10 Kitchen Items to Declutter

This past week I finished a deep decluttering of the kitchen. In order to keep my kitchen as clutter-free as possible, I have a few steps that I take. First, I keep my countertops clutter free by clearing them off every night. Second, I do a fridge and pantry declutter weekly. On the day that I sit to plan my menu for the upcoming week, I clean out the fridge and the pantry as I take notes of what we have in order to plan for grocery shopping. Third I do a deep kitchen declutter once a year in January. This annual step, is how I keep my cabinets and drawers neat and organized. Even with this system in place, I am always surprised at how many things I end up discarding when I do the yearly kitchen decluttering.

Whether you declutter your kitchen regularly or you have not done a kitchen clean-out in years, the following suggestions can help you get motivated and give you a starting point to get you closer to a more simplified and clutter free kitchen. Getting this task done should not be difficult, or a big production that would take you all day. You do not need to empty out all your cabinets and drawers. This task is not about cleaning or organizing, those chores are best done on a different day. This is simply about discarding the items that you no longer use, need, or love. By discarding, I do not mean that you will trash all the items that no longer serve you a purpose. Most items you can donate, and others you can recycle.

How to get started

Set a timer for 30 minutes if your kitchen is small or one hour if you have a large kitchen. Pick one end of the kitchen to begin at, and work from top to bottom doing one cabinet at a time. So for example, I start on the wall to my left when I enter my kitchen and I do the top cabinets first then the drawer and lastly the bottom cabinets. When I am done, I move to the cabinets to my right and do the same, until I have worked my way around the entire kitchen and I am back to where I began. As I said before, do not take everything out of the cabinets. All you need to do is open the cabinet and look in, be completely honest with yourself, and pull out any item that you no longer use, want, or love. As you pull out items you have three choices. You can place them in a large bag or box for donation, in a bag for your recycling, or if it is damaged and can’t be recycled then in the trash. Here is a list of ten items to get you going.

Ten Items

Storage Containers: Everyday use of storage containers takes a toll on them. Discard anything that doesn’t have a cover, or is stained, or you just don’t have any use for anymore. You may even find one or two containers that need to go back to its original owner.

Glasses and mugs: Any glasses or mugs that are chipped or broken, that you no longer use or have a use for. Kid’s sippy cups, how many do you really need, or do they even still use them. Travel mugs or water bottles, keep only the ones that you really use. Plastic cups that you get at events or theme parks, if you don’t use it then it doesn’t need to take up space in your cabinet.

Small Appliances: Be honest with yourself. When was the last time you used the pasta maker, or the juicer, or the stick blender? If you have not used the appliance in the last year chances are that you will not use it again. With that said, if it is an appliance that you do use maybe once a year for a specific recipe, by all means, keep it. For instance, I have an electric knife that I only use on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I would not get rid of it, even though I use it just once or twice a year. With Small appliances, you need to consider two things; do I use it, or does it make it a task easier for me when I use it. Like in my example, my electric knife makes the carving of the turkey or a large roast much easier for me to complete my task than using a regular carving knife. If it does not fit in either of those two categories, then its time to donate it or pass it on to a family member or a friend that might need it. You may even want to consider upgrading to an appliance that does more that one function. This past year, I bought an Instant Pot which allowed me to get rid of the rice cooker, the pressure cooker, the slow cooker, and an electric pot. So by upgrading, I replaced four with one, this freed up an entire cabinet.

Pots and Pans: Only keep what you really use. Definitely discard anything that is damaged. You might also want to test your pot lids, you may have more that one of the same size, and you could just keep one and donate the other. If the pot or pan was once nonstick and it isn’t any longer, get rid of it. If it is Teflon coated and older than 2013 you may want to reconsider keeping it. According to an article in cancer.org, it is possible to get flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from an overheated Teflon-Coated pan. In 2006 Dupont Agreed to phase-out PFOA, the chemical that Teflon is made from at the request of the EPA. They have been PFOA free since 2013. Today’s nonstick and Teflon cookware is completely safe for normal home cooking, as long as temperatures do not exceed 570°F (300°C). According to an article in healthline.com .

Pantry: When was the last time you decluttered it? Trash any expired food items or anything you bought and tried and didnt like and honestly no one in your household will eat.

Clean out under the sink: Empty bottles, cleaners you bought and for whatever reason, you didn’t like. Anything the ended up in the cabinet but does not belong.

Fridge: Expired condiment bottles or sauces you used once and did not like or are just not going to consume. Of course, any food that has gone bad.

Dishtowels and Tea towels: If it is stained, torn, faded, or old and ratty, get ride of it. If they are not in horrible shape and are a substantial size you may consider donating them to an animal shelter. They are always in need of towels.

Baking pans and baking dishes: If they are rusted, warped, or baked-on and stained. If it is chipped or damaged in anyway trash them. Or if you just do not like the pattern anymore or it no longer goes with your decor/style. Or if you just have too many of any one size that you no longer need or use. If the baking pan is the kind that has a specific mold shape, for example, pumpkin-shaped pan that you bought for baking with the kids for Halloween, but the little kids are now grown and are not into that anymore, then donated them or pass them on to a family member or a friend that might want it.

Countertop: Lots of items on the counter top creates visual clutter. Clear off your surfaces. Put away appliances that you do not use daily. Group small items on a tray or in bowls. Do not leave food on the counter, put it in the pantry or in the fridge.

Why declutter often

These are just 10 items, there are lots more to work on in the kitchen. When you declutter you are in essence simplifying and by doing so, you are making your everyday tasks and chores easier to accomplish. Whether it is planning your family’s menu for the week, making dinner, or even cleaning up the kitchen, it will all get done with less effort. By not having to search for items and knowing where they are, you can move quicker and with more ease to get your task done.

If you noticed, I didn’t even mention the “junk” drawer. That is because I do not believe in having a junk drawer, especially not in the kitchen, but more on that in another post. I have so much more to share about kitchen decluttering and organizing. If you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments section or send me an email. I would be happy to answer them.

Enjoy the process and you will love the benefits.