It’s not hard for the kitchen to become the messiest room in your home. Kitchens are high-traffic areas where food and fun happen, so it’s natural that they require a lot of upkeep to stay clean. Daily tasks like wiping down the counter or taking out the trash are easier to keep up with than chores that require an hour or more of your day. However, there’s one time-consuming duty that can make every other job much less difficult to handle, and it’s the one people seem to avoid the most: getting rid of stuff.
Deciding what’s worth keeping or tossing can be stressful, as a lot of us struggle with feelings of guilt for “wasting money” or anxiety over potentially needing something, even if it’s been collecting dust for years. The easiest place to start decluttering the kitchen might be getting rid of duplicate items. People approach this in many ways, but it often helps to pull out all the kitchen items and sort them into piles before reorganizing them. Seeing everything laid out will help you quantify how many kitchen items there are and identify how many you need.
How to let go of duplicate kitchen items
A simple solution for decluttering the kitchen is having a “one-of-a-kind” policy in your household. Most houses have multiple pots and pans, but you don’t need more than one of each type. Owning one large cast-iron, stainless steel, or nonstick skillet is sufficient. Owning three large cast-iron skillets is excessive. You probably don’t need more than one blender, air fryer, toaster, or electric mixer, either. Get big equipment out of the way first.
When it comes to smaller items, it’s best to play the matching game. Do all the plastic containers, glass jars, and water bottles have lids? If not, they need to be discarded. Figure out how many forks and plates you need by setting a three-per-person limit on basic dinnerware. It’s okay to have a few extra cups, forks, and spoons, but everything else needs to be culled. This would look like a three-person household having no more than nine bowls and plates total.
Get rid of excess items through repurposing or recycling if eligible. Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity ReStore donation centers often accept small kitchen appliances (in good condition), so your clutter could end up helping someone in need. Repurpose an old Mason jar into a juicer or put it in the glass recycling bin. The good news about decluttering is that the less stuff there is in your kitchen, the less you need to worry about organizing and keeping it clean.
