Today we have a special treat with a guest post helping up in our Spring Cleaning! Mandi from Organizing Your Way shares helpful tips on how to declutter in the kitchen. Thanks Mandi!
I don’t know about you, but I love kitchen gadgets. That sounds funny coming from someone who is an admitted kitchen dunce, but it’s true. Even in high school and college, I had a hutch in my room with dishes, glasses and various kitchen gadgets for making smoothies, sandwiches, quesadillas, etc. for my friends. When I got married, I had a Pampered Chef bridal shower and I was a Pampered Chef consultant several years ago, so it’s no wonder my kitchen cabinets and drawers were bursting at the seams.
My natural inclination is to purchase every fancy tool or gadget that comes along because I can see the value in each. However, I’ve learned that space and organization play a valuable role in my kitchen as well, and before we moved into our new home two-and-a-half years ago, I made a commitment to clear out my kitchen clutter. At that time, I donated boxes and boxes full of gadgets and kitchen tools to the Salvation Army, and I’ve continued to scale back since then. Now, I can say pretty confidently that I use everything in my kitchen on a regular basis.
I’m excited to be here as part of Kimi’s Spring Cleaning Carnival. Today, I’m going to share four strategies for cleaning out your cabinets and drawers to make your kitchen less stressful and more functional:
- 1. Clear out the tools and gadgets you don’t use. As you go through each drawer and cabinet, consider whether you really use each item or if you’re just holding onto it because you think you’re going to use it one day. With the exception of seasonal items that you use annually, holding onto items that you haven’t used in six months or more simply adds to your clutter.
2. Look for double-duty items. Rather than filling your drawers with gadgets that only do one things, look for tools that have many purposes. For example, I use the thin end of my orange peeler to help loosen muffins from the muffin tin, and we use our pizza cutter to cut up french toast and other breakfast items for our girls. Because these items make my life easier in more than one way, I don’t feel guilty about the space they take up in my drawers.
3. Only buy new things if you have a space for them. Just as you should be considering your budget when purchasing new kitchen gadgets, also consider the space in your kitchen. If you don’t have room for the latest doodad, what will you get rid of to make room for it? Make these decisions ahead of time rather than just cramming new things into an already full cabinet.
4. Put things in temporary storage. If the idea of an uncluttered kitchen appeals to you but you’re not quite ready to get rid of your beloved kitchen collection, try this experiment. Pack up the items you haven’t used recently and write the date on the box. Store it in your attic or basement and in six months you will know without a doubt that you can live without the things in that box.
5. Do it again. Don’t just declutter your kitchen cabinets and drawers one time. Do it again every three to six months. By cleaning them out regularly, you’ll be able to clearly see which items you haven’t used since your last clean out. Decluttering also builds on itself, and the less cluttered your drawers are, the less you’ll be able to tolerate clutter, making it easier for you to make those hard decisions to let go of a tool or gadget.
What tools and gadgets are you holding onto in case you want to use them some day?
Mandi Ehman is a work-at-home mom to four spunky little girls. She believes that getting organized only lasts if you do it your way – to fit your needs, your preferences and your lifestyle – and she shares organizing and time management tips at Organizing Your Way.
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An empanada cutter! And I just can’t bring myself to let it go!
My small food processor-it’s really too small for anything so I never use it but I feel like I have to keep it because I don’t have a big one. ugh!
Jana
Ack! This just made me realize I have one of these too, and I haven’t used it in YEARS!
I keep it around for making baby food, but I haven’t actually used it for my last two. I’m only going to keep it for 2 more months since I have a 6mo starting solids and I’m back to making her food. After that, it’s gone!
Potato ricer. Had it for 8 years, and have never used it.
Katy, that potato rice will make the fluffiest mashed potatoes you could ever imagine. Use it!
Great post, Mandi. I’m hanging onto LOTS of stuff, but did just do a huge purge when we moved back in December. I use most of my tools…eventually. 🙂
My ravioli set… we’ve been on GAPS for two years… keep hoping we’ll make
it back to wheat and I’ll learn how to make sprouted spelt or wheat pasta…
and…
those cute little aluminum baked goods molds that I know aren’t safe but look so pretty in their box.
