Decluttering Your Kitchen

A clean and clutter-free kitchen is really what everyone hopes to achieve. You don’t want to be shuffling items around and struggling to find items while you’re cooking. And a clutter free space is pretty impressive to guests when they visit. Let's take a look at what we can do to declutter our kitchens.

Create efficient storage spaces

Think practical not pretty. With all the Instagram kitchen images available it is easy to get caught up in putting pantry items into fashionable jars which aren’t particularly space efficient. Instead, think practically, either keeping your products in their packets and investing in baskets to group items together or, if you prefer the decanting route, buying square jars for more efficient use of space.

Thinking practically is also about making your regular kitchen activities easier, and placing your lesser-used items in the less accessible storage areas. As an example, make sure you place heavy items somewhere low down, otherwise you'll never bother getting it out again. Items that get the most usage are better placed at eye level. It’s always handy to have some level of organisation when it comes to stuff like canned goods or packaged food. Invest in some shelf dividers or topless containers. Keeps labels on containers so everything is identifiable and also looks pleasing to the eye.

The pantry can often become overloaded with food items that are out of date or half opened. We suggest disposing of these items before rearranging. Make use of empty vertical space inside the pantry by using stackable containers with labels, or alternatively installing extra shelving.

Make use of the space behind doors or on the sides of the cupboards and install hooks or racks to house other items. You could also apply the same idea to the space underneath cupboards by hanging mugs or pots and pans. Installing a knife rack or utensils holder near the stove top keeps items within easy reach and also opens up some cupboard space for other items.

Don’t forget about the empty space above the fridge or on top of the cupboards. Some ideas include putting in a wine rack or storing seasonal gear, like appliances, party items or baking trays and other whiteware.
If there is space available, a breakfast table would come in handy to store cookbooks, cutting boards and other related kitchen gear.

Underneath the kitchen sink is normally where you would find cleaning gear and a rubbish bin. I would suggest getting some appropriate shelving underneath and make use of the vertical space.

Easy items to remove from your kitchen to help declutter

Cookbooks - Cookbooks can take up a lot of space, and we often only use one or two recipes from them. Consider setting up an iPad and taking photos of your favourite recipes to easily access from the iPad. There is also now and endless resource of online recipes now to create a digital collection. If some of your cookbooks are sentimental consider storing them with other sentimental items either in a your homes storage space, or you can consider a small self storage unit.

Bakingware - Clear out extra, old, or unused cookie sheets, pie pans, muffin tins.

Mixing Bowls - Another easy to accumulate item.

Crockery & Cutlery - Most people have many more mugs, plates, spoons and so on than they actually need. All you need in your kitchen is enough for a daily meal with the family, plus a couple of spares in case of breakage or visitors. For the rare occasions where you are throwing a large party, you can always go for a recyclable disposable options. Or, if it is a more formal affair, there are excellent hospitality rental services available for reasonable prices.

Small Kitchen Appliances - If you don’t use it, or the task it performs can be done by another appliance, donate or sell it.

Cleaning Supplies - Take stock of your cleaning supplies and toss those that you no longer use.  If you have multiple bottles with the same product, combine them.  Place those bottles that are close to empty towards the front of your stash so you will use them up first.

Ask yourself these questions to help declutter

Do I use this?  You either use it or you don’t.  And this means regularly. The question is not “Will I possibly use this one day?”.
Is this item extra?  Evaluate what you need and use on a regular basis.  Remember that you can always borrow items from friends or family for those one time events.  Choose your favourites and donate the extras!
Would I buy this today?  I find that this is a really helpful questions when looking at decorative items.  Ask yourself if you still love it and if it is still your style.  Is it adding beauty or function to the space or is it just adding to the clutter?
Does this help to make my life easier?  There may be some items that you don’t really need, but you do use regularly and they help to simplify things. You can definitely enjoy extra items – just make sure they are useful to you.

Some items mentioned above can simply be thrown away. Some may still need to be stored away for special occasions. Our small self storage units in Auckland or Wellington are and ideal cost effective method to declutter spaces like your kitchen.