New Posts  All Forums:
 

Decluttering the kitchen - Page 2

post #21 of 44
4/27/10 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Katie, your space is great - reminds me a lot of mine - I finally (after 10 yrs of marriage) allowed DH to keep his coffee maker out, but other than that, our counters are cleared, except for a few special things. I wish my cabinets and drawers looked as clear on the inside as my counters, lol! Your kitchen has great space, and I love the windows and how you made that nook so perfect for your kiddie toys!

Smokering, I am in the same boat with not wanting to throw away attachments to things. In fact, I am having a hard time getting rid of anything! I did a purge 2 yrs ago, but need to again.

Here is something I am having a hard time with - cookie cutters and cute little Tupperware parfait cups with lids. We use these, though not every month even, for the kiddos, and especially with summer approaching, we do a lot in the kitchen, so I feel guilty for getting rid of things. I know they are not used too often to warrant them though.

Juvysen, I am inching closer to getting rid of the china...DH is not buying into it quite yet, so I have to work on him a bit
Sponsored Links

You may also like:

Best Birth Control Options for Moms
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
Homeopathy for Insect Bites
post #22 of 44
4/27/10 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by justmeandmybrood View Post
Juvysen, I am inching closer to getting rid of the china...DH is not buying into it quite yet, so I have to work on him a bit
So start using it instead
post #23 of 44
4/27/10 at 11:27am
Thread Starter 
Taco Night on Noritake...could be fun
post #24 of 44
4/27/10 at 11:29am
I vote yes.
post #25 of 44
4/27/10 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MommaLura View Post
I like the idea of the challenge, but I think I'd be embarrassed to show pictures I'm not sure why its so hard to keep clean. Katie T, I love the size and layout of your kitchen. We're in the process of looking at homes and the kitchen can make or break a house, lol.
I totally agree, there were houses that we looked at the I thought there is no way I could cook in this kitchen! I would have ended up hating the house because of the kitchen, and they are way to pricey to redo
post #26 of 44
4/27/10 at 12:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by justmeandmybrood View Post
Katie, your space is great - reminds me a lot of mine - I finally (after 10 yrs of marriage) allowed DH to keep his coffee maker out, but other than that, our counters are cleared, except for a few special things. I wish my cabinets and drawers looked as clear on the inside as my counters, lol! Your kitchen has great space, and I love the windows and how you made that nook so perfect for your kiddie toys!

Smokering, I am in the same boat with not wanting to throw away attachments to things. In fact, I am having a hard time getting rid of anything! I did a purge 2 yrs ago, but need to again.

Here is something I am having a hard time with - cookie cutters and cute little Tupperware parfait cups with lids. We use these, though not every month even, for the kiddos, and especially with summer approaching, we do a lot in the kitchen, so I feel guilty for getting rid of things. I know they are not used too often to warrant them though.

Juvysen, I am inching closer to getting rid of the china...DH is not buying into it quite yet, so I have to work on him a bit
I used to always put his coffee pot away in the am but finally in the last yr decided it wasn't worth my time. I used to have the table in the nook until we got the kitchen set for Christmas. I don't love the table in the middle of the room, but it is great for lunch with just the 2 youngest.
post #27 of 44
4/27/10 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
Katie, lol! The coffee makers always seem to win, don't they?! The one I got for my DH was a post-deployment present (his old one broke right before he left)...and he used those sweet eyes of his and asked so sweetly, "Maybe I can keep this beauty on the counter...? I *was* just in a war zone for 15 months..." Oh, the guilt! I had to give in!
post #28 of 44
4/27/10 at 10:14pm
I am in! Spent a hour going through two cabinets today and have two full boxes to take to the thrift shop. We had a ridiculous number of knives, most of them hand-me-downs from the in-laws. I wrapped them all carefully in newspaper and off they go tomorrow.

Also, a couple of covered cheese dishes which have never been used. Out!

A small food processor. Gone!

Some ugly coffee cups. Also gone!

How did we come to have so many unused things?

I also have a lot of china we do not use. It was all dh's mother's. She has passed and dh is quite sentimental about it. I think I am going to just deal with it and get a couple of bins to store it in. The dishes are ridiculous brittle and delicate. They break just washing them. I can't bring myself to get rid of them, it would break dh's heart. So, a small concession to keep the peace in my home.
post #29 of 44
4/27/10 at 10:17pm
Oh! I forgot my best news......drum roll.........I am donating the microwave! Beyond thrilled. I hated the thing, it was a space hog and we hardly ever used it. But it was 'useful', so kept hanging on to it. Ha! No more.

I love all of my new counter space.
post #30 of 44
4/28/10 at 3:04am
Today was quite a big one for me...looked through the kitchen to see what I could get rid of...

I only threw out two sippy cups, but they hold a lot of meaning for me.

Because my son had cancer and when he was going through treatment all he could manage to keep down was mango nectar out of a sippy cup.

But I decided there is no point hanging on to them, when I am blessed to still have my son to hold on to!

