While walking into my kitchen the other day, I realized that I had not had the time to declutter and open up the area a bit. In 2014, we remodeled our kitchen, and back then, I purged and cleared out lots of stuff. But, since then, the kitchen has accumulated new stuff that I may or may not have used over the years. And, if you are like me, this post was a way for me to get up and take action. I hope these signs do the same for you.
14 Signs the Kitchen needs Decluttering Right Now
- You go to your command station to add some paperwork and realize you have to start another pile somewhere else because piles and piles of paper cover the counter.
- While putting away your favorite spatula, you open the utensil drawer and have to figure out how to squeeze in this spatula in the drawer.
- When you open the cabinet that holds your storage containers, the lids shower you.
- You open your herb and spice area, and you have a container of spices that expired in June 2010.
- Your junk drawer bins are overflowing with stuff, and the things fall from one container to the next, which makes the drawer a true "Junk Drawer."
- The large cabinet you have is filled with items you haven't used in over 3 years.
- The pantry inside shows items that have "used by" dates that are more than one year old.
- Your silverware drawer has more than three sets of silverware in it, and you only use one set at a time.
- The supplies for baking are filling up the cabinet so much that when you open it, stuff falls out.
- Your refrigerator is filled with stuff, so do not drop anything off the shelf; you open the door slowly.
- The amount of space you have for specialty glasses (wine, margarita, many beer steins, etc...) has now filled a complete cabinet. And they have several layers of dust on them.
- Under the sink stores, piles of cleaning supplies were never used throughout the years.
- The snack drawer has snacks that are over 3 months after their expiration date.
- The decorative glass door cabinet has several items in it that it doesn't look pretty any longer.
Are any of these signs resonating with you when you walk into your kitchen? If so, you should start going through them. Doing these tasks this time of year BEFORE the holidays will free up space and help you prep for the holiday season. Do you see any additional signs that remind you to declutter your kitchen? Please share your signs your kitchen needs decluttering below to continue the conversion.
Visit our posts about decluttering tips below.
The Best Decluttering Advice You Were Ever Told
Decluttering Tasks by Season to Keep Your Home Mess-Free
Need more tips on organizing your kitchen, please visit my list of posts on the topic here.
Hazel Thornton
As I always say, "Don't let your containers overflow!" That's always a good sign that it's time to declutter. And "containers" include cupboards, drawers, and counter space too. You've reminded me of an internet meme that says: "We keep a potato masher in a drawer because sometimes it's fun to not be able to open that drawer."
But also, you made me stop and wonder what's in the cupboard above my refrigerator....?
Sabrina Quairoli
That tends to be the cabinet we all forget about decluttering, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Hazel. =)
Seana Turner
I feel like the kitchen is the prime "accumulating" room in the house, so it definitely needs to be purged over and over. I love that you motivated yourself by writing a post! Whatever gets you going, right? I hate when drawers don't open or items are piled on top of each other in a drawer. I'm lucky that I have a decent number of drawers in my kitchen, but when they get tight, I purge. I really need to do my pantry. Sometimes it works for me to do one drawer or shelf a day.
Linda Samuels
Is that a photo of your kitchen? I love the colors! It's such an inviting space. What a great list of indicators that it might be time for some kitchen decluttering. One of the important ideas here that you illustrated is that even if we have organized at one point in time, we might need to review our systems down the road. Because as you said, we collect new things or end up with stuff that we no longer use that takes up valuable space. So using some of the indicators you shared, like overflowing cabinets with nothing in them that you use, finding expired food and spices, or being "showered" by storage container lids upon opening a cabinet, all point to the "time to declutter" and review sign. Great post!