Spoiler alert: high food income holidays are just around the corner, and your kitchen is crying for help! So this is probably the best time to prepare your kitchen for the holiday hustle! Over the next 30 days or less, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by decluttering your space. In this episode, Jen and Jill break down the ultimate guide on how to declutter our kitchens.
The things in our line of sight impact our spending decisions, but when we move away from the complexity bias that drives us to add, we find that simplicity in our kitchen, and things beyond our kitchen, work better.
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Sponsors:
- Triptychs. A new word I learned, and now obviously the sponsor of this episode. What’s not to love when it comes in 3’s? Like a work of art with 3 sections, or a movie with 3 stories, OR The Friendletter, with 3 carefully curated emails to your inbox each week. Each one a work of art with updates on freebies, ways to save $ on the stuff you’re already buying and helpful money mindset tips. The best triptych a girl could ask for.
Check out some relevant episodes
Simplifying the Heart of Your Home
This article by Modern Minimalism guides us on how to declutter our kitchen in an easy and approachable way. It dives into the importance of a clutter-free kitchen, how to declutter your space, and tips for maintaining a tidy environment.
What Jen + Jill have to say:
The kitchen, being the heart of the home, is often the most complex part of our homes because of how much stuff there is in it. And truth be told, it gets pretty overwhelming to even do something about it sometimes.
That’s why Jill laid out the reasons we should declutter our kitchens. First, a simpler kitchen is easier to maintain, helping you avoid that overwhelming clutter. It also leads to more efficient meal planning and faster food prep. Plus, a clutter-free space creates a peaceful cooking environment, which can lead to financial savings by reducing stress levels.
Five Step Guide to Declutter Your Kitchen in 30 Days
Start by assessing the clutter—identifying what’s going on and where the focus should be, like the main sources of mess, unused items, or what can be moved. Next, create a solid plan with a checklist, starting from the easiest items you can handle and working your way down to the sentimental stuff, which is often the hardest to part with.
Once you reach the third step—actually doing the work—break the decluttering process into manageable sections. From clearing countertops, to cabinets, to your pantry and cold food. And don’t forget to donate what you can! Finally, once you’ve decluttered, focus on optimizing your kitchen organization to maximize efficiency and make maintenance easier at best.
Tips for a Clutter-free Kitchen
To optimize your kitchen organization, Jen and Jill recommend keeping items close to where you use them and maximizing drawer space with organizers for cutlery, utensils, and spices. Use pull-out shelves and lazy Susans to make cabinets more user-friendly, and embrace wall space and bins for better storage.
And to maintain a clutter-free kitchen, spend 5-10 minutes tidying your countertops daily and make it a habit to put things away right after use. Also, think twice before buying new gadgets because you may already have something that works. Do regular mini-decluttering sessions, and remember to say no to freebies that tend to pile up and rarely get used!
Common kitchen gadget you found you don’t need/use?
For Jen it’s their blender kept in the pantry because it’s so loud. While Jill is her griddle and her instant pot.
Bill of The Week
Thank you Deanna for sharing your bill about getting reimbursed with your FSA for some unforeseen medical costs!
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