My fancy Pampered Chef can opener that I can’t figure out how to use
a bunch of almost new Tupperware that I never use- I decluttered all the extra pieces but feel bad ditching the sets.
Wait, don’t throw out that small food processor! If it has the oil drip holes in the top, it is perfect for making your own mayonaise! Sally Fallon’s cookbook, Nourishing Traditions has a wonderful recipe.
As to the other kitchen gadgets I rarely use, I love the idea of putting them in a box with a date, downstairs in my stock room (our storage basement). I will try this to winnow out the chaff in my drawers!
We have a small apartment, and have just moved overseas twice in the last 9 months, so I don’t have any unused utensils…in fact, I’ve been cooking without a chopping board and good knives for about a year (not ideal, but I still make amazing meals and can attest to the fact that it’s a good cook, not good equipment that counts.)
This week I finally bought a box grater after leaving ours behind in the move and I can’t believe I lasted so long without one! It’s such a multi-purpose item: I grate garlic on it so I don’t use a garlic crusher, I zest citrus, grate vegies to make salad, grate coconut to make milk, slice and grate cheeses….
The first thing I bought when we moved was a mortar and pestle; I can’t cook without it, making it an even higher priority than a chopping board.
The best thing about my grater and mortar and pestle is that they can do most of what I need to use a food processer for, but don’t use any electricity…good for my arm muscles and the environment! :p
At the risk of sounding ignorant, what’s a mortar and pestle?
A mortar is a strong bowl made of stone, and you use the pestle to crush and grind things in it. I use it to crush garlic and spices, make curry pastes and pesto, crush nuts and seeds, make spice blends, etc.
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Good advice! I will most definitely need to go through my junk/utenstil drawer to see what i usually use and what i haven’t laid hands on in forever.
I have a turbo-oven – a table-top convection oven. It’s from the Philippines (from my husband’s family). I think I will put it in the garage in a box & save it for when we have our kitchen renovation (when I’ll have to come up w/some unusual ways to cook).
I will also box up my bundt pan and angel food cake pan. Haven’t used them in years, but so reluctant to get rid of them. Sigh! But I don’t have problems getting rid of gadgets – like too many spatulas, etc.
Wow – I was motivated after posting this to look for the rack for the turbo oven (to hold up things so that air circulates underneath) – and found that people actually turbo ovens in the US now – Dr. Mercola & others. Last time I checked – over a year ago, you could only find stuff in the Philippines for these things. Maybe I’ll end up using it more than I think.
I have an ice cream maker. I bought it so I could just make “sherberts” from fresh fruit juices. Never realized that SUGAR is needed to get it cold enough! The juices by themselves just don’t get very firm at all. More like just VERY cold juice. So disappointed. I can get the same consistency in my Osterizer. After reading your post, think I’ll let it go bless someone else.
I like that – let it go bless someone else 🙂 I have a waffle maker/sandwich maker that I have kept because someone gave it to me for my wedding…never used it more than once.
Also an electric knife, which I despise and have NEVER used…kept for the same reason. I think they should go out with the yard sale items tomorrow 🙂
Thank you for this post! I am constantly fighting the battle of clutter in my kitchen because I love new things for my kitchen! This post inspired me to start a kitchen donation box (headed for the local Goodwill) – it currently holds a bundt pan that I never use, a small no-name food processor (I recieved a cuisnart for christmas – so much nicer!), and a few serving spoons that I can’t stand (nothing wrong with them – just not my cup of tea!). I love decluttering – need to go through the rest of my pans next!
Wow, I thought I was pretty decluttered until I read everyone’s posts and realized I too have unused items I’ve forgotten about. I have my Grandmother’s waffle iron that I just can’t seem to part with and I also have bundt and angel food pans that I have, just because. I also have quite a collection of glasses that I could probably part with since you can only drink out of so many glasses, right? Thanks Mandi!!
I have one of those little tomato top corers from Pampered Chef that I bought several years ago and never could “figure out”. The knife is far sharper!
That reminds me, I got a pizzelle maker as a gift one year and used it once (we’re gluten free now too!) I don’t even know where it is since we moved….