Declutter Your Kitchen
*Photo credit: JOSBRA design | Unsplash
I don’t know about you, but keeping my kitchen tidy is a constant challenge, especially with children at home. I’d just get everything spick and span, and someone would be hungry. All that good work, destroyed in moments.
It’s much easier now there is just two of us in the family. But the key to having a tidy kitchen is simple (don’t roll your eyes)—a place for everything and everything in its place. When you have things in your home that don’t have a home, they tend to live on the kitchen bench.
Kitchens are great clutter gatherers. There are often lots of cupboards and lots of hiding spaces for bits and pieces you haven’t used in ages. Before we know it, we are stacking mugs precariously high and rummaging through endless contraptions to find a potato peeler.
Before you begin, revisit the vision for your home you wrote in week 1 of the Clutter Cutter Challenge. Remind yourself of the values that are important to you. Let this vision guide your decisions as you work through your kitchen.
Now, let’s tackle some common problem areas.
utensils drawer
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Don’t make it a long-drawn-out process. Just get it done.
Empty the drawer onto the bench and wipe it out, fresh and clean.
Throw away anything that is broken or rusty.
Put back the utensils you use at least twice a week.
Then replace any other utensils you use regularly and can’t do the job using something else you have.
Of the remainder, donate anything you no longer use.
If you have some things you are not sure about, put them in a container in the linen closet and set yourself a reminder on your phone for three months’ time. If there is anything you need during this time, you can easily get it and replace it in the drawer. At the three month point, go ahead and donate anything that is left.
pantry
I generally clean my pantry one shelf at a time. Otherwise, it’s just too overwhelming.
The process for each shelf is the same.
Empty everything out of the shelf and give it a good clean.
Throw away anything that is past its use-by date or packets that have been left open for too long.
Replace what is left in a tidy way, placing like things together.
Take notice of food that has been there for a while and build your mean plan around using these items in the next week or two.
You may find it helpful to invest in some pantry storage baskets but beware of getting sucked into spending money you don’t need to. The simplest solutions are the best. You probably already have a basket or box somewhere in the house that could do the job.
Follow the same process for each shelf in your fridge and freezer.
crockery
How many dinner sets do you have? Now, answer honestly, how many dinner sets do you need? When you have guests over, how many do you usually host for a meal? For the majority of us, the answer is less than ten.
Take all your plates and bowls out of the cupboard and give it a good clean.
Replace your favourite set.
Discard anything that is broken or chipped.
If you have excess, make an intentional decision about how many is enough for you and your family.
Donate or sell any that you do not need. If possible, leave plenty of clear space in the cupboard. This makes it much easier to put things away and keep the area tidy.
glasses & mugs
Follow the same steps with glasses, mugs and teacups.
Take them all out and clean the shelf.
Replace your favourites. You know, the one you always reach for when it’s there, and the set you always use when you have guests.
Discard anything that’s broken.
Make an intentional decision about how many extras to keep. I went through and donated all of the ‘one-off’ mugs I’d received over the years. They tended to get pushed to the back because I didn’t love them and never used them when friends came over. Even though I loved the people who gave them to me, they didn’t serve me anymore, and I lovingly let them go.
baking
My cooking routine had changed as my family had grown and changed again when I went from mostly being at home during the day to mostly being at work—things I regularly used at one stage I no longer use or need.
Go through your baking trays and dishes. What do you use regularly? What is in excellent condition? What fits easily in the allocated shelf or drawer space?
Donate the rest.
small appliances
These can be harder to declutter because we often spend more to purchase them, and we have buyer guilt to deal with. At one stage, we had a milk-shake maker, fairy floss machine, chocolate fountain, pasta maker and juice extractor. All great machines. All fun when we first got them. But eventually, our family moved on from chocolate fountain parties, and the greasy appliance sat in the back corner of a kitchen cupboard for around two years.
Let go of the things you no longer use. Create some space in your kitchen. You’ll feel better once they are gone.
kitchen counter
I love looking at beautifully styled kitchens on Fixer Upper and other renovation shows—the beautiful glass bowl of lemons, the perfectly positioned cheese board and recipe book holder and a planter overflowing with a selection of healthy herbs. Unfortunately, the reality of living in a working kitchen is very different. The counter is more likely to be styled with a toaster surrounded by crumbs, a few dirty dishes, a soaking pot with the remainder of last night’s spaghetti and a pile of unopened mail.
Remember, clutter attracts clutter. If there is one dirty mug on the sink, it feels fine to put another dirty mug next to it. If there is one advertising brochure on the bench, it’s easy to put the next day’s mail on top of it. If there is a kettle on the counter, why not just leave the toaster sitting next to it?
Chances are, after cleaning out your small appliances’ cupboard, you have space to put some of the things that may currently live on your counter away, out of sight.
Think carefully about what you want to live on your kitchen counter. Is it functional? Is it beautiful? Is there another place it could go? Keeping the counter clear makes it much easier to keep clean and gives your kitchen a wonderful feeling of space.
Systematically go through each cupboard and drawer in the kitchen and follow the same process.
Take everything out and give the shelf a good clean.
Discard anything that is broken.
Choose what to keep— the things you use and the things you love.
Don’t keep more than what fits easily in the space. Aim to have clear shelf space left.
Donate what is left.
If there are a few things you are unsure about, box them up and store them in another room of the house or garage. Set a reminder on your phone (or calendar) for three months’ time. At the end of the three months, get rid of everything you haven’t needed.
