Go stand in your kitchen for a minute.

 

What do you see in there?

 

Is it a clean and organized haven for cooking and nothing else or is it a dumping ground for a bunch of random family items?

 

Because the kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home, it is easy for it to become cluttered. From extra food, to junk mail, to random kitchenware, to grocery bags, and beyond, it’s easy for this clutter to build up fast.

Though it may seem like a lot of work to de-clutter your kitchen, it’s 100% worth it when you’re done. Here are some of the top five tips on how to de-clutter your kitchen:

 

 

  1. Work In Small Steps

Most of us don’t have time to dedicate an entire day to de-cluttering our kitchens. If you haven’t done it in years, it is likely that it’ll take more than a few hours to do properly. We recommend breaking this large task up into multiple days if necessary. For example, tell yourself that you’re going to do an hour a day until you’re all done.

This will make the de-cluttering process far less overwhelming.

 

 

2. Narrow Your Focus

The first mistake most people make when de-cluttering is attacking the process at random. We’ve found that the best way to approach the de-cluttering process is by narrowing your focus to one area of your kitchen at a time.

Maybe start with your fridge. Is your fridge okay? Maybe start with your pantry. It’s up to you. If you keep your focus small, you’ll be able to assess and analyze every nook and cranny to make sure that you are thoroughly cleaning everything.

 

 

3. Be Honest With Yourself

If there is an item that you don’t use or you probably won’t ever use, it’s probably a good idea to throw it in the discard pile. Being honest and realistic with your lifestyle makes it easier to let things go. This also goes for those who have multiples of the same item. Do you have three different juicers? Do you really need 16 wine glasses in your two person apartment?

We get that letting things go can be hard, especially if you paid a lot for something or have dreams of using it down the line. If you want to de-clutter your space, you’ll need to be okay with that. The good news is, you don’t have to throw those items away if they’re in good condition. Try having a garage sale or throwing some of your stuff on Craigslist.

 

 

4. Get Rid Of Non-Kitchen Items

It’s likely that you have a ton of non-kitchen items taking up space in your kitchen. Items like phone chargers, magazines, junk mail, home cleaning supplies, etc., tend to build up. Everyone is different too. If you have a large family, you probably know that everyone loves to dump all of their belongings on the kitchen counters.

Your best bet is to take a box, go through kitchen, and put every non-kitchen item in that box. You can then decide later where everything is going to go or give it to another family member to focus on that task while you finish the kitchen.

 

 

5. Keep It Shining

So now you’ve analyzed your space, gotten rid of unnecessary items, and hopefully cleaned and organized your kitchen completely. What’s next? Well, keeping it that way of course! Set your kitchen up for solid organization and you’ll be good to go!

If you have a bunch of cookbooks in your kitchen, get yourself a small wall shelf to put them on to save some counter space. If you leave your mail in the kitchen, get a small basket to leave everything in. You know what goes on in your kitchen more than anyone. Be prepared by making space for your day-to-day.

 

 

Conclusion

Hopefully you’re now inspired to revamp your kitchen to the wonderful place it once was. Take as much advantage as you can of your cabinets to store things away. If you don’t have cabinets, maybe get yourself a bar cart for added space.

Get rid of some unnecessary cleaning chemicals, toss those ancient party supplies, and organize that unruly drawer of silverware. A clean kitchen will motivate you to cook and spend more time there. Have you ever de-cluttered your kitchen before? How was your experience? Any tips you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!