One person is my Declutter Group asked why the kitchen is such a difficult place to declutter. Things get moved from spot to spot, but not decluttered.
The kitchen is the hearth of the home, the nurturing spot. I think many of us have ideas how we will nurture our families and friends with homemade breads, fresh squeezed juice and delicious fancy meals. But, most of us never get to it.
So letting go in the kitchen means letting go of certain aspects you have of yourself in this nurturing role. Also it means letting go of certain plans and projects. You have to be willing to ask yourself if you have used this and if you will use it in the future. As you are putting the kitchen item into your decluttering pile you can think thoughts that make you feel free of another expectation you put upon yourself. You get to redefine what it means to be a good nurturer.
Another help if you can’t get rid of the items yet, is to take everything out of the kitchen you haven’t used in the past month and put them in a box in the basement. If you need one of the items you can go downstairs and get it. Then if items are still in the box after 3-12 months you can get rid of the whole box at once. Holiday items like the turkey roaster are best kept in storage, not in the kitchen anyway.
One drawer, one cabinet at a time. You can do it!
I have such a hard time w/ kitchen declutter because everything we are working on (things that need fixed, dh’s tools, mail) gets dumped there. Sometimes I can’t think of a better place for projects to go that we’re working on. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Holly,
The first thing we need to check is that they are all active projects. Will these things actually get fixed? Have the projects laid around more than a month?
A basement, attic, garage or home office would be better for these the tools and projects. Make a list of all the projects and post to the fridge, so you don’t forget about them. I have a feeling a lot are there as reminders. If the kitchen is the best work area for these, have only the project you are working on out and complete it.
As for the mail, you can have a little mail sorter right in the kitchen since that is where you are putting the mail anyway.
If the tools have to stay in the kitchen make sure they are in a tool box or a junk drawer with slots.
You are going to love your peaceful cooking area.
Thanks for sending me this post via Twitter . . . I am going to have to read your whole blog now! 😀
Thanks Genesis – hope it helped!