Let’s tackle your kitchen gadgets and clutter using 30 minutes of your time at a crack. If you only have 30 minutes period, you will be able to gut an area of your kitchen by using the outlined categories below to get you started. If you didn’t get it all done, put in your calendar when you will create time to spend another 30 minutes working on it.

You aren’t alone

A national survey conducted by Nielsen Customized Research found, “that the average American household spends over $3,100 for 50 items that went unused in their homes.” That equates to $62 dollars an item from research done 10 years ago! Think about how much more we spend on items today, and what we really could be doing with that money. Groceries, Amazon, dinner out…I’m sounding older and older with each example. I digress. 

When we have more stuff we, the bigger the houses we feel we need. The more storage containers we buy, it’s no wonder why the storage building units are popping up like crazy and  “organizing” is always in style. Easy items to spot can be quickly found first with our kitchen gadgets.

I’m a lifelong organizer if you haven’t figured that out yet. And am quite proud of it until I realized that it was “job security.” The more stuff we have, the more often we have to organize it. I’m a mama of 3 girls. I don’t need more stuff to put away! Let’s get to decluttering kitchen gadgets. Together!

Free up space in your kitchen

In January I went through a free “Declutter Challenge” led by another influencer on Instagram. I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but a good challenge for 30 days sounded like a real deal – and it was free. Kinda like what I’ve been leading you through the last month. You are welcome. 😉

I didn’t think I’d really have that much to declutter in my kitchen since I regularly scrap something that isn’t functioning or sick of moving from one place to another. In being honest, I gave myself too much credit! I got rid of so many kitchen gadgets that had been handed down from my sweet mother, that she wasn’t using either.

What’s in the kitchen?

Most of the items that are in our kitchens are functioning pieces. Right? Sure, there might be some décor lining your counter or draped above in your soffit space. I’m not so focused on those items unless they are cluttering up productive space. 

Rather, let’s focus more on the large items that we collect, we “can’t live without” yet end up stashed up in the highest cupboard until we move or die.

Then there are kitchen gadgets and kitchen duplicates. One item breaks so we buy a replacement and never really part with the original. While shopping in Target, a new smooth spatula or fun colored flipper catches our eye and ends up in our cart thinking we need one. Our drawers get packed and more of them turn into junk drawers than functioning, knowing where anything is when we need to use it. Of course, we don’t have too much stuff, we must just need a bigger kitchen. Right?

Kitchen gadgets to get rid of

To make it easy to ease into this kitchen declutter, focus on some big items to get rid of. Score a quick win for yourself to build up some momentum. Here are 2 items to start with:

1. Big items that are broken or missing a lid – how many crockpots does a family need, more importantly – use!?
2. Items that you use 1 out of every 10 years or never!

Speaking of things we didn’t use; coffee cups. Here was my big clear out really came to fruition as my kitchen clutter I was storing. Do you know the coffee cups that come with the dish sets that are received for wedding gifts? We had those. If you don’t know me personally, I don’t drink coffee. My husband, Ryan, isn’t a daily consumer either. He’ll go in spurts but we will never need an entire set of matching coffee mugs for guests to come over for coffee. With drink tumblers being the rage and their convenience of having lids, keep things cold/hot longer are coffee cups a thing anymore? Well if they are, they aren’t to us. GONE!

Okay reality, I kept 5 or so for the one-off times we may need one to scoop soup out or for a craft project. The rest were donated to Goodwill. 🙂

Cocktail glasses, beer mugs, wine glasses

Do you also have numerous Lolita cocktail glasses from college gifts that they haven’t used since? I should have regifted them back in the day at the numerous bachelorette parties. LOL! I kept my favs and items I could actually see us using while entertaining. No need to store things like that we’ll never use again. The time has come to part with them.

Utensils –

Are you a profesh chef? Do you need 6 big plastic spoons? Start with the melted handled ones or missing a chunk from a spatula. Don’t keep all of the kitchen duplicates here. If you really need a new one, Target will likely stay in business awhile in order for you to buy a replacement when needed.

Think also about how to organize these items. What utensils do you use most often? Which ones do you reach for while cooking that needs to be easily accessible? Do you like to display utensils as decor? Would you rather them not be seen?

What works for me is having my “go-to” OXO Nylon Flexible Turner, Pampered Chef Mix N’ Chop, one wooden spoon, one plastic spoon and one pair of tongs in a stainless steel canister on my countertop right next to the stove. All the extras that are not used daily get stored neatly in a nearby drawer.

Find a style that works for you.

Tupperware –

I don’t know a single person that has the Tupperware storage system down, but I might be close now. Never a matching lid when you needed it. Yet we still didn’t pitch it at the moment. 

This area can royally suck. Keep reading to learn how to make it easier for you.

I pitched almost all of my Tupperware inventory. Know why? When our family uses a colored storage container for items that go in the fridge, no one ever knows what is inside. Therefore, that food goes bad all while taking up space! ARGHH!!!

Rather, I ordered glass containers with snap lids so my family could see what was inside for a better chance the food gets eaten before it was a meal for the farm barn cats. I did keep a few mid-sized ones for leftovers for the occasional guest, otherwise, it’s pretty bare and it is a breeze to put them away now since everything fits!

Water bottles

Kitchen gadgets may take up the most space, but water bottles are always falling out of the cupboard onto me like rocks from a crumbling cliff. I’ve seen cool ways to store multiple water bottles if you have a pantry door you could hang a shoe organizer on the inside of the door put the bottles in. I don’t have that luxury. Rather, we had accumulated several non-functioning bottles and it was their time to go. Frustration comes to mind when using some bottles that leak, spill, you name it. Those were the first on the chopping block.

With the freed-up space from ditching the coffee mugs, I had room for multiple wine glasses that could go up higher, which led to a lower space to reach for daily water bottles (and my fav few wine glasses.)

Kids cups 

From birthday parties and parades, my kids come home with so much “junk.” While it’s fun the first few uses to see the cup change color, how many color-changing cups does a household really need? As our kids get older the fewer sippy cups we need and the more they use water bottles so doubles as a win to ditch unused cups and sippy items.

Drinking glasses

I’m similar to my kids and use water bottles more so we don’t need 4 sets of drinking glasses that no one uses regularly. This is an area I’m going to focus on again as our main shelf is getting out of hand with misc glasses/cups.

Quickly realize what you use and what you don’t on a regular basis.

You will also see where you can rearrange kitchen gadgets and other kitchen items that you use more often to be easily accessed. Those items that you don’t, now you have more room to get tucked away so you can get to items you do use.

 “You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be” – Marianne Williamson 

If this got you going and you missed the preceding declutter spaces, be sure to check out the closets, tackle the bathroom, and my favorite – toys.