The Kitchen Decluttering Habit That Instantly Makes Cooking Easier

Calling a cluttered kitchen an "eyesore" is an understatement at best. Moreover, an unkept kitchen slows you down, makes cooking a nightmare, and hides things you actually need, interrupting your culinary flow state. Fortunately, keeping it under control does not have to take hours. Assuming you and everyone in the house can commit to a kitchen declutter routine, you can make your kitchen much easier to use and more enjoyable. It can take as little as 15 minutes once a month and only requires a bit of dedicated focus.

To streamline decluttering your kitchen, start by picking one zone in your kitchen, such as your countertop. Then identify any items that do not belong on your countertop and place those items back in their designated spots. Now that the zone is cleared, it's ready to be wiped down. If you had to move any item that does belong on the countertop, like a fruit bowl, return it after you're done cleaning the surface. Once it's back into place, move on to the next zone and so on. 

Bear in mind, this only works if you're consistent. That said, some might prefer to do this weekly, rather than monthly, so they don't forget about it. Regardless of whether it is monthly, weekly, or even daily, each works so long as you can stick to a regular rhythm when creating this habit.

You can take your decluttering a step further by keeping a donation box or bag nearby while you clean. This will make it much more convenient to immediately remove kitchen items you no longer need. Whether it's an old utensil or a random container, having a place to put things while you go through the process will ensure that your kitchen won't have unnecessary, unused objects cluttering up your space. Moreover, you can easily donate items that are still good to your local Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Another way to streamline this process is to group similar items in your pantry. For instance, dedicate a shelf to baking supplies and group together spices based on whether you would use them for sweet desserts or savory entrees. Anything that falls into a neutral category can be its own group. Doing so can help you identify and manage your inventory.

Although there are many organizing tools to keep your drawers clutter-free, taking 15 minutes to look through your cabinets can have a huge impact. After all, the value of organization and space management is creating a space that enhances aesthetics and improves functionality. And, if you find yourself on an organization kick, you might like to know about this old-fashioned storage hack for organizing kitchen cabinets.