It’s that time of year to cut the clutter and I am starting in the Kitchen.
I feel like I went through a phase of feeling like I don’t actually have that much to keep track of in the kitchen. After watching this video from the minimal mom on YouTube, I was convicted. I have too much stuff in my tiny Kitchen.
In the video she says “Everything is harder in a cluttered kitchen. EVERYTHING is HARDER in a CLUTTERED KITCHEN.”
Which is exactly how I feel and I know my husband feels the same way. So let’s go.
First we gather our supplies, two cardboard boxes, and a trash bag. One box labeled for donations and the other for “Time Will Tell.” I’m using a clear plastic tote for my time will tell which I’ll explain a little bit later. A major takeaway is to set up your kitchen for your current season.
Dawn explains these categories in the video but essentially it is so much easier to have pre determined categories such as these when decluttering! You can even do this when your kitchen is a mess. (Which I totally have been doing this week!)
Two other great takeaways I got in the first 5 minutes of this video is when she says “Your clutter gives you clues.” and “It has to be just as easy to put something away as it is to leave it out.” This last one was game changing for me.
My example of this is, I know my husband always leaves the coffee grounds on the right side of the sink next to our water filter, I however had been storing them on top of the fridge since we have limited counter space. But since the grounds always end up over there, I created a coffee station for all our coffee grounds on that side of the sink. Its been two days and my husband has put them back every time. SERIOUSLY GAME CHANGING.
Next as you go through your kitchen and find items that you haven’t used in the past year, it is your clue that you can declutter it. So it goes into one of the three categories. Donate, Time Will Tell, or Trash. This is not a time to hem and haw just put it in one of the categories and move on to the next item.
Here is where I will explain my time will tell bin being plastic. I have been wanting to limit our dish inventory so I can keep up with them easier but still want to be able to serve guests when they come over. So I will store these in the basement and pull it out as needed. Also if I don’t miss them after a good few months, then I will gladly donate them when the time comes.
I also keep thinking about this with a scarcity mindset. Which I don’t think is a bad thing and here is why. If I know we have limited dishes and will need something later in the day I can quickly and easily wash those few items in the moment. Not letting the dishes pile up and overflow my sink or clutter my counter.
I may be doing the dishes more frequently but I’ll be limiting the build up time to make more of a mess. Plus we hand wash all our dishes because we don’t have a dishwasher so limiting the inventory should cut down on the dread of the chore because I know how little there (would/ should) be to wash.
Lastly when talking about food storage containers, being able to store them with the covers attached is ideal. I used to have the covers in this wire basket thinking it would be easier to stack them with out the covers but its just not. You don’t have to rifle through the bin for the lid because it is already attached.
Final reminder to honestly set your kitchen up for your current season. Everything is harder in a cluttered kitchen, make life easy on yourself and your family.
I hope you watched the video or at least felt inspired to declutter at least one item in your kitchen! I love this kind of stuff and can’t wait to tackle a few more areas in my home!
Curious about my design vision for this space? I share some small changes we will be making here! I love brainstorming design spaces and seeing what small tweaks can be made to let a space function and look better!
