Organize and Declutter Your Kitchen 7 Action Steps

Are you tired of looking at your cluttered kitchen and feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone! Many busy moms struggle to keep their kitchens organized and tidy. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Let’s begin with these organize and declutter your kitchen action steps to find our sanity. You’ll be glad you did!

The kitchen is the heart of the home and we want it to be a warm and welcoming space. If your kitchen is looking the opposite of that right now, don’t worry! This handy guide will give you action steps for organizing and decluttering your kitchen. 

Organize and Declutter Your Kitchen 7 Action Steps

Don’t declutter your kitchen just once or twice. Instead, focus on developing lasting habits that will keep it clean, tidy, and functional for years to come with the help of these seven simple action steps. In general, when learning how to declutter your kitchen, just remember everything needs a place.

If you’re anything like me, your kitchen is the busiest room in your house. There’s always something going on in there – whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or just trying to find a place for everything. If your kitchen is starting to feel cluttered and chaotic, it’s time to take action! Here are 7 steps you can take to declutter and organize your kitchen – so you can finally have the functional and beautiful space you’ve been dreaming of. Let’s get started!

Prep Work

  Before you begin organizing and decluttering your kitchen, prepare yourself both psychologically and physically for the task. What requirements do you have to keep something or donate it, or throw it away? If you set these parameters in advance, you will be less likely to doubt yourself in the middle of the process. Whether it’s your countertops, cabinets, or pantry, make sure you’re asking the right questions before tossing that item or donating it where it can go on to be used and appreciated.

You will also want to make sure you have boxes and trash bags ready to go before you start the project of decluttering.  A Sharpie or two will also be helpful to label your boxes and bags.

If you’re short on time (and who isn’t?) you might want to dedicate a few weekends to making a dent in your decluttering so you won’t become overwhelmed. Again, if you are mentally prepared to do the work in a few sessions rather than one entire day, it will make the task less daunting. 

Once you get started, you can even set a timer so you work for just a few hours at a time and then come back for the next session another day.

Whichever way and timeline you choose to work with, the important thing is to get started. So let’s do it!

Organize and Declutter Your Kitchen Action Steps

1. Choose a cabinet, corner, or space to start with. By limiting yourself to just that section, you’ll be less likely to get distracted by moving all around your kitchen trying to do it all at once. You might want to make a list of the sections and do the one you are especially dreading first. Or maybe do the easiest one first to have an immediate sense of satisfaction. Some areas to start with could be the fridge/freezer, the pantry, spice cabinet, etc. Pro tip: you can’t do it all at once. Just stick to your chosen area until it’s decluttered to your satisfaction before moving on to a different area.
   
2. Working within your chosen area, ask yourself if you’ve used that item within the last year. If the answer is no, strongly consider letting it go. By letting it go, choose whether it’s worthy of being donated (is it still in good shape or working order?) or is it something you could easily sell in a garage sale or online.  If you haven’t used it and don’t anticipate using it in the next 3 months, let it go.  I like to keep 2 boxes nearby – one marked Donate and one marked Trash. This way I can easily chuck the item in the appropriate box without having time to rethink my decision. Decluttering your kitchen and keeping it organized is much easier when you have fewer items.
   
3. When faced with a cabinet of multiple items of the same thing, ask yourself if you really need so many duplicates of similar items. For example, take the number of people in your household times 4, and that is the number of glasses you need. If you have more than that, consider donating them.  If you’re an empty nester or aren’t a big entertainer, you might not need so many place settings or serving dishes. Take a look at those items that you absolutely love and use on a daily basis and get rid of the rest. Let them go to a donation center, or a needy family and be happy that they’ll be of use in someone else’s life.
   
4.  Pots and pans, containers, and specialty items seem to multiply over the years. If you find yourself reaching for the same tools, again and again, those are your keepers. All the other pots, pans, utensils, and small appliances that are collecting dust can go to a new home or a donation center. If the items are old and broken, be sure to toss them. Pro Tip: Consider your family size when making your decisions. If your family is growing do you possibly need larger pots and pans? If kids are leaving the nest, could you downsize your pots and pans?
   
5. When you reach your junk drawer, be ruthless. Don’t just hang on to it because “someday” you might need it. Pull that trash bag right up to the drawer and relentlessly go through it. Rusty nails, broken tools, old batteries, useless string and weird items? Toss ’em. A lot of things find their way into my junk drawer because I just don’t want to put it away or I’m not sure where to stash it. Take the time to put items away where they belong if you can. When organizing and decluttering, I like to put all items that need to be put away in one box. At the end of my session, then I take that box and put everything away at one time. Otherwise, I can get easily distracted.
   
6. If you have old cookbooks, novelty mugs, threadbare kitchen towels, or old utensils that are scratched, broken, or bent, let them go. Your kitchen cabinets and drawers no longer need to be the graveyard for these old items. If you use your kitchen counter as a stock pile of papers, be sure to separate them into actionable sections – papers that need filed, thrown out, or otherwise dealt with.
   
7. Once you’ve decluttered, be sure and give those areas a fresh cleaning. You might want to put down new liners in the drawers and cabinets. Investing  in some organizers or baskets will maintain optimal viewing and spacing of your items. To keep our pan organized (especially when the littles help put things away) I use this pan organizer rack. Now that your kitchen is decluttered, be sure to check out my cleaning checklist to help you get started on the rest of your house, too!

Bonus Tip for Decluttering A Small Kitchen

If you have a small kitchen, it is even more important to use physical organizers or baskets. A wall mounted wire basket can give so much room and options. The key to making a small kitchen look and feel bigger is to keep your countertops clean. This means putting the toaster away after breakfast,  keeping papers off the counter, and not allowing things to pile up. Empty your dish rack as soon as you can. Having things put away will help your kitchen feel more welcome and inviting – even if it is small. You might need to put rarely used items in the garage or in a different closet, but just keep them off the counter. If you have the room or an area to the side of your kitchen you can get a budget-friendly kitchen island to make things look and feel bigger.

Once you have followed these organizing and decluttering your kitchen action steps, you can enjoy your kitchen and realize that it was time well spent. You’ll be amazed at how much lighter you feel having thinned out those items that were literally taking up space and that you really didn’t need. Your kitchen can truly be the heart of your home – a place where everyone feels comfortable and welcomed.