6 Things to Declutter in the Kitchn

The kitchen is the center of most households and having to declutter it can be an overwhelming task.  Since we use it everyday we can't really afford to remove everything from it's place and figuring out what we want to keep and putting it all away before the next meal.  Well... the good news is there are 6 things you can focus on decluttering in your kitchen and it won't be hard to do.  The payoff will be great too!
1 - Small Appliances

Whether they're stored away or kept on the counter, we tend to accumulate all kinds of small appliances that we don't really need.  I once had a rice cooker that took up valuable storage space in my cupboard. 5 years I kept it until one day I realized I never cook rice....I buy the kind at the store you can just pop into the microwave.  I was finally able to get rid of that bulky appliance.  Things like blenders, multiple crockpots, toaster ovens, and drink makers can take up a lot of space.  If you aren't using it regularly consider parting with it.  You can probably even make a few bucks from selling it. If you are worried you'll end up needing it again, just put it in a box in the basement and make a note to revisit in 6 months to see if you actually needed it or not.  I actually had a blender that I justified keeping because I could use it as a food processor. Yet I already had a small hand processor that I loved. Silly me. I sold the blender on Marketplace for a few bucks and called it a day. 

2 - Duplicates Items

This means duplicates of ANY and ALL items.  If you have 7 wooden spoons, ask yourself how often you use all 7 at once. Keep only what you need and get rid of the oldest or least useful ones.  When it comes to baking bowls, we tend to collect those like they're worth a million bucks, yet we only ever use the same few.  Same thing with cutting boards and yes I'm guilty of that myself. Getting rid of duplicates is great because it frees up space and makes it so much easier to find the item you DO need.

 

3 - Plates, Bowls, and Cups

Go through your cupboards and do one category at a time. For cups, get rid of anything chipped or broken.  If you never use certain cups because of their size or simply because you have plenty of others, get rid of them.  Last year I got rid of all the coffee mugs under a certain size because it was too easy to spill from them.  Now I'm left with nice large mugs that I enjoy using.  

 

For bowls, get rid of anything that is damaged.  Anything that doesn't fit or nest nicely with others should be evaluated to see if it's worth keeping. And if you have an excessive number of bowls and only use the same few, consider only keeping those ones. 

 

For plates, look for cracks and chips and say goodbye to those plates.  If you have mix and match designs, consider keeping only one type. And plates come in all sizes but I've found personally I don't use that many small plates so I only make sure I have a certain number of those and got rid of the rest. 

4 - Storage Containers

First get rid of any containers that don't have a matching lid. Get rid of lids that don't have matching containers.  Then group all of the similar containers together to see how many you have of each.  I have found that I don't need 15 teeny tiny containers so I usually only keep 5 on hand.   Get rid of anything that is warped, stained, or starting to crack.  

5 - Unique Gadgets

Sometimes we get carried away with how unique a kitchen gadget is.  But then after we bring it home it just sits in storage.  One gadget I love using is my apple slicer. It doesn't take up too much space either.  I also had a pepper corer and I never used it. In fact, I realized it was easier for me to just use a knife and a certain method to cut up my peppers.  And the knife is easier to wash then the funnily shaped gadget.  I also had multiple chopper gadgets.  Guess what? I never use em! I have no problem chopping things by hand with a knife. They all found new homes!

6 - Things that Don't Belong in a Kitchen

Listen, I get it.... sometimes it's really convenient to have a junk drawer in the kitchen.  But not everything needs to be stored in the kitchen.  Our junk drawer has a pair of scissors (for opening food packaging), some pens (for writing on our calendar or writing a note quick), 2 charger cords for things we charge in the kitchen, chip clips, a pad of paper, and a measuring tape.  They all fit perfectly into our junk drawer with room to spare.  We don't keep tape or a stapler in the kitchen because we simply don't use those things in there and if we need to for a one time only thing, our office is 10 feet away for us to retrieve the tape from.  Piles of paperwork don't belong in the kitchen.  Gloves and hats don't belong on the kitchen table and would do better in an entryway closet.  Magazines aren't usually read while you're standing in the kitchen so put those in the bathroom or on the living room table.  Keep your kitchen full of the things you use in the kitchen and only those things.  All of the cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink are specific to the kitchen. Everything else goes in our utility closet with all the other cleaning supplies. 

 

These 6 categories of things to declutter in the kitchen can make it a much less overwhelming task that can be done in pieces rather than all at once.

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