With your newly-cleared counter surfaces to inspire you, it is time to dig a little deeper, into those sometimes-scary-but-usually-hidden areas behind closed doors Yes, it is time to tackle the kitchen cupboards (and drawers.)
How ironic that the exact feature that makes them so useful—closed doors—is the feature that also makes them so prone to clutter and to collecting far more kitchen items than we can realistically use? The key to permanently ridding this zone of clutter will be a combination of refusing to store the unessential and vigilantly labeling everything.
Objective: Organized and functional kitchen cupboards and drawers that contain only the essentials and make necessary items easy to find.
Assess the current situation: How are your cupboards being used right now? What are your biggest clutter struggles in your kitchen cupboards? What would you like to change?
1. Remove and put away any items that belong in other rooms. If necessary, use a basket to collect items, then distribute them to their proper homes.
2. Clear and declutter. Working one drawer or cabinet at a time, clear and declutter each individual space.
For non-food cabinets/drawers:
Keep only the tools, dishes, or kitchen items that:
Do not keep items that:
For baking and seasoning cabinets/drawers:
Keep only the baking and seasoning items that:
Do not keep items that:
3. Sort items by type and use. Put like items together in a way that makes sense and creates the most functional use, such as baking supplies, pots and pans, cooking essentials, etc.
4. Return items to cabinets or drawers in an organized fashion, creating functional storage using containers or bins wherever necessary for smaller or perishable items.
5. Label everything! The more clearly a designated home for an item is labeled, the more likely it that it will be returned to its proper spot.
6. Toss unwanted items, or donate them to a local thrift shop if appropriate. Consider selling any expensive items that may be valuable on Craigslist or Facebook.
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Thanks so much, Ruth, for fixing whatever glitch kept some of us from getting your posts. I noticed that you had to stay up quite late (or get up really early) to do so! ;o) Thanks again, they all came through!