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Simple Joyful Food

Kitchen confidence made simple.

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De-cluttering your kitchen cabinets.

January 6, 2014 14 Comments
how to declutter your kitchen cabinets (c)nwafoodie

Organize.

Reorganize.

Clean out.

Purge.

De-clutter.

Simplify.

Let’s look at these action words and apply them to our kitchens, shall we?

Organizing, reorganizing, and cleaning out our kitchen cabinets sounds like a valiant activity to put on your to-do list, but is it ultimately as beneficial as you might think? Without purging unused items or truly de-cluttering, all we may be doing is shuffling stuff around.  In time, that stuff creeps back on our to-do list and the routine starts all over again.

I believe to truly simplify our kitchens and improve efficiencies is to de-clutter.

Be ruthless.

 

Dennis and I started on the ruthless de-cluttering path several years ago by following the advice of Elaine St. James and her Simplify your Life series of books.  Many of her tips resonated with us over the years.  I say “over the years” because we have found that de-cluttering takes time to figure out what you really need to make youhappy efficient.

Here are several tips we learned to get you started on your kitchen cabinet de-cluttering journey.

1.

Start with coffee mugs.  Scratch that, start with insulated coffee mugs that you take on the road.  Do you have a lot of these?  How often did you use them last year?  How many did you use at one time?  Okay, now be ruthless and put the extras you no longer need in the give-away box.  I started with keeping two and now we have none.

2.

Let’s go back to the coffee mugs.  Mugs can be tricky due to their sentimentality.  I get it.  Now, get over it.  That being said, I still have a couple in the cupboards that are ridiculous but I cannot bear to part with them.

3.

Mismatched glasses are next.  How many do you have?  Have many should you have?  Think through it.  If it is time for you to purchase a matching set and donate your old ones, do it.  There is something awesome about opening a clean, uncluttered, edited, and matching cabinet.

4.

Plates and bowls.  No, we don’t have to be all boring-like and have matchy matchy.  Try this.  Take everything out of your plates and bowl cupboard but your absolutely essentials.  Set the others aside in the garage or closet.  Try living with just the minimal set for a week.  Now, for two weeks. A month.  See what happens and you may determine for yourself that less is truly more.

5.

Reassess.  How are you feeling about de-cluttering your mug, glasses, bowls, and plates?  Open those newly de-cluttered cabinets and admire what you see.  Open another cabinet that is flowing to the gills.  How does that cabinet make you feel?  Compare the two.  Which one inspires you to use what you have?

Being ruthless is gutsy.

Be gutsy, my friends.

You can do it!

Eat well, my friends. Eat well.

Lyndi

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  1. Beth says

    January 6, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    Good post Lyndi, you have inspired me to declutter my kitchen!

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 6, 2014 at 7:56 pm

      Awesome, Beth!

      One declutter at a time!

      Reply
  2. Diane Roark says

    January 7, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    I love getting rid of clutter! Great job!
    Blessings,
    Diane Roark
    wwwr.recipesforourdailybread.com

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 7, 2014 at 3:12 pm

      Thanks Diane! It is such a good feeling to not have stuff weighing us down.

      Reply
  3. Karen O'Lone-Hahn says

    January 7, 2014 at 4:18 pm

    I am glad my handmade poppy bowl that your sister gave you survived the cut! :0)

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 7, 2014 at 4:44 pm

      Indeed it did! Besides being so functional, it is a beauty!!

      Reply
  4. Ashley Ederington says

    January 7, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    This scares me, but it needs to be done in my kitchen. I found a baby bottle (my youngest is 4) in the back corner of one cabinet the other day! I'm going to start super small, but I have to do this…

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 7, 2014 at 7:10 pm

      You, my friend, can do it! I read your blog and whatever you put your mind to, you achieve it.

      Baby steps. One at a time!

      You can do it!!

      Reply
  5. Bethany Stephens says

    January 7, 2014 at 10:47 pm

    Love this post, friend! I've been on a big purge fest myself, but not in the kitchen – I did that last year. 🙂 All great tips – and coffee mugs are definitely the worst offenders! 🙂

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 7, 2014 at 11:02 pm

      What is it about coffee mugs that make it so hard to get rid of them?!

      Reply
  6. Debbie Arnold says

    January 9, 2014 at 3:34 am

    Amen!! Just don't throw away mine:) xoxoxox

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 9, 2014 at 3:11 pm

      Never throw away (unless it's junk food) — bequeath it to others!

      Reply
  7. Jenny Marrs says

    January 30, 2014 at 8:44 pm

    I'm going through a process of cleaning out and de-cluttering the whole house one room at a time. I'm being ruthless too:) love it! Feels so good to get rid of all this extra STUFF that I don't need!! Great tips, friend!

    Reply
    • lyndi says

      January 31, 2014 at 2:28 pm

      You're nesting! (for two new reasons!)

      Miss you.

      Reply

welcome

author image of thejoyofeatingwell blogHi, I’m Lyndi Fultz and I have a passion for the simple.

I believe that planning, prepping, and cooking meals can be a joy and not a daily dreaded chore.

If you are overwhelmed and feeling guilty that you’re not eating better and are tired of deciding what to cook, join me as I share how to capture kitchen joy by focusing on simplicity.

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Slowing down to savor food and life. And above all, have a good time.

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“Just like becoming an expert in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurious. Then you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences.” – Julia Child

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