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Is it possible to turn the island the other way around? So the appliances would be easy for Tracy to reach while cooking and the living room side would be more clean for Tracy while looking at the kitchen. It is good to see Tracy's smiling face again. Lots of love to you all...
This episode shows everyone's got different priorities. Tracy really struggled with her clothes and shoes but the kitchen stuff felt like such easy decisions for her. Dani is the exact opposite. Well done Tracy, it's nice to see you feel more in charge of your declutter journey!
Did you consider shelf raisers? I would put some on the first shelf, that would allow to stack cups and mugs on different shelves and use all that vertical space! Nice job, love to see Tracy is back!
I love the long-term projects. I get really invested. I love the time of day you post. And I love that Tracy is getting really good at making quick decluttering decisions
Woo..on to the kitchen organizing. In case no one else has mentioned it, it looks like the shelves in the cabinets are adjustable. Especially for the cabinet with the mugs, you could lower the top shelf down and maybe Tracy wouldn’t even need a stool for that shelf? Or maybe when you get baskets/containers for the top shelves, the could have handles that she could grab and pull the whole thing at once instead of having to climb constantly. 😊
Something I do with unopened food (especially sauces and stuff) that's past the expiry date is put a sticker with the date I opened it, and that helps me determine in the future when it becomes too far gone. xoxo
I can't get over the fact that Americans accept a home without a proper dedicated kitchen room with a door on it! Kitchens are messy, cluttered areas. Often with lots of heat and spitting things and strong smells. Having it in the sitting room grosses me out a bit. But this is not unusual in the US from the many and various videos I've seen. There is no room for a dishwasher, not even room for a proper cooker and certainly no room for a washing machine. I don't get it. America is huge. There is room!
Yay another Tracy episode! You’ve come so far, I totally get the cutlery thing, I prefer a certain size and shape to spoons and forks. I have knifes to butter bread and different ones to have with meals, It’s not at all weird 😊
16 year instant pot user here. I loved it at first but didn’t use it enough to not have to relearn it every time. I was determined to figure it out. Solution that works: use it daily or as much as you can for a week or so. Then it’s soo easy! Do the simple water only test over & over so it’s not too scary. Also for easier access store the lid on top upside down & gain space. You can do it & you’ll wonder how you did without it. 😊 Even if just for boiled eggs or simple soups. Life changing. Also so many easy recipe tutorials from lovely RU-vidrs that share. Good luck, you’re doing amazing!
Glad to see y’all clean as you go. A good test for spices that you are unsure about is to turn the jar upside down and if the spices are clumped at the bottom then let it go.
You both really made a lot of progress. The kitchen already has order and breathing room. The next step will just have things flying into their places. We will all celebrate with you, Tracy and April!🎉🎉🎉🎉
April I found your account a few months ago and I just can’t stop binge watching all of your videos! You do such incredible work and I get so excited every Sunday when I see you posted! Sending you much love from Greece 🇬🇷❤️
Tracy’s videos are my favorite! She has made so much progress from her first video, you can see her making the initiative to get rid of things without you needing to “push” her for lack of better terms. Keep it up Tracy, you’re doing so well!!
There's a special type of organising for ADHD where you put things where you use them most. That way you don't have to go searching and get distracted. In my house this means we have 2 locations for teaspoons because they get used a LOT in 2 places (for stirring tea, for adding things when cooking) You should also put labels on shelves! Or on the inside of cupboard doors. Tracy didnt seem to know what that top shelf was for and wanted to put lentils up there, so idk if she would know to look for... Whatever it was that was supposed to be up there! Haha
One random hint I discovered is to use little labels for the top of the spice - I just used little white removable ones - and it’s so much easier to find the spices looking at them!
Tracy succeeds using visuals organization systems. I would suggest open shelves. Loved what she did with the spoons and the cutlery. She totally feels confident in the kitchen which also helps her make faster decisions. Make things work for you, Tracy. After all, you are the one who is gone live there. Hope we keep seen more declutering in the next episodes.
I got more ikea shelves for my tiny kitchens limited cabinets, because like Tracy's mine only had the one, and there was so much vertical space not being taken advantage of and it made the kitchen so much more livable
I like the open shelving for all the dishware and silverware! It looks so nice and I think it will be a lot more visually accessible for Tracy. It's so much easier for me to put things away if I don't have to climb on a stepstool or open a bunch of cabinets. I'm a visual person and out of sight is out of mind for me, or up high too. I can definitely relate to rediscovering items when I clean out my high up cabinets.
April- Hope your Dad is on the mend. PLEASE consider doing a 180* on the island/shelves. Put the chairs side facing the sink and the open shelving (to be hidden) on the sink side. I am sure you eat most meals at the other table and in living room anyway. OR. consider turning 90* and scoot it out slightly into the room and have the chairs facing the fridge wall with their backs to the 2 doors. It seems like you have some open space to spare. This will open the space from island to sink just a little more and I bet make it feel spacious. GOOD LUCK!!!
I love Tracy and Dani! Another great episode! April-I hope your dad is well. I look forward to Sunday mornings for your videos. They give me ideas and the emotional push to go those things I keep putting off. I am moving in 6 days and have just started the declutter/packing nightmare. Will get back to it after I finish this video.🙄
I’ve been anxiously awaiting another Tracy episode. I think clear, open bins would be great for the different sauces-labeled of course. She could also use risers & half shelves to get more room in the cupboards.
