8 Common Kitchen Items to Toss for a Clutter-Free Space
It’s time to say goodbye to these single-use tools!
Whether you’re cooking a cozy family dinner, packing the kids’ school lunches, or baking a homemade dessert, a streamlined kitchen makes every culinary undertaking a whole lot easier—and much more enjoyable. But the kitchen always seems to accumulate clutter at a rapid pace: Paperwork piles up on the kitchen counter, duplicate cleaning sprays hide in the dark corners under the sink, and spatulas somehow seem to multiply.
If your kitchen cabinets, drawers, and countertops are starting to overflow with bulky appliances and single-use tools, it might be time for a little rest. Luckily, though, an organized kitchen doesn’t require a full renovation, a complete overhaul, or even another storage solution. Instead, the key to decluttering your kitchen starts with tossing all the unnecessary kitchen gadgets you rarely use and barely have the space for. We're talking about all the impulse buys you tried only once or the well-meaning gifts you stuffed in the back of a cabinet to collect dust. While some tools are definitely worth keeping, here are eight kitchen gadgets to toss for a calmer, cleaner space.
Maintain a clutter-free kitchen with these tips:
Mismatched Food Containers
Food storage containers always come in handy when you have leftovers you want to save or school lunches you need to make, but there's nothing more frustrating than grabbing a bin without its lid attached. To declutter your collection, match each container to its corresponding lid before recycling or donating any of the stray pieces.
Specialty Cutting Tools
Speciality cutting tools like an egg slicer, an apple wedge, or a kernel cutter might seem like clever inventions, but if you don’t actually use them, they’re probably just taking up valuable space. If these tools are part of your daily or weekly rotation, by all means, keep them—but many people find that a knife achieves the same results.
Expired Pantry Ingredients
As you’re decluttering your pantry and spice cabinet, be sure to inspect the expiration dates. Throw out any sauces, jams, oils, or baking ingredients that have exceeded their shelf life. While spices are technically shelf-stable, they lose their potency and flavor over time, so it's best to toss ground spices after two years and whole spices after three years.
Single-Use Appliances
That quesadilla maker, popcorn machine, or panini press might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but if you only use yours once a year, it’s simply taking up valuable real estate. If any standard sheet pan, skillet, or microwave can do the job, it’s time to part ways with the gadget.
Broken Cookware
If you've been using the same pots and pans for years, you might find that the handle has turned loose, the nonstick coating has started to flake, and the bottom has become scratched or warped. All you need to whip up recipes is a streamlined collection of cookware, so retire anything that's past its prime.
Stained Linens
Over the years, hand towels and oven mitts go through a lot of wear and tear. If any of your kitchen linens are stained, torn, or fraying at the edges, take it as a sign to replace your outdated collection with a new-and-improved one. You can always repurpose your old linens as cleaning rags, but a toss in the trash will also do.
Duplicate Utensils
Through the years, it's easy to accumulate spoons, spatulas, and ladles—but how many of the same utensil do you really need? As you organize your kitchen, keep your favorites and dispose of the duplicates. Sticking with the basics will make your counter look cleaner, and it’ll save you the hassle of digging through the stack to find the tool you need.
Extra Reusable Bags
Reusable bags make trips to the grocery store a lot easier, but they can quickly take over your closet if you aren't careful. While you spruce up your space, hold onto a realistic number of totes, and donate the overflow. To keep things organized, store the keepers in one easy-to-reach bin.
Lilly Blomquist is the associate editor at The Pioneer Woman, where she writes lifestyle stories across a wide range of topics—including news, entertainment, holidays, food, and more.
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