Read Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life for Free Online

every nook and cranny with stuff.
     
    Stop!
     
    You do not have to fill every cupboard in your kitchen.
     
    Can you? Absolutely.
     
    Can you do it without making things cluttery? Of course.
     
    You don't have to fill your cupboards, though.
     
    Take a look at the cupboards in your kitchen. How many are full of half-finished art projects? How many have dishes in them that you haven't used in five years? How many have food that is no longer good? Do you have a "lid" drawer? Do you have a drawer of utensils that are broken?
     
    Banish the clutter.
     
    Kiss your unused junk goodbye.
     
    Whether or not you end up with empty cupboards is up to you, but remember that you don't have to fill your cupboards to have a complete or fulfilling house. If you downsize your kitchen utensils or unused items and you end up with an empty cupboard, that's fine! It's okay to have empty and extra space in your house. Don't be in such a hurry to fill it up.

Declutter Tip #23: Banish the junk drawer
     
    When we first got married, my husband and I lived in a small apartment. I had unpacked the kitchen boxes and was starting on the bathroom when he asked me, "Hey, what's all this stuff in here for?"
    Glancing over to where he was pointing, I looked confused. "That's the junk drawer," I told him.
     
    Obviously.
     
    With a raised eyebrow, he closed the drawer and didn't speak of the junk drawer again.
     
    If you're like most homeowners, you have a similar drawer in your kitchen. For some reason, it's easy to have an extra drawer that you shove stuff in that you don't know where to put. The problem with this isn't that you have a drawer for random objects. The problem is that this drawer tends to fill up and most people don't regularly empty the drawer.
     
    What do you do with the receipt from the new television set? Junk drawer.
     
    Where should you put that extra can opener? Junk drawer.
     
    You have half a bottle of superglue. Junk drawer.
     
    Someone sent you a card with school pictures of their kids. You don't have time to find a frame for the pictures, so where should you put them? Duh. The junk drawer.
     
    If you want to have a clean, organized kitchen, you need to get rid of the junk drawer.
     
    Ditching your junk drawer is going to be hard and it's going to take time, but you can do it. You'll love the freedom that comes from not having a junk full of unused, unwanted stuff.
     
    Instead of shoving things into a drawer and forgetting about them, force yourself to find a place for each item. If you can't find a place for something, chances are that you don't need it and can simply toss it in the garbage or donate it.

Declutter Tip #24: Give away the second crock pot
     
    Do you really need two crock pots?
     
    I didn't think so.
     
    Yes, I know that some families use multiple crock pots.
     
    Most don't.
     
    If you have extra kitchen utensils or appliances that you don't need or use, get rid of them. If you haven't used something in over a year, you don't need it and can safely discard it.

Declutter Tip #25: Start with one shelf and one shelf only.
     
    Decluttering your kitchen can be an overwhelming process. While there's nothing wrong with realizing that you have a lot of work to do, it's important that you avoid taking on too much at once.
     
    Why not, though?
     
    Why not tackle everything in one afternoon?
     
    Wouldn't that be simpler?
     
    Wouldn't it be easier?
     
    The problem isn't that it would be easier to tackle everything at once. The problem is that if you pull everything out of your cupboards and pile them in the middle of your kitchen floor, you're going to have the contents of your entire kitchen on the floor. Instead of picking everything up and sorting through everything, what's more likely to happen is that you'll get tired and overwhelmed. If that happens, instead of getting everything clean, you'll take a break. Then it'll be dinner time, and it's going to be easier to shove everything back into the