How to Declutter Your Kitchen – Part I

January 28, 2009 · Posted in Declutter Daily

Once you add the Declutter Daily Tweak (15 minutes a day of decluttering) to your routine, sooner or later you’ll be ready to start decluttering your kitchen. It’s best to declutter one room at at time. I suggest starting with the kitchen, which is often the least cluttered room.

Imagine what it will be like when your kitchen is free of clutter. A decluttered kitchen is remarkably easy to keep clean and tidy. You will know what food you have on hand, and you will know that it is all fresh. You won’t worry whether the clutter is hiding any old or spilled food that could be attracting bugs or rodents. With your work spaces cleared and a kitchen stocked with only the fresh food that you need, it’s easy to prepare and cook meals, which is better for your budget and for your health.

The Basics

If you haven’t read the article 7 Steps to Declutter Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day take some time to read it now. This is the basic set of instructions for decluttering your home. Sticking to 15 minutes a day will eliminate clutter surprisingly fast, but without the burnout that we experience when we crisis clean.

Make sure to tackle only what you can manage in 15 minutes: clearing out the fridge, clearing off the kitchen table or a counter or two, clearing out a couple of drawers or a cabinet. You don’t want to find yourself with a bunch of stuff to put back away when your 15 minutes of decluttering is through.

Don’t focus on cleaning until the kitchen is fully decluttered. It’s fine to sweep up the dust bunnies quickly or wipe down a shelf you have just cleared, but don’t get wrapped up in perfectionistic deep cleaning. You can do a thorough clean when the clutter is gone.

Decluttering the Food

The goal of decluttering the food is to get rid of any food that you are not confident is fresh and that you are not certain you will use. This is the time to get rid of the “maybe” stuff. Please don’t hang on to any food you have any doubts about at this point — you deserve food that is fresh and good.

I know it’s hard for us to “waste” food, especially if we have ever experienced financial hardship in our lives. But trust that you are making room for health and abundance to enter your life by getting rid of the clutter; food that is no longer fresh is simply clutter that you need to clear out to make room for a better life.

Spices/condiments/grains etc. Toss any dry goods that you have had for more than 9 months or a year at most. Make a shopping list to replace only what you truly use. If you can’t remember when you bought something, toss it. If you can’t remember when you last used an ingredient, don’t put it on your replacement list.

Freezer. Get rid of any food that has been in the freezer more than six months. Get rid of anything in your freezer that is a non-food item. (If you have room in the freezer after you declutter, consider keeping your dried flours, rice, grains and beans in the freezer. They stay fresh for much longer and you don’t have to worry about pests.)

Fridge. If you have any jams, pickles, etc. that have been open for more than three months, toss them.

Canned goods. Get rid of anything that is more than a couple of years old. If you have canned goods that are less than two years old and you haven’t used them because you don’t like or don’t need the food, put these into a bag and put them by the front door to drop off at the food bank (or pass it along to a friend).

Coming up in Part II: Decluttering your kitchen tools, appliances, pots and pans etc.

Read all the decluttering posts here.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/puck90/

Comments

4 Responses to “How to Declutter Your Kitchen – Part I”

Mary aka pandapicks Hofstetter on January 28th, 2009 10:21 pm

To clean fridge……do a shelf a day. Take everything off the shelf, deep clean the area with vinegar water. Still feel inspired, do a shelf. One reason we don’t like to clean the fridge is because it seems like such a big task. By doing a shelf at a time we no longer can feel overwhelmed.

As for throwing food away. Foods in vinegar have a longer shelf life so if closed I don’t dispose of foods like mustard, pickles, etc. Any leftover not eaten in 3 days should go, throw or freeze . Freezer rotate food from top to bottom/ front to back so foods do not get buried. It helps to put names and dates on foods by using tape and magic marker. Foods tend to get buried when we are not sure of the contents.

The freezer and fridge are natural places to hoard because it is behind doors. Open up, tear out, clean and reshelf often to avoid buying what you already have, use up what you have and keep the area a healthy storing place. The more often you clean the fridge the more you will remember what is in there.
Catherine MacDonald on January 29th, 2009 6:10 am

Great tips, Mary Thanks!
Andrea Amador on February 7th, 2009 12:00 pm

Hi Catherine,

I just popped over to your site after you decided to follow me on Twitter. I’m thrilled to learn of the work you do. In reading this post, you’ve inspired me to get downstairs and clean my fridge. It’s been about two weeks and with the hustle and bustle in the house, my writing, my husband’s work, and the two kids’, there’s quite a food pile up.

You’ve reminded me of something so important. For years I used to buy the big size of everything, and since I’ve become such a picky eater, I rarely eat the same type of foods that I used to. You mentioned pickles not having a shelf life beyond three months. I was just thinking if I bought the really small jar of pickles that would be just enough to last for a period of three months. Because I don’t eat pickles anymore to satisfy a craving or do silly things like that if that is not the food I’m wanting.

I like your style, Catherine and I’d like to mention your resources in my upcoming book, “Lovin’ the Skin You’re In” I see that you are an amazing role model teaching women to slowly and gently change their lives and become more conscious of loving and respecting themselves first and foremost.

Thank you for the inspiration.

Warmest regards,

Andrea aka The Juicy Woman
Catherine MacDonald on February 7th, 2009 4:20 pm

Andrea, thank you so much for your comment I love your site, http://www.TheJuicyWoman.com! Your wonderful voice showing women that they are beautiful and can feel beautiful at any size is a treasure!