Are you going to be decluttering your kitchen soon?
These 15 tips to help you declutter a kitchen will help you to decide what you need to keep, what you need to get rid of, and help you organize your kitchen with everything that’s left!
The most used room in the house
If you are in the midst of decluttering your home or are planning to declutter soon, it’s always a great idea to start with the kitchen in the early stages of your decluttering!
There are several reasons for this:
- The kitchen is an easy place to start decluttering because there are very few sentimental items stored here. This makes it easier to avoid deliberation and make quick decisions about whether items are worth keeping.
- Surveys reveal that the kitchen is the most used room in the house – regardless of whether you’re a foodie, a gourmet chef, or a casual cook. When you declutter your kitchen early in your decluttering project, you’ll be able to see and feel the benefits of decluttering right away.
- The kitchen is one of the two most important rooms when it comes to selling a house, so if you’re planning to put your house on the market soon, it’s a great idea to make sure you have a decluttered kitchen!
Free printable decluttering checklist
To help get your kitchen decluttering off to an awesome start, be sure to download and print the Ultimate Decluttering Checklist from the Jen Bradley|MOMs Free Printable Library!
You’ll find over 140 items you can declutter from your entire house. (23 of them are kitchen items to declutter ASAP!)
Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that I may make a small commission if you click through or purchase at no cost to you. For more information, click here.
Mental preparation for decluttering a kitchen
With any decluttering project, it’s important to do some mental preparation to ensure your success.
Before you start decluttering your kitchen, it’s a great idea to:
Visualize your decluttered kitchen. Picture how it will look and feel to prepare food or unload groceries when everything is properly organized and decluttered.
Plan to make quick decisions as you declutter. The longer you hold an object in your hands, the less likely you are to declutter it.
Adopt a decluttering mantra, such as “Less is more,” “Decorate with space,” or “Clutter is the enemy of clarity.”
Have an idea in advance of where you’ll donate your decluttered kitchen items
Physical preparation for decluttering a kitchen
Once you’ve done the mental preparation for decluttering your kitchen, it’s time to do some simple physical preparation.
First, gather 4 bins, boxes, bags, containers – any assortment will work!
Give them the following labels:
- trash
- donate
- rehome
- wait
The trash bin will be for anything that is outdated, expired, broken, chipped, and beyond repair.
Use the donate bin for all of the items you’ll be giving away. These will often be kitchen items that have duplicate functions, or that you simply don’t use enough to store.
The rehome bin is for anything you find in your kitchen that belongs elsewhere in your home. Toss these things in the rehome bin, and then return them to their proper room and place when you’re finished with your kitchen decluttering.
Lastly, the wait bin is for those items that you don’t use frequently, but for some reason you find yourself struggling to let go. Put these things in the wait bin and put it in a place you won’t see it regularly, such as the attic, under the bed, etc.
Set a reminder in your phone for six months’ time. Then check your wait box to see if there anything you missed during those six months – if not, you’re ready to declutter these items too!
To get a specific, step-by-step plan to help you declutter your entire house, check out the incredibly affordable course Decluttering Simplified! It will help you overcome the overwhelm that decluttering can bring AND provide you with the easiest system possible to get through your home one section at a time!
Kitchen Decluttering Action Steps
Once you’ve got your four bins, boxes or bags and have them labeled, it’s time to start decluttering!
First, completely empty the area you want to declutter (the refrigerator and the pantry are usually the best places to start).
Pull everything off the shelves and put them on the countertop.
Start by grabbing all the items you use and like and put them back where they belong.
Then eliminate anything that’s trash, including expired food, spices you never use, and teas and coffees you never drink.
Next, find the items you haven’t used in at least one year and either donate or trash them.
Then quickly sort through the remaining items and decided whether or not they are worth keeping, either putting them back where they belong or in one of the four bins.
By following the steps above, you’ll be able to eliminate the clutter in your kitchen. But if you’re looking to create a beautifully decluttered kitchen, keep on reading for specifics!
Decluttering Your Pantry
Many of the things you’ll declutter from your pantry will most likely end up in the trash. Don’t expect to donate a lot here.
Also, getting rid of the product packaging can do a LONG way in creating a beautiful and decluttering pantry.
Here are my favorite products to help you do create a visually stunning pantry:
Anchor Hocking Glass Cracker Jars
These beautiful jars are perfect for storing and displaying so many of your cooking and baking ingredients!
Made in the USA of extra strong glass (I bought all of mine 5 years ago!), they provide a healthy alternative to storing your food in plastic containers. Also, they allow you to see how much you have of any given ingredient at a glance, which makes creating your grocery list extra convenient! .
I use the 1-gallon size to store flours, oats, nuts, and more.
The 2-quart size jars are perfect for storing sugars, coconut, snacks, raisins, quinoa, chocolate chips, peanuts, and compact noodles such as egg or elbow noodles.
And the 16-ounce jars are ideal for storing things like baking soda and powder, cocoa powder, popcorn kernels, flax seed, and more.
Finally, this set of 96 customizable chalkboard labels and pen can really put the finishing touch on your decanting efforts!
BPA-Free Cereal Containers
These awesome cereal containers are a great way to replace those unsightly cardboard cereal boxes!
Made from BPA-free plastic, these cereal containers are lightweight enough for kids to handle and have an easy snap lip, which keeps your cereal much fresher than the unsealed plastic bag in the box.
This set also comes with 8 free chalkboard labels, a chalkboard marker and a set of measuring cups.
