Declutter my kitchen with me

The second video of the year is a decluttering session to get you on your feet! I spent a few hours this week decluttering the kitchen, so have a nice and lengthy 14 minute for you to follow along if you’d like some encouragement to get decluttering as well.

It's important to keep your kitchen simple and decluttered, as it not only helps with creating a sense of calm in your home, but I find that it also helps me to save money and reduce waste. You'll see me taking inventory of many items in the kitchen throughout this video to figure out what I need to cook next so I can avoid unnecessary food spoilage. Find a summary of my decluttering tips below, and hope this video gets you going for the new year.

Kitchen organization tips

Below are a few of my favorite tips to keep my kitchen in order, and also with less waste - you can also check out my shop page here for all my kitchen essentials.

The 10-minute cleanup

Establish a quick win by cleaning up any messes from your previous meal - learning to do this regularly will also keep messes from piling up and surprising you later

Take inventory

Shop your pantry, fridge, and freezer, writing down on a list what you need to cook first or perhaps ingredients that you’ve forgotten

Meal prep around what’s already in inventory to help reduce food waste and save money

Label pantry jars

If you use jars to store bulk goods, make it a habit to label your jars with their names and purchase date

I use refillable whiteboard markers to label mason jar lids, but a permanent marker can be erased with rubbing alcohol

Use drawer dividers

Drawer dividers, utensil holders, or small boxes are a great way to keep things contained if you run into messy drawers

Be creative and potentially use what you have, from old cell phone boxes to small bowls

What I decluttered

Below is a summary of what I decluttered in my kitchen this time around, and why I decided to do so. Perhaps my list will inspire or help you determine what you can declutter next. I always recommend when decluttering, to do so in this order - sell, gift, donate, repurpose, recycle, trash.

Appliances or items we don’t need

There may be a chance that you’ve borrowed an appliance or kitchen tool that you need to return, otherwise you might have something you don’t frequently use

If you haven’t used something in the past year and don’t plan to for the upcoming few months, it may be best to declutter

Items to repurpose or fix

Small miscellaneous items that ought to be fixed should be taken care of - we happen to have a fork we need to bend back into shape

Expired items

An easy one to tackle and a no brainer are expired medications and spoiled fresh foods

Some dry or canned goods may be okay beyond the expiration date

Terracycle packaging and recyclables

If you participate in Terracycle recycling programs, consider doing an annual shipment of all your collected items

There may be other empty bottles or packaging to declutter in the kitchen