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My kitchen is one of my MOST used rooms in my entire house. So it doesn’t surprise me that it also tends to be the one that always needs cleaning out and organizing… and it feels like it needs be be done on a fairly regular basis. New items come in, but the old or unused don’t get purged which leads to clutter and chaos.
Every 3-6 months I like to go through my entire kitchen: cupboards, drawers, pantry and fridge and clean them out. These are the basic steps I use for all the spaces:
- Empty out
- Purge
- Clean
- Replace
For each space, I first remove all the items. As I am emptying out, I check for expiration dates on food items throwing out anything expired or unused. Then, I give the space a thorough cleaning. Then put back the items I am keeping. Now organizing each space will look a little different as far as the items I use to corral the clutter, help my family find things easier, and keep things “in their spot”.
A few years ago, I completely redid my pantry and my spice cabinet. I added new shelves to the pantry and organized both spaces. I have all the details on the pantry makeover HERE.
This week I started my kitchen cleanout again, January always seems to be a popular time to simplify, declutter and organize. It gives us a fresh start for the new year. I started with my pantry and since I already had it organized from a couple of years ago it was just a matter of purging expired and unused items, wiping everything clean and putting it back in its place.
These are some of my favorite items I use to organize my pantry:
I also cleaned out my kitchen cupboards eliminating excess and unused dishes, cups, etc.
Next up was the drawers. I emptied them out, cleaned them and then put back only what I use. One of my tips is to only keep the items you know you use all the time in the drawers. I have two kitchen gadget drawers. In the main one, I keep the spatulas, spoons, measuring spoons and cups, etc, that I use almost daily. Then, I have a second gadget/utensil drawer for more less used items. If you have items that you use more seasonally, like a turkey baster, then I keep it in that second drawer also. Any items you have left out- the ones you can’t remember the last time you used it- and I place those in a bag or small box and put it in my garage. If I don’t go looking for the item in 6 months, I donate/discard it. This helps keep the excess items to a minimum and keeps your drawers more organized.
These are my go-to utensils and kitchen gadgets. I have them divided by drawer/space. Tap the image or link below the image for all the items.
This year I lined my kitchen drawers with fresh film. I used a heavier duty film, not just the standard contact paper. I have found regular contact paper doesn’t stick as well and get rips more easily. This is the film I used… it has a wood look and matches the interior of my newer cabinets that I used when I built my island.
I hope these tips have helped you as your clean out and organize the spaces in your kitchen.
I hope you’ll come back soon!
