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I’m a firm believer in decluttering!
I’m really passionate about it and can see benefits in having an uncluttered workspace and home life.
Decluttering is hard for some and it’s because we are so emotionally wrapped up in our stuff. My Dad still has boxes of Christmas and Birthday cards I’ve made him as a child (bless him) and I have unused kitchen items my grandmother gave me before she died.
I get it!
It’s really hard to let go, and we will come up with a range of excuses and explanations, but unless they are family heirlooms, it’s time to be practical.
Why should we bother with decluttering?
Decluttering reduces stress in your life because it can save you from overwhelm. Decluttering rooms in the house gives you the space to easily access your things which increases your efficiency to get things done.
When decluttering your home, I’d suggest going from room to room so today let’s focus purely on the kitchen.
Most people think that they need a bigger kitchen. That’s because in today’s world, it’s easy to be seduced into buy everything from pasta makers to huge espresso machines. What these oversized appliances do is take up all our bench space and invade our pantry storage.
Whether you have a large kitchen or a kitchen nook, you need to find the balance between the type of cook you are and the gadgets you’ll need. That way you will move easily around the kitchen and be able to instantly find what you are looking for.
If your most common frustration is inadequate storage, here are my top tips for improving any kitchen’s storage situation.
TIP #1 The first step is to ask yourself what type of cook you are? How do you use your kitchen? Are you a domestic goddess or are you a simple meals kinda gal? There’s nothing wrong if you aspire to hosting dinner parties, but if your presently cooking the same meals for a family of four, there’s no point in having multiple dinner sets lying neglected in the cupboards.
Where do you plan to prepare your food? Are you the only one? Being honest will help in the process of clearing space on your countertops so your kitchen is more user friendly.
TIP #2 We love our appliances and can get hooked on juicers, blenders, pasta makers, rice cookers food processors and slow cookers. Besides the toaster and kettle think about which of the above items you have are only being used occasionally (anything that has not been used in over 12 months is a good indicator) and either move them away to the laundry, garage or sell them on gumtree.
TIP #3 Sort out all your draws. What do you have multiple’s of? Check your kitchen for extra utensils (I found 5 spatulas), same sized pots, extra Tupperware, extra plastic bags, unused wedding presents (that’s me again), and just any extra multiples of anything.
TIP #4 Can you create additional storage like adding a cabinet, shelves, racks or hooks? For example can you put up hanging hooks to store pots or hooks under the cabinets to hang coffee mugs or fix a magnetic knife holder to your wall. Think about what you want out on display and what you want to keep hidden.
TIP #5 Purchase some kitchen inside drawer organisers. These are great and stop all your little gismos like the can opener, tiny grater or veggie peeler from being jumbled together and difficult to spot.
TIP# 6 If you have a large kitchen, section parts of the kitchen like work stations for each cooking requirement e.g. chopping board & knives go together as cooking pots with stirring spoons.
TIP #7 Take some time to work out your pantry storage. First go through all the items and throw out any out of date products etc. Rather than letting your pantry look like a bomb went off, put cans in one area, spices in another, breakfast cereals in another area and all baking items together. Also put the most used items on the middle shelf and that will make it effortless to find what you quickly need.
If you follow these tips you will be amazed how quickly and easily meal preparation can be, and this will make you feel more enthusiastic to keep cooking. First seen in SBS Life Magazine.
Fiona Craig is a work-life balance coach, psychotherapist and published author of “Stuck in a Rut – How to rescue yourself & live your truth” helping men and women get unstuck from their career, relationship and weight ruts and onto finding their dream life.
If you’d like to learn more about Get Unstuck From a Rut or her other transformational life coaching packages by calling 0405 433 217 or visit her website www.lifebalancecoach.com.au and book in for one of my free 20 minute discovery call.
