Organization in the kitchen is very important because it allows you to cook more efficiently. Subsequently, being able to be efficient in the kitchen, makes cooking more desirable. However, it is difficult to motivate yourself to cook when you cannot find your ingredients or when your pots are difficult to get to. I speak from experience. My kitchen was full of clutter and gave me anxiety. That is mostly because I held on to everything out of fear that I would not be able to replace it. Once I organized my kitchen, I found myself cooking more frequently.

Whether your kitchen is large or small, there is a way to keep it organized. Sometimes, you may need to declutter while other times you may need to replace your outdated and rusty items for new more functional ones. I will go over decluttering, organizing and replacing of outdated items. I hope that my tips help you have a more relaxed atmosphere in your kitchen.

Decluttering

The first step is to declutter as much as you possibly can. You will want to go through each cabinet and each drawer, as well as your pantry if you have one. When you declutter, you will ask yourself questions such as “Do I need this and will I use this?” You will also examine everything for rust, stains, and expiration dates. So, let us get started.

Dishes

If you are holding on to pots that are old and rusty, please let them go. You can go to your local Home Goods store and find very affordable replacements. Also, if you are holding on to mugs because they have a sentimental value, well it is time to explore how sentimental you really are. If the mug is from your grandmother, I get it so please keep it. However, if the mug is from some past emplloyer, then donate it or toss it. Moreover, if your mugs have that much sentimental value, take a few out and use them to store pens and pencils, that way you can at least make some space in your kitchen.

After you go through your mugs, look at your plates, soup bowls, and glass cups. Are you keeping too many sets of plates, or do you have only one or two plates left from the set you purchased ten years ago? The same goes for glass cups and soup bowls. If you have too many, it is time to let some go. Be realistic with yourself and do not let sentiment or fear of not being able to get new dishes cloud your judgment.

Next, look at all your plastic containers. Do you really need that many? If your plastic containers are missing lids, then they should meet the garbage can immediately. While on this topic, I advise you to get in the habit of throwing things away as they become damaged so that clutter doesn’t pile up. Lastly, look at your silverware and your knife set. How many forks do you really need to have for your household? Are you missing spoons from your set? Is that rust that you see on that old butter knife? These are all aspects to explore while going through your silverware.

Food

I would start with your spices because it is a small task, and it will remind you how old some of your food might be. Recently, I went through my spices and found nutmeg that was 2 years past expiration date. Thank goodness I don’t use nutmeg in my recipes much. After the spices, check the canned goods, as well as your pasta and rice. You will also need to check all those cereal boxes as well as those cookies you have been hiding for the emergency of comfort eating. Did they expire? Darn. It! Do not fear, you will get new ones.

Finally, open up your fridge and take everything out. Yes, you heard right, everything needs to come out. This makes the organizing process easier. Trust me. If that is too scary, then do one shelf at a time. Make sure you toss those old pickles and the low-fat yogurt way back in the fridge that you purchased last year. I find myself very frequently purchasing items and forgetting about them. That is mostly the case when something doesn’t taste that great in the first place. A good rule to follow here is that if you did not like it the first time you tried it, then chances are that it will not taste any better the next time. So, off into the garbage it goes.

Replacing

When it comes to replacing dishes, you have to ask yourself if it is really necessary. As indicated previously, if there is rust you should most definitely replace it. Also, if you had your knife set for the last ten years then you may want to replace that too. What you replace really depends on your preference. For instance, back in 2020 during the COVID 19 outbreak my husband and I finally had a moment to slow down and see what is functioning in our kitchen and what is not. It’s sad that it took a pandemic to slow us down, but that’s a topic for a different day.

The first thing that had to go was our microwave. That thing was eight years old and filthy. We also added a microwave cover that prevents food from splattering everywhere during the microwaving process. Next, we replaced our toaster that stopped working months ago. We also had to replace our pots and our soup bowls. Basically, we replaced what was absolutely necessary to avoid creating clutter.

When it comes to replacing food, you want to be careful and not over stock your kitchen. A good rule to follow is to purchase food that you plan on cooking for the week. Of course there are some things that you should always have in your kitchen such as rice, pasta, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper and other spices.

Organizing

Organization is really dependent on how much clutter you have. It is difficult to keep a kitchen organized if you are holding on to everything. That is why we had to declutter first. Now, we are going to focus on the fun part, which is making everything look organized. I will begin by saying that if you have a pantry, utilize it for storing appliances that you do not use consistently. For instance, if we had a pantry, I would put our waffle maker and our crockpot inside it. Next, you will remove any clutter from your counters such as oven mittens, old recipes, and yesterday’s dishes. Place your recipes in a recipe box and your mittens inside the stove drawer. Finally, we will work on getting more practical.

Storing Food

You can use mason jars to store anything from sugar to rice and pasta. I have started storing cereals, oatmeal, as well as nuts in different sized mason jars. This makes preparing morning oatmeal much faster. Using mason jars for storage also saves space and gives you an idea what you have in your house. To make things even more efficient, make sure to write expiration dates on masking tape and then place it on the bottom of the jars.

Mason jars can also be used for storing spices, cookies, and snacks. You can keep your mason jars in the pantry, or you can split them between your counter and your cabinets. This is dependent on your space availability. We do not have a actual pantry but we have purchased a small cabinet that can be utilized as a pantry. This is where I keep the cereal jars as well as our peanut butter and jams. The mason jars that could not fit anywhere else, I have placed towards the back of our countertop.

Storing Cleaning Supplies

I am sure you have a bunch of cleaning supplies that you cannot figure out what to do with. Well, I am utilizing the space under the sink for garbage bags and our cleaning supplies. If you have a cabinet under your bathroom sink, that is also a great space for cleaning supplies. And please remember if you have children, do baby proof those cabinets.

Storing Dishes

When you store your dishes, try to find ways to save space. For instance, stack your plates on top of one another or use vertical plate holders. Also, utilize organizing racks for your mugs and a corner counter shelf for additional plate storage. You can also save space by keeping your dishes sorted and not keeping cups, plates and mugs on the same shelf.

Conclusion

Now, that everything is nicely organized you can start making that dinner you have been planning for your friends and family. This could be a fun and relaxing experience since everything is where it is supposed to be. And remember, in order to keep it this way ensure that you dispose of things that you don’t find yourself reaching for much or things that are broken and old..