Clean Up the Clutter: Kitchen and Dining

Welcome to Clean Up the Clutter: Kitchen and Dining edition

Are you wondering why I didn’t start Cleaning Up the Clutter in the kitchen? Well, a whole lot of folks would get stalled there and lose hope. By now, you’ve had a few successes in the Entry and Office areas of your home. It’s time to tackle the kitchen, pantry, and dining area.

I also want to remind you that Cleaning Up the Clutter is more about getting rid of junk that clutters up spaces and less about decorating. If you have time to decorate and make things beautiful, that’s great. But don’t let this stall you from the true task of getting rid of clutter.

Remember, that I have created a checklist that will keep you on task. Just click on the link below the graphic for a printable pdf checklist.

The Kitchen

In many homes, kitchen counters and dining room tables can become catch-alls. If you’ve done your homework in the Entry and Office then you will now have places to catch things like bags and mail as they enter your home. That is half the battle. The next step will be all about keeping the kitchen clutter-free.

The Fast Way to De-Clutter the Kitchen

• Take 10 ~ Grab a trash bag or empty box and take away 10 things that are cluttering up your kitchen. Only keep things on the counter that get used at least 3 times or more per week. Take the time to work on one or two drawers, possibly a cabinet, or {gasp} the pantry.

The Thorough Way to De-Clutter the Kitchen

If you have to step back when you open a cabinet, then this is going to take a bit of time. Fortunately, I have broken this down into manageable steps that will help you take back your kitchen.

1. Get Rid of the Excess

I have a little experience with this as we cleaned out my parent’s home. My folks had a cabinet full of coffee mugs plus a coffee mug holder that sits on the counter. In reality they likely need somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8 coffee mugs total. Not 20+ coffee mugs. The same goes for their entire cabinet full of plastic storage containers. Even if every container was full of food, there wouldn’t be enough room in two refrigerators to store them.

• How many coffee mugs do you really need?
• Get rid of excess storage containers.
• Clean out the junk drawer

2. This Week’s Tasks

I’m breaking down the kitchen into daily tasks. You may be able to attack more than one daily task depending on the amount of clutter in your kitchen. This way, you have an entire week to try to gain control of the kitchen clutter.

• Monday ~ Cabinets and Drawers: This one may take some time. Open every cabinet and drawer and begin removing items. Look over each item and determine if it belongs in the kitchen, will ever get used again, or is a duplicate. Have you used it in the last year? Start a donate box. If you haven’t used it in a year, maybe someone else can. Consider things like this Collapsable Dish Drainer (affiliate) which takes up less space.
• Tuesday ~ The Refrigerator/Freezer: I find it is easier to begin with the freezer. Toss old frozen veggies or meats that have freezer burn. That 3/4 empty container of ice cream needs to go, too. Get rid of expired foods, moldy cheese, and half-empty containers of who-knows-what. Use warm water and vinegar to clean the shelves. On the outside, get rid of papers that hang on the fridge. This adds to kitchen clutter. Find a place in the Office area to store and display these things. Clean off any finger prints.
• Wednesday ~ The Pantry: I like to tackle a pantry shelf-by-shelf starting at the top. Toss out opened cereal boxes and packages that are old and stale. Toss out anything that has expired, including spices. Wipe down shelves and sweep floor. Only return things that you plan to use. Use storage bins for loose items.
• Thursday ~ Small electrics, Stove, and Microwave: While this series is more about cleaning up clutter, having a clean stove and microwave go a long way towards helping with the overwhelming task of de-cluttering a kitchen. If your stove has a drawer beneath the oven, this is a good time to de-clutter whatever is lurking in there. Take time to go through some of your electric kitchen tools and determine what is necessary and what needs to go.
• Friday ~ Countertops: Clear off the countertop clutter and only keep things that get used 3 times or more per week. Set up stations for things like coffee or the toaster. Everything else needs to be in a cabinet or the donation box. Wipe down the countertops {and mop if you have time}.
• Saturday ~ Dining Room: If you have a china hutch, then this is the time to empty out everything and determine what to keep and what to give away. If you are unsure about sentimental or inherited items, store them in a box and decide what to do later. (This may require speaking to family members who may have a claim). Read about the Glass Cabinet that Saved My Kitchen. See a more thorough plan below*.

The Dining Room*

Usually dining rooms are cluttered with unrelated things like mail, backpacks, library books, jigsaw puzzles, or craft projects. It’s time to take back the Dining Room and let it be used for dining. Or, if this is a second dining space that continues to never be used as a dining room, possibly it’s time to repurpose it into something that better fits your family.

They key is to have at least one dining area where the family can gather to share their day, relax, and reconnect. Keep that space solely for dining – rather than pushing aside the clutter in order to wolf down some food.

The Fast Way to De-Clutter the Dining Room

• Take 15 – Take 15 minutes to clear off the dining table surface. Grab a basket and, instead of just relocating the clutter, return things back to their proper place. And, if you did your Entry/Office Clean Up the Clutter Challenge, then you should have a place for a lot of this clutter.

The Thorough Way to De-Clutter the Dining Room

Boy, could I write an entire book on this. My parent’s dining room is the first room you see when you walk into their home. The china cabinet is over-filled with beautiful pieces, but it is so stuffed that you don’t notice the Waterford crystal or any of the beautiful china. Even worse, their solid pecan table is constantly cluttered with a seasonal-appropriate arrangement surrounded by old newspapers, magazines, and untouched mail. The issue is the clutter that lands and then never gets relocated.

One of the great things about homes that have two dining rooms is one of these spaces can make a nice multi-purpose room. It can be available for special occasion dining, but also serve as a space for homework, crafts, or even an office. The key to making the multi-use work is to have storage for the additional items that will get used in the room. This may mean removing some of the things in the china hutch and replacing them with  storage baskets that relate to the secondary use of the room.

• Remove and return anything that isn’t dining-room related.
• Clear off the table surface and keep only dining room related items on the table such as a table setting or centerpiece.
• Remove furniture that is broken (like a wobbly chair) or anything doesn’t belong in the dining room.
• Tackle that china hutch. Box up dishes and glassware that aren’t used. Remember, sentimental items may take time. Have a way to store them if you need to come back to them later or maybe hear from a family member.
• If your dining room shares tasks like homework or crafts then have storage containers for these related items making it easy to return them when the task is completed.