How to Declutter Your Kitchen

I am going to help you to declutter your kitchen in one weekend and keep it that way for years to come. Does this seem impossible? Believe me, it's not. Even if you have never had an organized kitchen in your life you can do this.

The first thing you have to do is to make the commitment that you want to declutter your kitchen and that it is important enough to you to make the time to do it. Then you have to follow these steps in order to declutter your kitchen:

Step #1 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Take one weekend and set aside eight hours, four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday, or a straight stretch on a single day. Put it on the calendar and don't allow anything else to be scheduled.

Step #2 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Prepare to declutter your kitchen by gathering the following items: large trash bags, three medium sized cardboard boxes or plastic containers and a large black marker. Mark each box with the following: Donations, Keep, Storage.

Step #3 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Start to declutter your kitchen by clearing the kitchen table and the countertops first. Throw away all trash. Place those items that must be in your kitchen in the Keep box, anything you can give away goes in the Donations box and the rest goes in the Storage box. Do not stop until your counters and table are clean.

Step #4 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Next is the pantry. Empty the contents of the pantry onto your newly cleaned kitchen table. Throw away anything that is past an expiration date. Anything you won't use put in the Donation Box. Wipe down the pantry and put the items back keeping like items together. Keep the cereal together, then the baking needs, prepared food items, then canned goods, snacks, etc. Make sure everything is put away before you move on to the next step.

Step #5 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Then you will want to work on that cupboard that is full of Tupperware and storage containers. Everyone has one and you know that you do too. Place any old or unwanted containers in the Donations box. If it is not usable then throw it away. If you haven't used it in the last year then put it in the Storage Box. Once the sorting is complete then match the lids and the containers and store them together, neatly stacked in the cabinet.

Step #6 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Move through the rest of your cabinet's and kitchen drawers one at a time using the same Donations, Keep and Storage boxes to help you sort. For your kitchen drawers try looking here for great organizing help.

Step #7 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Don't forget the cabinet under the sink or the one above the refrigerator. If you do all the cabinets you stand a better chance of keeping your kitchen organized in the long run. For extra storage space under the kitchen sink try this organizer from Range Kleen.

Step #8 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Move the Storage Box and Donations box out of the kitchen and concentrate only on the Keep box. The only items left in this Keep box should now be the items that you need to find a place for in the kitchen. For mail, school papers, flyers and your keys this wall mounted letter holder is a great idea. This keeps all mail and school papers off your countertops.

Step #9 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Now that the kitchen is organized the focus needs to shift to keeping your kitchen organized. Put things away exactly where you got them from. Don't let mail or papers build up over the week and clutter up your countertop space or your kitchen table. Put items back in the pantry or cabinets when you get them out and you are done with them.

Step #10 How to Declutter Your Kitchen

Let your family members know the new rules of the decluttered kitchen. Tell them that things need to be put away once they are done using them and that they need to be put away where they belong. It is no longer all right to allow things to lay around on the counters.

Following these simple steps will give you the organized kitchen that you have dreamed of for years. It isn't very hard to do but it does require a commitment on your part to having an organized kitchen.