I had planned to take you through cleaning out and reorganizing my utensil drawer. It was all ready to go for today when I saw a great post pop up in my google reader on Monday from Brooke at Slow Your Home. Those of you who blog will know that sinking feeling you get when you come across a version of a post you have planned to write or publish (on another blog). Sometimes you trash your idea and sometimes you go ahead.
In this case I decided to share Brooke’s post with you for all the detailed step by step of clearing out your drawer and sorting and cleaning. I have included the photos of my process to show you how in less than 30 minutes I went from my messiest drawer in the kitchen to organised state of bliss.
Most of us acquire so many kitchen tools, gadgets, dishes and appliances over the years and many are infrequently or never used. Some items came to you via gifts as kitchen gear is especially popular for wedding and housewarming presents, stocking stuffers at the holidays and I am sure many a Mother’s Day gift. Keep the best and let go of the rest.
Regardless of how it came into your home today is the day to clear out the kitchen clutter so you can see what you DO have and use without having to fight through the triplicates (oh yes we are beyond duplicates in the kitchen) and the random tools you used once five years ago.
My biggest tip for kitchen decluttering is having a holding bin or box. This one step can lead to long term decluttering.
As you go through your utensil drawer and/or caddies, your shelves and drawers of appliances and gadgets, and the stacks of serving pieces and cookware I know you will be tempted to keep things “just in case”. The more expensive the item, the harder it will be for you to part with it. If you are unsure of the last time you used something I am going to encourage you to let it go now to make your kitchen function better.
If you have a vague notion that you use the items (but admit it is not often) I will suggest you gather a bin or box big enough for everything that falls into that category. You can either make an inventory (if it is a lot of stuff) or simply trust the box. Note the date on the box itself. Now add a reminder to your calendar / planner for six months from now to check “the box” you are going to store some place accessible.
Between now and the six month deadline if you are in the kitchen cooking and suddenly need that zester / cheese slicing device / unitasking appliance feel free to take it out and use it. Decide then if you want to reclaim space in your kitchen for this item or let it go (especially if you are finally using it on day 175 of this experiment).
When your alarm goes off reminding you to check the box take whatever is left in it straight out the door to your car so you can drop it off at the nearest charity shop. If you have not thought about it or retrieved it in six months trust that you do not need this item in your life. You can always borrow one from a friend if you have that one off need.
For special occasion and holiday related pieces I suggest moving them into storage with your holiday items unless you are blessed with a huge kitchen and endless storage.
What’s something in your kitchen you bought or were gifted and don’t use? Do you have a donut maker (or other funny unitasker) collecting dust or a device for julienning vegetables?
Find your simple,
Deb
If clutter is something you want to tackle and read more about here are all my posts that tackle decluttering.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I am pretty ruthless at getting rid of clutter, sometimes a little too much. A holding box is great for me so that I don’t get rid of an item too quickly, if I was too harsh in my initial declutter and find I did indeed need said item, I can just retrieve it from the holding box and not have the expense or annoyance of having to purchase again
Stacey-Lee recently posted..Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: Stepping Out Of The Comfort Zone
That’s a good angle on the approach – awesome
Debra Dane recently posted..More is not necessarily better
A friend gave me a special plastic knife for cutting lettuce. Have you ever heard of a less-needed piece of cutlery? I hate throwing things out and contributing to landfill, so it’s still in my drawer. I could send it to St Vinnies, but I’m sure a plastic, serrated knife will be very puzzling to people.
Rachel @ The Kids Are All Right recently posted..You’re not special
LOL i think my mom had one of those in the 70s for iceberg lettuce to remove the core (which can simply be done anyway by smashing it down on itself)
Debra Dane recently posted..You are enough just as you are
Ha! I know that sinking feeling very well, Deb! Sometimes I swear there’s a shared consciousness for bloggers that we each draw from. Little wonder we sometimes discover someone else thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time.
Thanks for the shout out though. And I love love love the idea of the holding box. Not only for the kitchen but other areas too!
Brooke {Slow Your Home} recently posted..Slow Home BootCamp – Landing in an Inbox Near You. Soon.
I think our blogs are similar enough that i might have to skip reading yours ; ) i have another post “what is simple” and then saw your post yesterday LOL. Happy to have discovered your blog last month though as I do love it Brooke!
Debra Dane recently posted..How to encourage others