The kitchen is the heart and hub of any home. While you may spend most of your time in other rooms, the state of the kitchen is sure to reflect in all areas of your life. A messy and cluttered kitchen makes it difficult to have family dinners, healthy, home-cooked meals and can be an all around stressor. If you’re ready to clean out your kitchen, but don’t know where to start, these tips are for you.
Vet Your Spice Rack
If your spice rack is overrun, it’s time to toss anything unnecessary. Ground spices generally last only six months. Spice doesn’t necessarily expire the same way other foods can, but it does start to lose its potency overtime. Keep your meals fresh and tasty while decluttering your counters and pantry by discarding any old spices. An easy way to test if a spice is old? Simply sniff them; if they don’t smell as fresh as they used to, they likely won’t pack a punch in your next dish.
Rethink Your Seasonal Items
Those extra-special Christmas dishes that you haven’t used for fear of breaking or the fondue pot that you swear you will use for a party someday should not take up space in your kitchen. Decide if you truly plan to use them or if it’s just wishful thinking. If the item isn’t useful or overly sentimental, it may be time to pass it along to a new owner. If you just can’t part with it, move it to a storage spot. Consider also storing seasonal items you do use. Since you don’t need them everyday, you’ll save room for the items you do use consistently.
Pair Down Your Dinnerware
Most households don’t need a dish set for 12. If you’re not regularly hosting dinner parties, you may benefit from donating or storing your additional dinnerware. Keep four of everything for households of two and a little more for larger families. You will cut down on dishes in the evening (since no one will simply reach for a clean plate instead of doing dishes) and you will save space in your cabinets. A win-win solution.
