Do you have an overwhelmingly messy kitchen? Are you interested in starting this new year with a tidier kitchen? Are you ready to declutter your kitchen? If you answered yes to any of the above, keep reading!
- Clear the countertops and surfaces of absolutely everything and give them a good cleaning.
- Take a detailed look at what was on your countertops and determine what you use vs. what’s taking up precious space. Do you really need three whisks? Try storing multiples in cabinets or donating the ones you never use. Only put back on your counters what you really need.
- Open your serving ware cupboard and cutlery drawer and count the number of plates, glasses and cutlery you have – how many sets do you really need if you keep on top of doing your dishes after each meal? Keep only what you need and donate any excess. Toss chipped or cracked serving ware. Clean and put everything back in an organized way.
- Remove everything from your pantry, toss out expired food, half-eaten, and stale food (along with items that no longer fit your New Year’s resolutions), decide which items you regularly use and put them on the middle shelves. Use clear containers, baskets, and spinning caddies to help make your pantry more user-friendly.
- Take every single item left in your kitchen drawers and cabinets and lay them on your counters to see where you have multiples. You’ll find hidden treasures that you’ve never used, and some that you’ll never imagine using. By laying everything out, you’ll easily be able to identify which ones you use on a regular basis and which ones have been gathering dust in the cabinet for years. Match food storage containers and lids and toss unmatched items. If you have things that no longer fully function, you probably won’t ever get around to fixing them so get rid of them too. You can recycle some things (certain types of plastic/glass), donate whatever is still functional, and dispose of the rest.
- Consider your appliances and get rid of any you don’t use. If they’re still in good condition, you can consider selling them or giving them away.
- This is the step everyone dreads – clean the fridge! Throw away anything that has been in there too long (including those holiday leftovers that you haven’t thrown away because they fill you with joy – they are also filling your fridge with mold!). Set aside remaining items shelf by shelf and wipe down quickly and efficiently before placing edible food back on shelves.
For extra points: remove things from on top of the fridge – they are likely to be collecting dust and can be replaced with items that you use often, such as appliances or cookbooks; remove things from the front of the fridge, such as old photos, receipts, menus, etc.
Some of you may be thinking you’ve got your work cut out for you, but you’ll feel SO much better once it’s done! When you’ve finished decluttering, take photos of your clean kitchen and stick them on the fridge to remind you of what your kitchen should always look like. Happy decluttering!