How to Declutter Your Kitchen (& Keep It That Way!)

Inside: Learn how to declutter your kitchen and keep it clutter-free, so that you can enjoy your space more!

Do you feel overwhelmed every time you step into your kitchen?

Does it seem like you can never find what you’re looking for in your cabinets and drawers?

Do you feel like you never have enough counter space – because they’re covered in stuff?

It might be time to declutter your kitchen.

Your kitchen is likely one of the rooms in your home that sees the most use – and a space that can very easily get overwhelmed with stuff. From small appliances that take up too much space to the kitchen drawers filled with all kinds of things, it’s easy to find yourself totally overwhelmed by the state of your space.

And when that happens? There’s only one solution.

Get rid of some of that stuff. 

Why Should I Declutter My Kitchen?

Struggling to find the counter space to make your meal? Not fun.

Wasting time searching for your can opener in a drawer too full of junk? No thanks.

Whether you love to cook or hate spending time making food, one thing’s for sure – you’re going to have a better time doing it if you’re working in a clean, organized space.

Clutter in the kitchen might seem like a minor inconvenience, but it can actually be a pretty big deal. Here are some reasons why you should declutter your kitchen.

Healthier

Cooking food in a cluttered, messy space can be unhygienic – and downright dangerous. If you’re digging through cluttered drawers of silverware in search of a sharp knife, that might not end well for you.

And when your pantry and fridge are so full of stuff that you don’t even know what you’ve got on hand, the odds are high that you’re hoarding some expired – and potentially hazardous – stuff. 

Bacteria and germs can thrive in kitchens. Setting aside time to declutter and clean your kitchen will help you to have a healthier home where you might actually enjoy cooking!

Less stress

Not only will decluttering your kitchen benefit your health and safety, but it can also have an impact on your mental wellbeing, too.

Whether or not you actively feel like clutter bothers you, it can affect you at the subconscious level. When we’re surrounded by clutter, we find ourselves more stressed, distracted, and forgetful – none of which are good qualities when you’re trying to make a meal with sharp tools and hot surfaces.

Decluttering your kitchen can help you to create a space you’re proud of and a place you actually enjoy being.

Increases efficiency

Storing fewer things can help increase the efficiency in your kitchen. With less stuff sitting out on the counters, you’ll have more space to work.

When your cabinets and drawers aren’t filled with stuff, it makes locating and accessing items much simpler. Cooking can be frustrating when you don’t have space to work or are having to spend too long looking for necessary items.

A simpler kitchen it a more efficient kitchen. You’re likely to find that you enjoy the food preparation process more when your kitchen is streamlined.

Saves money

A decluttered kitchen can also save you money. When you know what you have, you’re less likely to buy additional unecessary duplicate items.

Having a decluttered pantry and refrigerator can also help you to stop overbuying on groceries which also decreases food waste.

Another way a decluttered kitchen saves you money is by encouraging you to prepare food at home more often. If your kitchen doesn’t function well, it’s hard to get motivated to cook. When your space works better for you, you’re more likely to want to plan and prep meals at home.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Ready to roll up your sleeves and declutter your kitchen? While the process itself may not be your favorite way to spend an afternoon, you’ll be glad you did it.

By getting rid of the stuff that no longer serves you, breaking the task up into bite-size chunks, and taking steps to ensure you never find your kitchen cluttered again, you’ll be amazed to see just how many ways you benefit from that shift. 

1. Focus on a certain area first – then move on to the next one.

Instead of trying to declutter your whole kitchen at once, it’s a good idea to start small and take a more focused approach.

Pick a single space to start – a certain corner of the room, or a drawer or cabinet, or your pantry. Don’t move on until that space is totally decluttered and clean.

By starting small and staying focused until you’ve got that space organized, you’ll reward yourself early on in the decluttering process with a little win – which is a great way to get motivated.

By experiencing firsthand just how satisfying it can be to step back and admire your decluttered space, you’ll look forward to celebrating your next victory – and all of the little wins that follow it.

Don’t forget to include your refrigerator in the decluttering process. You may be surprised at the experiation dates of certain items (I’m talking to you, condiments) that you discover in there.

2. Say goodbye to stuff that belongs in the trash.

One thing you can do to make a big impact when decluttering your kitchen?

Get rid of stuff that’s past its prime.

If you’re holding onto chipped mugs or dishes, broken small appliances, scorched or peeling pots, holey oven mitts, plastic food storage bins without a lid, expired spices, and other stuff that just needs to go, what are you waiting for?

It’s time to say goodbye. Toss that stuff in the trash, replace the things that you need, and congratulate yourself on an easy kitchen decluttering victory. 

Items that are still in good condition that are no longer wanted can by sold or donated.

3. Reconsider your single-purpose appliances and tools.

Some kitchen appliances are great to keep around. Instant Pots can make a ton of different dishes, and so can slow cookers.

But do you really need the cake pop maker? The popcorn machine? The fondue set? 

As fun as they might be when you actually use them, they usually don’t make an appearance more than once or twice a year. Instead, they hang around in the back of a cabinet, collecting dust and taking up valuable space. 

You don’t have to get rid of all of your single-purpose appliances – but you should evaluate the ones you’ve got and really think about whether or not they’re adding value. If they aren’t? Sell them or donate them to someone who will use them. 

4. Get rid of (some) duplicates.

You should absolutely have more than one plate, or silverware set, or coffee mug.

But do you really need four whisks? Or two can openers? Or multiple sets of measuring spoons?

Over the years, many of us accumulate extra copies of kitchen stuff we already own for various reasons. We get them as gifts for birthdays, holidays, or big life milestones like weddings.

We buy them because we forget we already have them – or we tell ourselves it’s time to replace what we’ve got, without getting rid of the other thing.

This duplication just leads to clutter and too much stuff in your limited space. Keep your kitchen clutter-free by getting all those extra things out of your space and passing them along to someone else. You’ll be glad you did.

How to Keep Your Kitchen Decluttered

Now that you’ve done the work to declutter your kitchen, let’s look at how to keep it clutter-free.

1. Give everything a designated place.

Once you’ve cleared your kitchen of the things you no longer need, your next challenge is to find a way to organize the stuff you’re keeping.

And once you know where you want stuff to go? It’s important to make sure it stays there. 

Designating certain drawers or cabinets for certain items can be an easy and effective way to stay organized. Buying appropriate bins, baskets, and containers can be helpful when it comes to storing smaller stuff, and a label-maker can be really helpful when trying to keep your pantry in order.

2. Make cleaning your kitchen part of your daily routine.

Once you’ve successfully decluttered your kitchen and organized your remaining stuff, you’re going to want to keep it that way. And the easiest way to do that? Use decluttering habits do that it doesn’t get out of control again.

By spending five or ten minutes at the end of each day cleaning up any mess you’ve made and removing any unneeded clutter from the area, you’ll keep your space looking just as good as it did when you initially finished the job.

3. Bring the family on board

Unless you live alone, you likely are not the only person using the kitchen in your home. Get other family members on board with helping keep the kitchen clutter-free.

That means having a designated spot for mail and school papers to go that is not on your kitchen counters. It can also be a family event to clean up at the end of the day.

When you have more people helping, the work goes faster and everyone gets to share in the responsibility of keeping the home picked up. Choose age appropriate tasks for kids that can grow and change with them.

It may take a bit of effort to get everyone on board with kitchen clean up initially, but soon enough it will become a daily habit that you just do.

Declutter Your Kitchen and Enjoy the Results!

If you’ve decluttered your kitchen recently, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section. This was one area of my home where decluttering had a big impact on how much we used and enjoyed the space.

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