So I took a photo of the cups and out they went.
post #31 of 44
4/28/10 at 4:50am
I wish my kitchen was a nice as yours is Katie! I was expecting something much older and yuckier from your description. lol

Mine has yucky old cupboards painted an icky shade of green... not a nice shade... really pukey. lol

And the amount of room you have is indeed awesome! Mine isn't super tiny, but it doesn't have enough cupboards etc, no dishwasher (sigh) and not even enough room for a tiny 2 person table unless i want to move it every time i wanted to get to a set of the few cupboards. And we have no dining room or anything... and a tiny crammed full lounge... so our dining options are limited to our laps on the couch. Ah well... one day I'll have my dream home...

I'll join you in kitchen decluttering, as mine is badly in need of it, and we were actually just discussing doing that today! Doing one room at a time, and we'd chosen the kitchen to start on.
post #32 of 44
4/28/10 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by clutterwarrior View Post
Today was quite a big one for me...looked through the kitchen to see what I could get rid of...

I only threw out two sippy cups, but they hold a lot of meaning for me.

Because my son had cancer and when he was going through treatment all he could manage to keep down was mango nectar out of a sippy cup.

But I decided there is no point hanging on to them, when I am blessed to still have my son to hold on to!

So I took a photo of the cups and out they went.
Oh mama, I had to hug all my little ones after reading this. What a strong woman you are.
post #33 of 44
4/28/10 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl View Post
Oh mama, I had to hug all my little ones after reading this. What a strong woman you are.


I put all the girl bibs (and the boy bibs that were in rough shape) in a pile to be sold or go to charity... my kids don't really use bibs often, anymore, but they were still taking up a whole drawer in my kitchen. I put my rags (which had been in a basket on the counter) into the drawer instead.
post #34 of 44
4/28/10 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crystal Pegasus View Post
I wish my kitchen was a nice as yours is Katie! I was expecting something much older and yuckier from your description. lol

Mine has yucky old cupboards painted an icky shade of green... not a nice shade... really pukey. lol

And the amount of room you have is indeed awesome! Mine isn't super tiny, but it doesn't have enough cupboards etc, no dishwasher (sigh) and not even enough room for a tiny 2 person table unless i want to move it every time i wanted to get to a set of the few cupboards. And we have no dining room or anything... and a tiny crammed full lounge... so our dining options are limited to our laps on the couch. Ah well... one day I'll have my dream home...

I'll join you in kitchen decluttering, as mine is badly in need of it, and we were actually just discussing doing that today! Doing one room at a time, and we'd chosen the kitchen to start on.
It was worse when we moved in, we have had to replace the appliances and faucet. The fronts of the cabinets were sticky black in the corners from years of grease. you can see where they lightened when I scrubbed the crap out of them. We have refinished (by we I mean DH lol) a couple of the cabinet fronts but it is very time consuming and he doesn't have a lot of it too spare.

I want new door/drawer fronts, a new sink (did ya notice the green sink lol) and a new counter top. But with how but it is it is pricey.
post #35 of 44
4/28/10 at 2:56pm
I'm in a slump today Not exactly sure why, but I'm sure finding out we aren't getting the house/land we were in the middle of buying isn't helping. I need a cup of motivation, lol.

Yesterday I cleared out a few dishes (donate) and pulled out some small appliances to list on craigslist. I can't keep my kitchen clean for the life of me and I think once I finish decluttering it will be easier.
post #36 of 44
4/28/10 at 8:39pm
Thread Starter 
MommaLura, I hope that this means an even better opportunity will await for you! Sounds like you did get a good start yesterday...hope it continues for you!
post #37 of 44
5/2/10 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by justmeandmybrood View Post
I cannot even get past #1 on my list - cleaning out the utensil drawer Silly things like a turkey baster - I may only use it once a year (if that), but when ya need it, ya need it, right?
I have this problem too. But my DH devised a solution for me. He got me a small rubbermaid bin - shoebox size - and any kitchen tools that I don't use regularly go in there instead of the drawer. Then every few months I go through it and any item that hasn't migrated back into the drawer goes.
post #38 of 44
5/2/10 at 2:05pm
Wow! This is ambitious! The kitchen is hands-down the hardest room to tackle...at least for me.

This forum used to host monthly challenges, and I really miss those! Since kitchens tend to get so out-of-whack disorganized, could we just piggy back this on to May and make it the Monthly Challenge? I'm soooo in!

Oh, and more pictures, please! I can't get enough inspiration. I'll post when I'm done with our pigpen of a kitchen.
post #39 of 44
5/2/10 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
Turquesa, I am in for a monthly challenge!!
post #40 of 44
5/2/10 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
Here is our kitchen - fairly tidy on the countertops, but clutter lurks under them, lol!


http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01607.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01610.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01606.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01605.jpg

Now my drawers and cabinets are a MESS - my cabinets start out neat, but then as I cannot find space for the rest of the "stuff," it gets tossed on top of the neatly piled/stacked items. My drawers...well, I give up!!

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01612.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01613.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...8/DSC01616.jpg