Tips For Decluttering The Kitchen

Lots of us have numerous things hanging around in our kitchens which could be thrown out with no great loss. How about food? Foods you tried and hated, foods that you thought you might eat, but never did, foods long past their best-before date, can all be got rid of and never be missed. Sometimes we hold on to worn-out equipment or supplies way after they have stopped being useful – stained towels and cleaning cloths, and cleaning materials which are used up or no longer usable are some examples. Pots and pans with broken handles, burned-out areas, or cracked coatings are also good candidates for the junk bag.

Other stuff just doesn’t belong in the kitchen, especially if we’re short of space there. Cleaning supplies you use elsewhere, stuff belonging to other people or other rooms, and things used only for the holidays could all be stored in another location to free up kitchen space. Specialised equipment you haven't used in more than a year also comes under this category: if you honestly will use it again some day, move it to less accessible storage, otherwise: get rid of it!

Then there’s the stuff that just seems to collect when our backs are turned. Gadgets and small appliances are a common offender here. Do you have small appliances you have never used, or used once and never again? Or that don't work and almost certainly never will be mended? How about "As seen on TV" gadgets that never operated as you'd hoped? Many of us also have many duplicates of equipment such as can openers, utensils, china and flatware: pick the pieces you love the most to keep, get rid of the ones you really will never use, and keep the "use occasionally" or "guest" pieces outside the kitchen. Oh, and how can we forget the plastic containers (and their lids, which never seem to match up) and glass bottles that we hang on to because they are SO USEFUL! Of course, they are, but how many of them do you really need? More are entering the house all the time!

Disappointingly, lots of us also have shelves full of recipe cards and cookbooks we never look inside. The photos were – and still are! – so alluring, but we just never got around to making the dishes. Will you - ever? No? Then perhaps someone else should have the chance to enjoy them.

With all that gone, maybe you now have room to breathe and move in your kitchen. In future, try not to let the clutter accumulate again, as it will try to do. It’s much simpler to organize the stuff you really need and use, once the unneeded junk is out of the way.

Robin Gray leads local organizing seminars in coastal BC, Canada and scribbles about decluttering and organization homes and kitchens at Declutter First!, the decluttering and home organization site.