Christmas and kitchen.  What is the feeling you get when you read those two words?  Do you get a warm fuzzy feeling or is it more of a tightness around the throat kinda sensation?  Today I am giving 7 easy ways to declutter, simplify and organise your kitchen.  This is not a complete kitchen overhaul, but instead a few small changes that will have a big impact.  Let’s jump in!

Use Lazy Susans  

Lazy Susans (or turntables) are perfect for those hard to reach spaces like high shelves where you can’t reach the stuff at the back without knocking everything else over, or low under the sink spaces where you have to crawl into the unknown darkness to reach the bleach.

I love using them to house tall oil, vinegar and sauce bottles which can otherwise be quite tricky to reach for on a shelf.  In a small kitchen, no space can go to waste.  Here I am utilising the narrow space on the right hand side of the Lazy Susan by using a small tray to operate as a mini drawer.  This brings us to our next point.

Use baskets to create ‘drawers’

Baskets keep items together and can be pulled out and pushed in like a drawer.  Again, this makes it super easy to reach the items at the back.  The added benefit is that you can pull the whole thing out if needed. 

With a pull-out basket everything is visible and accessible and like items stay tidy and together.  I use this system in so many places in my kitchen.

Spices can be pulled out and easily accessed using these shallow and narrow baskets.

 Baskets to store kitchen gadgets, kids’ plates & cups and small kitchen appliances.  All contained and easy to access.

Baskets with handles make things even easier to pull out and put back, especially for little hands.

Store extra food items separately

Don’t let extras take up prime real estate space in your kitchen.  Dedicate a spot (perhaps a little bit higher up or lower down in your kitchen) where you can keep all your extra food supply.  For example, if you have more than one bag of pasta, keep one in the extras spot.  When you run out of something you know where to look first before adding the item to your shopping list.  This system will enable you to make the most of all those buy-one-get-one-free deals without cluttering your kitchen cabinets.  

I keep my ‘extras’ in a basket on top of my kitchen cabinet (it helps to be tall I know), but anywhere out of the way will be a good space to store your ‘extras’.

10 Minute utensil declutter

Now is the perfect time to have a good honest look at your utensil pot or drawer.  During Christmas, the last thing you want is the frustration of not finding your favourite wooden spoon or spatula.  So, declutter your utensils now for cooking bliss over Christmas.  Take 10 minutes and follow these steps:

• Take all of your utensils out.
• Pick out the ones that you use on a nearly daily basis and put them back.
• Take out the ones that you have never used and will never use – put them on a donation pile.
• Now, look at what is left and ask yourself:  “Have I had an opportunity recently to use these but haven’t?”  If you answered ‘yes’, it is a good sign that you can let go of them.  By asking this question you give yourself proof that you can cope without said utensils.  Let it go.  Take a deep breath, you’ll be okay.  Put it in your donation box (Don’t have one?  Read this) 

10 Minute food declutter

Set your timer for 10 minutes and start going through all your food cupboards.  Take out anything that has expired or food that you know for sure your family will not even touch with a barge pole.  You know what I am talking about – that tin of chilli beans you mistook for Heinz baked beans or that very unhelpful replacement you accepted at 6am whilst half asleep!

Take it aaaaallll out and free up your food storage space for all the lovely Christmas goodies that’s about to arrive.  

Food that has not expired can be donated to your local food bank and old expired food can go in the food recycling.

It is worth mentioning here that when it comes to the date labels on food packaging, there is a difference between a ‘use-by date’ and a ‘best before date’.  

The ‘use-by date’ relates to the safety of the food and the ‘best before date’ relates to the quality of the food.  In an effort to reduce food waste, you can still eat the food that is beyond its ‘best before date’.  It might just be a bit stale and not as nutritious BUT the planet will thank you.  You can read more about food safety here 

Get rid of Tupperware without lids

My friends, life is too short to look for tupperware lids.  Give yourself an early Christmas gift – the gift of all the time you will be saving not looking for lids. 

Christmas is usually followed by lots of leftovers, so go through your tupperware now.  Match everything up with their lids and recycle the rest.

Clear some worktop space

Who else runs out of worktop space during Christmas? ? Me too! Making some small changes now, will free up much needed space for Christmas.  Here are some suggestions on how to go about doing that.

1. Have a fresh look at your kitchen surfaces.  What are the items that unintentionally became a permanent fixture in this space?  Life is busy and we are all guilty of putting things down on the closest surface instead of putting it away.  We can get so used to our clutter and become clutter blind (you know, like pet owners that sometimes become nose blind).  So just have an honest look at your kitchen surfaces and ask yourself:  Does anything on my kitchen surface have another home?  If ‘yes’, go and put it away.  This should already make a big difference to your surface space.
2. Now it is time to find a home for all the other items that don’t have a home and always end up on the kitchen counter (keys, glasses, change, papers, etc).  Have a look at the clutter on your kitchen surfaces, it will tell you what items need a home.
3. Use clever products – small changes can make a big difference.  I am using this product to get my paper towel off the kitchen surface and an ‘under cabinet hook’ for bananas.  These products (the links are not sponsored) make it easy to reach what you need and yet, are discreet when not in use.  I love it!
4. Another way to free up worktop space is to look at your appliances.  Are there any appliances permanently out on the kitchen counter that are rarely used?  If ‘yes’, find or make a home for it in your kitchen cabinet or somewhere else.  For an item to earn a permanent home on the kitchen counter, it must be in regular use.

Why not take some time this week and focus on simplifying your kitchen by following some of my suggestions? All these suggestions are very non intimidating but will have a big impact.  Now is the perfect time for a mini kitchen declutter and organising so you can have ‘kitchen calm’ instead of ‘kitchen chaos’ this Christmas.

I am regularly sharing all things decluttering and organising.  In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing more content to help you with your Christmas preparations and planning.  If you find this type of content helpful and don’t want to miss a thing, click here to subscribe to my email list and the content will be delivered straight to your inbox.

Until next time!

Suzanne