Is your kitchen overflowing with clutter? The dishes may be piled up in the sink, and the junk mail from the last three weeks may be growing by the day on the counter. Cabinets and drawers might not close, and your pantry may not have space for all of your food.
If your kitchen is very cluttered, cooking may be the last thing that you want to do. How can you declutter your kitchen and reclaim the space for its primary purpose?
Why Decluttering Your Kitchen Matters
A cluttered kitchen is a true embarrassment when family, friends and neighbors drop by. In addition, it is difficult to clean. Crumbs and other food remnants may be covered by clutter, attracting pests without your knowledge. When your kitchen is not thoroughly cleaned, food-borne illnesses become a larger concern as well.
While not being able to clean your kitchen thoroughly is a serious problem, there are other reasons why decluttering your kitchen matters. When your kitchen is neat and organized, you can more easily find the things that you are looking for. This saves time and money, and it cuts down on stress.
Step-by-Step Guide to Decluttering Your Kitchen
Decluttering your kitchen is a big job, but you can make the project more manageable by walking through a few steps.
Step 1: Clear Countertops
One of the most cluttered spaces in your kitchen may be the countertops. Start at one end of the counter and work across. Have a trash bag handy as well as a box to gather items to donate, sell or give away.
Toss items that are not useful. As a rule of thumb, consider getting rid of things that you haven’t used in more than six months and don’t have a specific plan to use in the near future. Then, identify things that you want to keep but that could be located elsewhere. Unless you use a small appliance daily, it should be stored off of the counter.
Step 2: Empty Cabinets and Drawers
With your counters clean, you are ready to work on the cabinets and drawers. The best way to do this is one drawer or cabinet at a time. Follow the same 6-month rule as you did with the counters.
In addition, consider how many of one item you really need. For example, if you have a dozen kiddie cups and your kids are all in junior high school, it might be time to let go of them. If you only have a four-burner stove, you likely don’t need eight frying pans.
If you decide that an item should be stored in a different location, place it to the side until you get to that drawer or cabinet.
Step 3: Sort and Categorize
While going through the drawers and cabinets, group similar items together. For example, place all of the plates on one shelf. Cluster plates by size as well. Repeat these for your silverware, bowls, cooking utensils and other items.
Place the items that you use less frequently on the higher shelves. If space is available, the top shelves are perfect for storing the small appliances that you don’t want cluttering up your countertops.
Step 4: Address the Pantry
The best way to declutter the pantry is to pull everything out of it. While it is empty, wipe down the shelves. Then, go through all of your boxes, bags, spices and other items.
Look for foods that have expired or gone stale. Toss these out along with any containers that are almost empty. If you have multiple containers for the same product, combine them to save space.
Take stock of what you have left, and gather similar items together. For example, canned goods should be placed together. When returning items to the pantry, think about the items that you prefer to have on lower shelves versus eye-level and higher shelves. Also, consider the amount of space available between each of the shelves.
Step 5: Tackle the Refrigerator and Freezer
You can follow this same strategy when decluttering the fridge and freezer. Pull everything out, and wipe down the shelves, drawers and doors. While these spaces are drying, turn your attention to the foods.
Toss out expired items and anything that has gone bad. Then, group similar items together so that they can be returned to the fridge or freezer in an organized manner.
Organizing After Decluttering
While taking out the old, unwanted and unneeded items from your kitchen will free up space, your kitchen may still not be as organized as it could be.
There are numerous organization features available for the fridge, pantry, drawers and cabinets. For example, shelf risers in the pantry enable you to save space while storing smaller items. These can also be used in the cabinets. A door rack adds space to a pantry. A lazy susan is a good way to optimize space in a corner cabinet.
Inside the fridge, use clear containers to maintain organization while also improving visibility. If your family drinks a lot of canned or bottled beverages, a drink dispenser is a smart addition. You can also use narrow bins to hold small items that don’t fit in the door bins.
Tips to Maintain a Clutter-Free Kitchen
- Give everything a place of its own. After using the kitchen, return things to its rightful place.
- Unload the dishwasher at the start of each day. Rather than place dirty dishes in the sink throughout the day, load them directly into the dishwasher.
- Deep clean your kitchen regularly so that dirt and clutter don’t build up.
- Add a shelf or table near the kitchen to place mail and other odds and ends on. Remember to clean this area regularly.
- Before loading new groceries into the pantry and fridge, toss out expired and old items.
A cluttered kitchen may be only one of your cleaning challenges. While you may not have the time, energy or motivation to tackle tough cleaning and organizing chores, you want to enjoy the benefits of a clean home. Tidyhere is the best cleaning service in Boston, and our professional maids are ready to visit your home soon. Call us today to book an appointment with our team.