Yay! A new Tracy video! I didn't get the notification and didn't see it in my subscriptions feed. Good I went to your channel to see some older videos!
Thanks for the reminder, it made me check and my bell wasn’t on “all” it was on “personalized” and I don’t even know what that means. I’ve heard a lot of people say that RU-vid is just randomly unsubscribing people.
I found that top shelves make a trouble for short people. And I have a strong opinion that such shelves have to be used either for wide stuff like plates and so on, or for lazy Suzans. Stuff like bottles or anything that standing one behind another on top shelves, never work for convenience.
Tracy is such a vibrant lively person, love her energy! You can see how she loves what she has, enjoys her life, every piece has a memory or is a gift from a friend. You can see one actually lives here and colorful stuff adds life to the place. Actually love her kitchen and apartment, looks very comfortable once decluttered! Very interesting episode, good job you both!
Personally as an adhd human I would have kept the food out so she can see and use it and put dishes in the cabinets. Unless she already has a habit to look for stuff when she meal plans. I say this because with adhd we struggle with object permanence, so if it’s not I. Front of us it doesn’t exist. I don’t know if Tracy has the same struggle but executive functioning issues are common with disorganisation so it could be an experiment to see how much it might play into things.
Same here. I am an adhd human too and everything i can't see would disappear out of my head . Like woosh ! But seeing all my stuff makes me feel a little bit overwhelmed. Does that makes sense ? 😅 Clear bins are helping me a lot
Ha! I have AD(H)D and if food is organized/ grouped together by like items as they have done here I find the object permanence isn’t as big of an issue because… I get hungry. When I’m hungry I sift through all my food sections to get ideas and am reminded of what I have. But, I NEED like items grouped together: I have a selection of pastas all in a basket, Asian foods, lunch ideas, snacks, baking supplies, etc each get their own baskets. None of my baskets or storage can have a lid on it, though, because I won’t put stuff away.😅
@@StephL1111 my whole house is like items together. So I’m with you on that, and my dried stuff like cans and pasta I have put away but I was thinking those random items you get to experiment with or stuff you have to use up needs to be out because there is obviously no prompt to go look for them if they are 6 years out of date…
Ok Tracy! You came through on this one and made a lot of progress! It’s going to be tough at first because of the small space and trying to puzzle things back in but it is a process and you’ll get to where you want to be! I loved seeing how quick she was with making decisions in the kitchen. I cannot wait to see the next episode! 🎉 very proud of you!
Great to see Tracy back. Tracy you did fantastic and to start letting stuff go immediately is amazing. I’m glad ye decided to stop when ye hit a wall. It also means more episodes, yippee 👏 Have a great week. Mary, Joes wife 🙇♀️🙇♀️👏👏💪👍🙏💐🐶🐶
I have an IKEA island that’s been great for years but I’ve finally bitten the bullet and am having a stationary one built. It’s larger and will have closed storage to give my kitchen a “cleaner”, less cluttered looking kitchen. I’m excited. Storage is a MUST.
I highly recommend those raised shelves for in cabinets for vertical space. Combined with bins that fit under them (with a handle or something so you don't hurt your fingers on the shelves every time you grab them, ask me how I know) it makes it very easy to organise. The shelf prevents piling the bin with too much stuff, you can only fill it to the edge otherwise it won't fit, so you can't simply stuff it full and ignore. It also makes it easier to label things, a bin can have a sticker, or a little hanging label or something.
A great way to start with the instant pot is to just boil some water. It also is amazing for soups. I like frying onion and garlic (sautee button) and then adding sweet potato, or regular potato and carrots, chickpeas, broth to cover the stuff, and the rest of your spices. Press the soup button or manual 20 min high. Check the release valve, make sure it’s open. After it’s done, turn the release valve to open. I just tap it so it swings. Let the valve release pressure and then twist the lid open. It is impossible to open the lid until the pressure is normal again. I puree my soup until it’s a uniform texture because my kids preferred less surprises. You can add cream or a splash of lemon juice to finish and serve.
Fun fact - flour can expire and you will not be able to make a dough. We have learned it while cooking for xmas, we were lucky that the store nearby was still opened. I do not recommend to keep it ;)
Suggestion-turning the island so the shelves face in towards the kitchen and the chairs are out towards the living room. Would make easier access for reaching cooking supplies.
i always wanted a pantry and would buy stuff on offer, mostly canned food like beans, tomato or pineapple, tuna, you know staples, I have them in my Ikea Pax in bins but I can't eat through them fast enough and find they expire so quickly. SO my personal challenge is to buy less stock items and just what I need or think I want to cook that week. Pantry sounds nice but if you're alone,like me it doesn't make sense. i love there's progress for Tracy, that shelving unit is not very sturdy for all the plates and bowls? unless it's secured to the wall I wouldn't put breakables on there (yet) but it does look pretty, and any progres sis progress, so well done
WOwwW!!! I didn’t have much hope or Faith in Tracy when you got started. But she really hunkered down and was focused on functionality. It’s going to be amazing for her when you get done!!!
I have two kitchen containers on the counter for my most used implements. One is for baking and mixing items the other one is for stove top cooking implements.
Just found this channel recently, instantly subscribed! Love April’s approach and personality. She reminds me of a young Holly Marie Combs (Piper) from Charmed!
