? I don't even really like these canisters anymore.

Yet they've been sitting in the same spot since we moved into this house 10 years ago. High time for a mini makeover in the kitchen, don't you think?

Goodbye canisters. Goodbye old, dull knives. Goodbye rechargeable (but sorta broken) can opener. Cookbooks, back into the cupboard with you. Bananas, off to the newly-designated fruit bowl on another counter.

I spent about $15 on new jars for the flour and sugar which we use often, and about 15 minutes clearing the space and washing the discarded items to send them to Goodwill.

It's simple and clean and I reclaimed some valuable counter space. I love it. Now I smile every time I walk through the kitchen.

I've been motivated these last few days by Melissa's posts over at The Inspired Room. Here is the post that begins a little series about organizing a home. In that particular post she writes about assessing (or reassessing) the needs of your space, which is precisely what I did for that little corner of my kitchen.

Paring down our possessions and organizing our home is an ongoing process for our family, a process that little by little leads to a simpler life, fewer distractions, and more time to focus on what is important to us. I think we're making progress even if it's just one kitchen counter - or one linen closet or one end table - at a time. I hope as I share these little projects here to help keep my focus and keep track of my progress I'll inspire someone else, too.