Ah, the kitchen. The heart of the home. It’s a natural gathering place where people congregate around the table, preparing and enjoying food and each other’s company. When the kitchen is organized and running smoothly, it can make an otherwise unorganized house a little more palatable. Here’s a top 10 list for getting your kitchen decluttered.
1. Clear Countertops.
This is number one for a reason! If you do just one thing to declutter your kitchen, please do this. It won’t take long, but it will make a big difference.
Tuck your smaller appliances away, even ones that are used frequently. It takes less than 10 seconds to pull out a toaster from a cupboard and put it back away. Also, paperwork tends to accumulate on countertops. Take a few min. a day to go through mail and school paperwork to prevent accumulation.
2. Keep Up With Dishes.
Catch up on dishes as part of your nightly routine. There are nights when this won’t happen. Of course there will be! But, if you integrate this in with your nightly routine (those things you do out of habit like brushing your teeth), more often than not, the dishes will stay under control. Set yourself up for a calm and caught up morning the next day.
3. Organize Your Pantry.
You can replace the word pantry with cupboard, drawer or whatever else you have that houses the majority of your food. See this blog post for ideas. Top tips: Group like items into containers (snacks, breakfast, etc.) and label, label, label!
4. Pare Down Utensils.
Throw out or donate anything that is a duplicate or is broken or stained. There are some seldom used specialty items you’ll want to keep. But, consider storing them separately, in a less accessible place so they’re not taking up prime real estate and overcrowding your space.
5. Go Through Food Storage Sets.
The dreaded missing lids!! Ahhhh! Where they go is a mystery, but today’s the day to toss anything stained, broken or matchless! I’m “team lids on” for storing these containers, as it helps solve the issue of rummaging around for a lid that fits.
6. Edit Your Cookbook Collection.
Where do you get the recipes that you really use? Pinterest? Other online sources? One particular cookbook? Keep only the cookbooks that you use or that have sentimental value.
7. Donate Pots and Pans.
These are often awkward to store and they take up a lot of space. Get creative with where you keep your pans….a wall rack? The drawer under the stove? Nested within each other? Keep only what you need and have space for.
8. Toss Product Packaging.
It’s clutter and it takes up space. Recycle what you can.
9. Tackle the Junk Drawer.
You’ll be surprised what you find! “Oh, that’s where that unused gift card went!”
Go through stray keys to see which ones are house keys or other keys you need to keep. Toss everything else.
Pare down office supplies. A handful of pens should be sufficient. Donate extras to a school.
Add drawer dividers/organizers, as this will be money will spent. Clear acrylic is great, but anything works. Drawer organizers come in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Measure your drawer first (including the height, too), then hit up amazon or your local Target or Bed Bath and Beyond.
10. Rethink Your Space.
Your kitchen’s layout could be contributing to clutter. If the kids’ dishes are too high for them to reach, they won’t get put away. Move them to a lower drawer or shelf, if possible. Ensure your food prep items are close to your food prep area to be more inclined to return items to their home.
Many of these tips are small daily habits to incorporate into your life. When you prioritize decluttering your kitchen, this will set the stage for future decluttering efforts. Before you know it, not only the heart of your home, but your whole home, will be running smoothly and contributing to greater peace of mind.