Spice Rack with 36 Glass Spice Jars
This spice rack fits perfectly in my pantry (and can even mount on a wall if needed), making it a great option to help you decluttering mismatched spice jars that take up valuable real estate in your cupboards.
The included funnel makes it really easy to decant your spice, and there are more preprinted labels (with several blanks too) than one person could ever need in a lifetime!
To keep your kitchen looking as decluttered as possible, be sure to store this spice rack anywhere other than the kitchen counter. The pantry or a kitchen cupboard would be ideal. For a smaller version with 24 glass jars and three tiers, click here!
Pantry storage bins
These storage bins are a lifesaver when it comes to decluttering your pantry!
They allow you easily group like items together AND keep your pantry shelves looking clean and decluttered over time.
For example, I like to keep all of my sandwich making stuff in one bin: peanut butter, almond butter, honey, and bread. (This makes lunch prep a breeze!)
In another bin, keep all of the oils, vinegars, and any other liquids that are shelf stable.
You could use another bin to store all of your tall, dry noodles or seldom used ingredients that you don’t want to put in glass jars.
Another bin could be a great place to store snacks like granola bars, chips, fruit leathers, etc.
Finally, you may want to spend some time focusing on the design and functionality of your pantry. To get help with this, be sure to check out the incredible services offered by Easy Closets! Their article with 5 tips to quickly organize your pantry is gold!
Additionally, Easy Closets can help you design your dream pantry – and then they’ll build the pieces and send them to you will detailed installation instructions. To get FREE shipping and 5% off, use code CLOSETS165.
Decluttering the Refrigerator and Freezer
Thankfully, decluttering the refrigerator is usually a pretty easy task because there aren’t going be a ton sentimental items involved!
Pull everything out, see what you need to throw away, and be sure to check expiration dates!
It can be easy to overlook the freezer, but it’s definitely worth it because things can easily be forgotten here!
Here are some of my favorite products for helping your refrigerator and freezer to have a lovely, decluttered appearance:
Egg organizer and storage
This egg organizer is an awesome way to get rid of the ugly styrofoam or paper egg cartons!
Plus, you’re able to quickly see how many eggs you have in the fridge with only a quick glance.
One little note: I loved my egg organizer, but didn’t realize that it’s not dishwasher safe. Oops. Sad me! I’m hoping to get a new one soon!
Fridge and freezer storage bins
These fridge and freezer bins are worth their weight in gold! They’re super versatile and can be stacked and arranged in a wide variety of ways.
If your fridge is short on drawer space, definitely consider this pack of BPA-free clear plastic bins to help declutter almost anything!
Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Savers
Not only do these awesome containers look so much better than plastic produce bags, they actually help extend the life of your produce!
You can keep anything from lettuce, kale, and spinach to strawberries and blueberries in these awesome storage bins!
And they’re BPA-free and dishwasher safe!
Fruit and vegetable savers
These cut fruit and vegetables savers are amazing at extending the life of your food, but they also contribute to the look of your decluttered and organized refrigerator!
Decluttering kitchen cabinets and drawers
It’s no secret that it’s very easy for lots of clutter to congregate in our kitchen cabinets and drawers.
As you declutter these items, be especially on the lookout for duplicate items that perform the same fucntion. Also, consider whether or not you really need ALL of those fancy gadgets.
Over time, I’ve come to learn that I can slice an apple just as quickly with a paring knife as I could with a drawer-cluttering apple slicer.
Here are some of my favorite products to help you declutter and organize your kitchen cabinets and drawers:
Bamboo drawer dividers
The drawer dividers are spring-loaded and are super easy to install. They can also work inside the majority of kitchen drawers.
They’re perfect for organizing your decluttered kitchen gadgets, mixing spoons, spatulas, measuring cups and more!
Bamboo utensil organizer
This utensil organizer is amazing because the sides collapse as needed to perfectly fit your drawer!
It is also pretty enough that I’ll pull it out of the drawer and set it on the counter when we have guests over for a serve-yourself dinner.
The bonus walnut-look magnetic strip for your knives is an awesome solution to getting that unsightly knife block off of your counter as well!
Pot lid organizer rack
This little organizer for pot lids is such an easy and inexpensive way to declutter and organize your kitchen cabinet for pots and pans!
Rev-a-Shelf double kitchen waste slide out
If it’s at all possible to dedicate one of your lower kitchen cabinets to this awesome kitchen trash bin slide out, it is 1000% worth it!
I absolutely love that our trash and recycling bins are extremely handy, but completely out of sight. Not having a trash can out and about to clutter up the kitchen is amazing.
Final thoughts about tips and tricks for decluttering a kitchen
Taking the time to declutter your kitchen is absolutely worth it! It’s often considered the heart of the home and by starting your decluttering efforts here, there’s a good chance decluttering your kitchen can carry over to decluttering other rooms in your home.
If you’re looking for an affordable and comprehensive home decluttering plan, be sure to check out the awesome online course, Decluttering Simplified!
And if you haven’t gotten your free Ultimate Decluttering Checklist, yet, click right here for access to the Jen Bradley|MOMs Free Printable Library!
Related articles about decluttering:
–Closet Decluttering: 11 Need-to-Know Tips for Success
–9 Amazing Tips to Help You Declutter with Kids
–11 Reasons Why It’s Hard to Purge Clothes (and How to Get Past Them!)
Which of these kitchen decluttering tips is your favorite?
