I remember the first time I decluttered my kitchen. It was in 1998, just after I read the book Totally Organized by Bonnie McCullough. I gathered everything in my cabinets and drawers and put the items in cardboard boxes in another room.  It seemed extreme at the time, but it was really just a mini packing party.  I brought items back into the kitchen as needed, and eventually purged what was not needed.  (And I likely kept some items I deemed unnecessary, to please my husband.)

Now we are a family of eight.  We have WAY MORE STUFF than we had back then.  I don’t do kitchen packing parties anymore.  We use the stuff we have. I’ve spent years tweaking the number of spatulas (and other kitchen tools) that will work best for our family. So this latest decluttering wasn’t difficult.

I went through each shelf or drawer, one at a time, and decided which items to keep. I cleaned as I went.  Some areas I put back exactly as they were and other areas I rearranged to fit our current lifestyle.  For example, I made one cabinet just for snacks.  We used to keep candy and a blender in that cabinet, and some snacks that Bobby eats almost daily were stored in the pantry.  This new arrangement is more convenient.

I purged plastic cups that BOBBY! (surprisingly) said we should get rid of.  And I also let go of a large electric mixer and oven mitts that belonged to Sarah.  She was willing to part with them after a couple of years of them sitting unused.  Sarah is the main baker in our family and she said that she prefers the hand mixer.

I felt really great when I finished with the kitchen declutter.  Just as it is in the girls’ room, there is truly a home for each item.  Now we just need to establish good habits of putting things back in their places. My plan is to attach this activity to meal times.  So, after we eat, we put the kitchen back in order.  And I am certain we are going to eat!