How to Declutter Your Kitchen

School is just around the corner and that means your kitchen is about to get a whole lot busier! Now is the time to cut out the clutter so everyone has the space they need, whether for preparing lunches, doing homework, keeping track of permission slips, and countless other items.

Today’s topic is how to declutter your kitchen.

Here are 4 simple steps to get your kitchen clean and organized:

Step 1: Gather the supplies you’ll need

[1] 4 boxes/containers, labeled:

- Put Away - Kitchen

- Put Away - Elsewhere

- Sell/Donate

- Storage

[2] Garbage bags

Step 2: Wash the dirty dishes

This will help clear up space on the counter, empty out the sink, and you’ll be able to find out if all your dishes fit in your cupboard when they’re clean. If they don’t all fit in the cabinets… it means you have too many of them.

Step 3: Sort one drawer or shelf at a time

The answer isn’t adding more storage—it’s keeping what fits (starting with your favorites first) and getting rid of the excess. We’re talking ALL of the excess—plates, bowls, cups, utensils, bakeware, pots, pans, cookbooks, and beyond.

We recommend going through one drawer or shelf at a time so you can spread out the decluttering effort as needed, rather than creating a bigger mess and overwhelming yourself by trying to do everything at once. 

With each item, think about the last time you used it. If it’s something you’ve never used, it needs to go—whether you sell or donate the item is up to you, but don’t even think about putting it back! 

Step 4: Empty the boxes and trash

Empty the ‘Put Away – Kitchen’ box after each drawer/shelf to return the items to their proper places. You can empty the ‘Put Away – Elsewhere’ box when it is full or at the end of that particular cleaning session (whichever happens to come first). Put the ‘Sell/Donate’ and ‘Storage’ boxes in their respective places, such as the ‘Sell/Donate’ box in your vehicle trunk for the next time you swing by a donation center, and the ‘Storage’ box in the basement or attic. Take out the trash and you’re finished!  

There you have it—4 simple steps to a decluttered kitchen.

Enjoy all of the new space you’ve created!