It’s difficult to deny that kitchens are a catch-all for clutter. Chances are, one of the following is collecting dust from underutilization: on sale utensils that were practically a steal from Target, the decorative serving bowls you were given for your birthday, or the cleaning supplies that seem to multiply every time you open the cabinet under the sink. Every now and then—ideally, once a year—you should give your kitchen a thorough evaluation and declutter. You don’t want to start the decluttering process when you’re looking for that specific knife or, even worse, have to move. Before you head over to your kitchen and become overwhelmed at the sight of it, take a deep breath. Read through our 10 kitchen decluttering hacks. Then pick a starting point and get to it.
10 Kitchen Decluttering Hacks
Put Away What Isn’t Used Daily
Think about what kitchen appliances you use daily. If you cook at all, there’s a good chance you keep your most used gadgets on your countertop. If you have coffee and a smoothie every morning, your coffee maker and blender take priority. Maybe you bake every weekend, so your stand mixer has earned it’s spot on the counter. If there’s something living on your counter that you don’t use every day, find a better home for it. The less you have on your countertop, the more tidy your kitchen will look.
Clear Off the Fridge
After a messy countertop, the next biggest culprit of a cluttered kitchen is fridge decorations. There’s that free magnet from your favorite restaurant, your children’s seven most recent coloring projects, etc. To tidy the fridge up, get rid of the tacky magnets that aren’t serving a purpose. Take a few of your children’s drawings, put them in frames, and hang them by the kitchen table. (You can always update them with their newest drawing every few weeks.) If this doesn’t work for you, and you want your fridge to have a little personality, choose one drawing at a time to display and keep a few magnets that hold good memories.
Sort Through the Utensil Drawers
These drawers become a type of junk drawer. You go through it after years to find you have 4 tongs, 6 mixing spoons, and 7 paring knives. Pull everything out of the drawer and take inventory. Keep only what you will realistically use, and donate the rest.
Purge Old “Under the Sink” Products
This kitchen cabinet is notorious for disorganization. It becomes the catch-all for cleaning products and piles of semi-usable scrubbing pads. Once you’ve sorted through and condensed the four 1/4 full bottles of the same cleaner and throw away the sponges collecting mold, the best solution for keeping it organized is to find a storage bin or shelf insert that work best for your cabinet size. There are multiple sizes and types you can find on Amazon, at Target or Walmart. If you can see what’s in the back of the cabinet, you’ll probably keep it more organized.
Keep Only Most Used Pots and Pans
You don’t know how it happened, but you’ve somehow ended up with 5 similar pots or pans that all serve the same function. Like the rest of the hacks on this list, go through them. Pick out your beloved, most used pots or pans, and donate the rest.
Get Rid of Some Plastic Containers
What’s your number one kitchen frustration? Is it putting away the mountains of plastic storage containers? Probably. And you’re not alone in that. Between bringing home leftovers from your in-laws to the Chinese takeout containers you want to reuse, your Tupperware drawer is all but bursting at the seams. Take everything out of the cabinet and sort it into sizes. Determine how many you actually utilize through out the week, and throw out or donate what’s leftover.
Decant Pantry Items
Pantry staples like bags of sugar, flour, and rice tend not to fit neatly on shelves and don’t utilize shelf space to its fullest potential. Make a list of things you always have in your pantry. Purchase clear, air tight containers, and fill them with your pantry staples. After you label the containers, place them neatly on the shelves next to each other. You’ll be floored by how organized and Pinterest-worthy your pantry looks.
Clean Out Your Spices
If you’ve lived outside of your parents house for more than a few years, there’s a good chance you have a few expired spices. They won’t necessarily make you sick, but you’ll have to use a lot more of that spice to achieve the flavor level the recipe calls for. Go through your spices, and throw away what’s expired. Once you’ve done that, find a spice organization system that will work best for you, whether that’s a wall mounted shelf, magnetic spice containers on the side of the fridge, or step-like shelves for your cabinet that will allow you to see which spices you have.
Designate a Mail Spot
Mail is another major clutter culprit. It too easily ends up in piles on the kitchen table or the countertop. Pick a spot for your mail to go—near the front door, on the buffet in the kitchen, etc.—and stick to it. Get a basket or letter organizer and use that to collect and sort your mail.
Use a Tray to Corral Items
If you have smaller items you use daily, like olive oil, salt, pepper, your favorite seasoning that goes on every meal, you can still keep those out. But use an appropriate size tray to corral those items. This gives you easy access to things you use every day without it looking cluttered.
Once you’ve finished decluttering like a pro with our kitchen decluttering hacks, you probably have a pile/bag/box of items you need to get rid of or donate. Before throwing them out or hauling them around to donation centers, give Moving U & Junk U a call. While we offer junk removal services, we try to donate everything we possibly can before responsibly recycling or junking altogether. We’ll provide white glove, no hassle service for you. We’ll make your junk disappear and take care of all the heavy lifting for you.
3 Steps For Quick & Easy Junk Removal:
Get Your Price
Our all inclusive pricing is volume based. We’ll give you an estimate for your junk removal ahead of time so you know what to expect on the day of your pick up.
Schedule Your Junk Removal
We know you probably want your kitchen clutter removed as soon as possible, so we’ll always try to accommodate with same or next day service. But even if you’re planning removal for a month from now, give us a call, text, or email. We’ll schedule your junk removal so you don’t have to worry about it.
Say Goodbye To Your Old Junk
Our friendly junk removal crew will give you a call half an hour before your arrival window to let you know what time you should expect them. Once they arrive, simply show them what you want removed. All of our junk removal crews are trained movers as well, so they can safely remove the items from your home.
Once your junk is removed, we’ll take care of either responsible disposal or bringing it to donation centers. Everything gets where it needs to go, and you don’t have to break your back to do it.
Bonus Step:
While we’re there, if you have anything else you need removed like a mattress, TV, old paint, appliance, treadmill, weight bench, or piano, we can haul that away with the weight bench as well.
When you’re ready to get an estimate and schedule your junk removal, give us a call or text at 484-301-2442 or email us at info@movinguandjunku.com.
One Response
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