Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.
I’ve said it before and I say it again… One of the most cluttered areas of a home is the kitchen. In our never pending desire to make work as simple as possible we acquire gadget after gadget ~ Of which there are an infinite number of ~ for our kitchens. Not to mention all the paraphernalia required to use these so called simplifying gadgets. Also enough crockery, cutlery, glassware and utensils so that we don’t run out while we fill the dishwasher to capacity. So this week lets see if we can find six items to declutter from this area of our homes.
Monday – Declutter one electric kitchen gadget that wasn’t so time saving or was completely pointless in the first place.
Tuesday – Declutter any crockery that you have too many pieces of.
Wednesday – Declutter any glassware you have more of than you need.
Thursday – Declutter one hand powered kitchen gadget you don’t use enough to warrant wasting the space.
Friday – Declutter utensils that you have multiples of but never need more than one at a time.
Saturday – Declutter kitchen related linen that is surplus to your needs.
Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.
Good luck and happy decluttering
Eco Tip for the Day
Send all your unused stuff out into the world where it can save someone else from buying new.
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
You must be reading my mind, Colleen! I was looking in our kitchen cupboards recently. I was shocked to find 6 (!) wooden spoons and duplicates of other hand tools. Since I am not the primary chef in the house anymore, I am getting resistance to removing items from the kitchen/ house. So to “gently nudge” this along, the extras are going to have a temporary separation from the kitchen. If no one notices them gone in a month, then they will leave our house.
Our electronic devices (beyond the stove, fridge and dishwasher) are: microwave (used daily), kettle (daily), small espresso maker (used daily), immersion/stick blender (used 4+ times per week), stand mixer (used a few times a month) and crock pot (used 1-2 times per month). I have proposed getting rid of the stand mixer as it is hard to store, heavy and does not get enough use to justify the storage space. I was told I cannot get rid of “his” mixer ( we’ve though it was a gift to me several years ago). Next up for discussion: the crock pot.
Hi Idgy…, I question my mixer when I see it too but it isn’t very large, I would be lost without it when I do make desserts (especially pavlova) so it will stay. All my small appliances, bar the toaster and coffee maker, fit in one small drawer in my pantry so I am happy to allow them to use the space they do. I understand your person not wanting to part with his mixer too. They are just one of those things that really shouldn’t be used too ofter if you watch you waistline but are useful when you do want to make something sweet. When I was in school doing home economics class we had to mix everything by hand. It takes an awful long time and a lot of effort to cream butter and sugar of fluff egg whites.
I’m back from being away for a week. This has to be a first for me, my kitchen is at my optimum level of declutter-ness and nothing on the Mini Mission list for me to do! However, I do have plenty of laundry and unpacking associated catch up chores to do.
Hi Moni, good for you. Even I still have my eye on a few things in my kitchen that I “need approval” to part with, so you are doing well.
Colleen – what I mean it has reached its optimum for where I am now right now. Two years from now I could have a totally different set of circumstances or a different kitchen. Obviously my husband and my daughter did a bit of a clean and a vacuum yesterday in honour of our arrival but there were a couple of areas that didn’t self-maintain as well as the rest of the house in my absence and so I’ll have a look at those areas instead. Nothing major, just what my eye noted.
I was offered a pressure cooker yesterday. Yes,it was probably the must have gadget of the 1950-1960’s, but I don’t think I would use it :).
I would love a dishwasher again , just to unclutterer the sink with the ever full dishrack and sponges and scrubbers that go with hand washing the dishes.
I only use one hob on my cooktop most times when I’m cooking , it would be nice to declutterer the other three and give me more bench space.
Cheers
Hi Wendy, if you have a dishwasher you will still need to scourer for your pots and pans. Unless you buy an exceptionally good dishwasher.
I’m glad you refused the pressure cooker, because I am pretty sure you won’t use it. Stick to your Thermomix.
As long as I have Mom around I don’t think there will be much else going out of the kitchen. That’s okay. We have decluttered about a 1/3 of what we had.
Be happy with that Deb.
I have a donation pickup set-up for Tuesday morning and I removed from my cabinet a George Foreman grill. My daughter uses the oven broiler when she makes her own steak and I will do likewise. It is a double size and takes up entirely too much space. Now that someone mentioned the pressure cooker, I am wonering if I really need mine. The only things I make in it are beef stew and pork chops; but I have to say they both come out really tender. Hum…decisions, decisions….!
Hi Anna, well done with the kitchen decluttering and I am pleased that you are contemplating other things. Give a trial separation a go and see how that works. I have never owned a pressure cooker and it hasn’t stopped me making plenty of delicious food in my house.
Today I didn’t do electrical gadgets. There’s only one I don’t use, but Mr Sans loves it .
However, I went in and finally decluttered several packs of plastic cups. My husband brought them home as “they might e useful”.
Don’t you hate that phrase?
Hi Lucinda, I used to fall for the “might be useful stuff” all the time once so I know how that happens. I am glad you finally decided they wouldn’t be useful and let them go.
I just started doing something similar and vlogging about it. Decluttering is something that is so psychologically freeing. I think it’s one of the most overlooked pleasures today. I always feel so great when I do it.
I noticed in my kitchen that one of my utensil drawers has trouble shutting. Instead of just shoving and moving things, I know I must declutter. There is no way I use that many utensils!! 🙂
Hi Robyn and welcome to 365 Less Things. I am so glad you are experiencing the joy of decluttering and living with less stuff. I feel the same as you, it is so liberating. And vlogging about it will no doubt help keep you focused and inspire you to question much of your stuff. I look forward to taking a look at your vlogs. Good luck and happy decluttering.
I did de-clutter some from my kitchen back in January, but it could probably use another round with me being more ruthless about what goes! There’s still a lot I don’t use on a regular basis.