For most families, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is a place where we can safely nourish our minds, bodies and souls during family meals and get-togethers.
Give the heart of the home some TLC
When you have a healthier heart, you have a healthier body. The same is true for the heart of the home: When you have a healthier kitchen, you have a healthier home and a healthier you.
A few kitchen-clutter hotspots
Food storage containers
Tupperware, Snapware and Rubbermade containers come in super handy. They are great for leftovers, school lunches and meal prep. However, they are also notorious for causing serious clutter in the kitchen. Cabinets and drawers that hold food storage containers are a big clutter hotspot. They can really clog up the energy in the heart of the home!
My number one tip for organizing food storage containers:
Purge! Only keep a minimal amount.
- If you always have tons of containers in your cabinets/drawers it probably means you aren’t really using them.
- If you are running out of food storage containers it probably means you need to clean out your refrigerator and wash the ones you have.
I have decluttered and organized quite a few kitchens and I have found that 90% of the time, people have way too many containers.
My most polarizing tip for organizing food storage containers:
Store the lids on the containers.
- When you do this, you never have to dig through cabinets looking for a lid.
- It takes just as much time to put the lid on the container as it does to randomly throw it in the cabinet or stack it in a pile of other lids.
- If a lid doesn’t have a matching container, throw it out.
- If a container doesn’t have a matching lid, throw it out.
Again, I have decluttered and organize a lot of kitchens and I have never found that storing the lids on food storage containers takes up too much space.
Gadgets
There are so many handy-dandy kitchen gadgets that promise to make life easier. It’s pretty tempting to buy them, and then find out you can do the same thing with a standard kitchen knife.
We tend to hang onto gadgets because “someday” they will come in handy. Take a look inside all your kitchen cabinets and drawers to find a gadget you can donate.
Cups, glasses and mugs
OK – this one really clogs up the heart of the home: too many cups and mugs. It’s so easy to accumulate cups and mugs.
We get them for free at sporting events when we buy a drink. Our friends love to give us cute mugs as gifts (My friends, who know me well, know to never give me a coffee mug as a gift). We have cups and glasses for certain uses: sippy cups for the kids, wine glasses for mama, travel mugs, etc.
It can get out of control fast. Just like your wardrobe, declutter this kitchen-clutter hotspot several times a year to keep it under control.
Countertops-clutter
I can speak from professional and personal experience here. This is a problem! Flat surfaces are clutter magnets. People drop things on kitchen countertops out of habit. You can break that cycle.
- Make homes for everything.
- Clear countertops, daily and put things in their homes.
- Tell all family members know where things “live” and remind them to clean up after themselves
- (I know – you already do this, but keep trying).
- Put a basket on your countertop to catch incoming mail and other paper clutter.
Morning & Evening Routines Can Clear Up Clutter
Have I mentioned that I used to struggle with clutter? I dreaded dishes, laundry and paperwork the most. That is, until I figured out smart daily routines and rituals! Have you ever paid attention to your daily routines? Maybe you could fine tune a few things to get a handle on some kitchen clutter
Morning routine examples
- Immediately wash your mug after having your morning coffee.
- Everyone puts their dirty dishes in the dishwasher after breakfast.
- Open up kitchen blinds/curtains as you enter the kitchen each morning.
- Quickly wipe down countertops before going to work or school.
Evening routine examples
- Unload the dishwasher every night.
- Clear all surface areas of clutter and wipe down countertops.
- Get the coffee ready to go for tomorrow morning.
- Turn out the lights and “close” the kitchen until tomorrow.
Your assignment:
- Focus on ONE kitchen hotspots today. What can you get rid of?
- Each day, focus on a new hotspot.
- Try establishing daily routines that will help keep daily kitchen clutter under control
Dealing with a few kitchen hotspots can simplify your life by eliminating lots of kitchen clutter. Less cups, mugs, glasses, gadgets and countertop clutter is going to free up space for healthy energy to flow.
Even though kitchen decluttering can be overwhelming, it is so worth the work. You can do this. Keep going!