Preliminary Kitchen Purge

 With your packing list in hand and your sorting containers prepared, it’s time to simplify your kitchen.

Don’t let me get in your way. You’ve got your plan in your hand. If it’s not on your list, box or bag it up for now (or forever if you want to). Set a timer for three to fifteen minutes and pick a category of kitchen items to go through in that amount of time. Go do it. 

It may be easiest to pull out everything on your packing list, set that aside, and then just bag and box up anything else. 

For some more motivation and explanation of why and how to simplify your kitchen, I love this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t1ulgDtoDA&t=98s

If you want more help with this process or want to do more than a preliminary declutter, I recommend getting a copy of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. We’ll be using this book later anyway. Skip to the section called “Komono” and go to the kitchen subcategory. I find that section helpful and thorough in getting through the stuff in the kitchen. 

While you’re going through stuff, you may be tempted to clean the spaces that open up. I usually recommend focusing on just deciding what stays and what goes, but I will clean things as long as they’re just a few seconds of wiping. If cleaning is slowing down your streamlining process, stop cleaning. It will be a lot easier to clean everything when you’re done deciding what’s staying there and what’s not. 

Do I have any tips for organizing the kitchen at this point? Here are a few.

• Follow what Kondo says in her book Spark Joy. Try to make your counters completely clear, just as is typical in a professional kitchen. This really improves your ability to work and clean efficiently in your kitchen. That said, my mom has a surface in her kitchen completely dedicated to all her appliances that she uses frequently. She cooks a lot, and she has plenty of other counter space, so this makes sense for her. In my small kitchens, such a setup would monopolize every surface. As always, do what makes sense for you. 

• If you have space, try to keep lids on the container they belong to rather than stacking lids and containers separately. This keeps lids and containers together and keeps dust from falling into the container. This is a tip I learned from my mom and from the book Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White. 

• The floor is not a storage space. Do not, I repeat, do not, think you can just keep items that are permanent parts of your kitchen on your kitchen on the floor. That stuff gets kicked. It gets tripped on. It gets in the way when you’re sweeping or mopping, or prevents you from cleaning the floor it’s covering. You’re smart. You can find a home in your home for your essentials. The floor is not a home. Cupboards, drawers, closets, cabinets, even a hook on the wall are all better options than the floor when it comes to storage.

• Store like items together and as close to their use space as possible. Store pots close to the stove. Store tableware close to the table. Or store all dishware close to the dishwasher for easy unloading.

As you go through your kitchen stuff, try to go with keeping out less than you think you can handle, just for now. You’re not getting rid of anything you might want just yet. You’re just experimenting with a reduced kitchen. Give yourself the opportunity to really try this. 

If you’re sure you don’t need something, go ahead and part with it. Otherwise, set a box of kitchen stuff aside. Think of this as your personal cooking store. You can visit the store if you strongly feel the need to. But you’ll probably revisit your things less often than expected. 

Homework:

Reduce your kitchen using your packing list. Read Spark Joy if needed.