Posts in the Declutter Series: How To Declutter Your Home Series: Before You Begin,  How to Declutter the Kitchen, How to Declutter the Bedroom, How to Declutter the Bathroom and How to Declutter Toys.

The kitchen is a place where we spend a lot of time and extra stuff loves to accumulate.

There’s always a cool new kitchen gadget to make life easier and those counters are oh-so inviting for appliances of every kind. It’s impossible to declutter, right?

No! It is possible to have clear counter tops and cabinets and drawers that aren’t stuffed to the brim. You just have to put in a little work.

Before you get started, take a few minutes to plan a little (and read this post).

Think about your cooking habits: Do you bake a lot? If so, are you frequently using several mixing bowls at a time? Are you a one-pot meal kind of person or do you typically use a few pans when you make dinner?

How about entertaining? Do guests frequent your house, or is it more of a special occasion kind of thing?

When you think about those things, you can decide how many mixing bowls, pans and dishes you need.

We kept 6 extra plates and bowls and a few extra mugs for guests. We really didn’t need much more than that.

If my entire family comes over to eat, I might ask my mom to bring some extra plates. Because, well, it’s my family and they already know how weird I am.

So, now that you’ve thought that out, you have an idea for what extras you can get rid of. Grab everything you need to get started, put on some good music and get to work.

Check your drawers

Put your boxes on the counter and start sorting. Have your garbage and recycling right next to you, too, so you can toss broken stuff and old papers that you don’t need anymore.

As you’re going through, try not to spend too much time thinking about the stuff you find. I found that the more I thought about a certain item, the more convinced I rationalized the need to keep it. And when that happens, you end up with a drawer full of junk.

Instead, work quickly. Do you need three sets of silverware? Probably not. How about four wine corkscrews? Doubtful. Every one of those cookbooks? Um, no.

Again, if there’s something that you’re just not sure of, stick it in the maybe box to decide on later.

Chances are, after you’ve been at it for a while, you’ll look at it and decide that it doesn’t need to stay in your kitchen.

Same goes for cabinets.

Focus on multi-purpose items

On my first decluttering binge, I got rid of so many one-purpose items. Like the electric citrus juicer my father-in-law gave us.

Instead, focus on keeping appliances/items that you use every day and/or for lots of different purposes. If an item is single use and you use it often, keep it.

Here’s what’s in my kitchen:

• Blendtec: The blender of awesomeness. Used for smoothies, sauces, juices, making rice flour and almond milk and a ton of other things.
• Instant Pot: Used for cooking meals super fast or with the slow cook option and making stock. I LOVE this thing.
• Waffle iron/griddle: We got rid of our two waffle irons and the griddle and opted for one that has two different sides.
• Immersion blender: Used for blending soups and beans and making soap.
• Canning jars: We use smaller ones for drinking glasses, all sizes for food storage, both in the pantry and leftovers, making sun tea and kombucha, and this year, they’ll actually be used for canning.
• Coffee grinder
• Ice cream maker: Coconut milk ice cream. Enough said.
• Toaster oven: Used for making toast, heating leftovers and baking when it’s too hot to turn on the oven.
• French press: Because coffee.
• Nespresso: My guilty pleasure.Because espresso. Seriously, this is the reason I leave my super cozy bed in the morning. The espresso is always perfect and I’ve never made a better latte. I also love that I can send the used pods to Nespresso for composting and recycling.

Don’t stress about getting rid of every single thing. I still declutter on a regular basis. Only now, it’s not a huge ordeal. I just realize that I don’t need a certain pan or plates anymore and take them out. It’s an ongoing process.

Ready to get started? Go get it.

 

This is part of a series on decluttering – a fantastic way to increase clarity and focus and decrease stress. Read How to Declutter Your Home: Before You Begin, How to Declutter the Bathroom, How to Declutter the Kitchen and How to Declutter Toys.

When you think about it, there’s not much that you really need in your bedroom: a cozy bed, a place to keep your clothes, and, well, that’s it.

Admittedly, it’s also nice to have a side table so you can have a lamp and place to put one book and maybe a vase jar of flowers.

Those are the current contents of our bedroom. At one point, though, we had a lot more than that. Oh my goodness.

• We had the baby crib in our room (which we only ever used as a space for our clean, but not folded, laundry).
• Our closet was overflowing with clothes, shoes, backpacks and other miscellaneous junk.
• The nightstand surface was piled high and the storage space inside was a cluttered mess.
• The dresser in our room was in a similar state as our nightstand and it made me anxious just being in my room.

Thankfully, it was a pretty easy room to declutter, once I realized that I needed so little. If you’ve reached the point where you know you need to simplify your space, but aren’t quite sure how to go about it, I’ve got some helpful tips for you.

And make sure you read this post before you get started so you’re not left wondering what to do with everything you take out.

Minimize furniture

How much furniture do you really need in your bedroom? For some, this won’t be a problem as there’s only space for the essentials. However, we had a house once with a giant master bedroom and felt the urge to fill it up. (Like with a baby crib.)

Look around your room at what you really use on a regular basis (and not just for piling stuff on). Would it be better suited in another room? Or gone?

Or does having it make your bedroom more cozy? If so, is it arranged in the best way to promote calm and relaxation in your room?

Put things in their rightful place

Somehow, our bedrooms become a dumping ground for, well, everything. Maybe you walk in with something, set it down and then forget to take it out. Or, maybe your kids take stuff in there and leave it.

Whatever the case is, make sure everything is in its proper place.

Take out stuff that doesn’t belong in your bedroom.

Think of toys, tools, excess books, the TV (more on that in a sec), outdoor gear, etc. If it doesn’t belong in your bedroom, remove it. And, if you’re just not sure where to put it, evaluate whether you really need it or not. If you do, designate a space for it in your closet or under your bed.

If it’s an ongoing problem, keep a small basket in your room to put everything in at the end of the day and make sure everyone returns their items.

Ditch the TV

I read somewhere once that bedrooms are for sleeping and sex. Amen. (And if this post is also helping with your kids rooms, lets just go with sleeping).

One reason we’ve been able to declutter so much is because we removed the excess and designated special places for certain items.

In our home, our (tiny) TV is in the living room.

Doing so removed the temptation to just lay in bed and zone out while watching TV instead of connecting with my husband. Watching it right before bed also resets your mind, making it harder for you (or kids) to fall asleep.

Clear off surfaces

It’s time to take that stack of papers, books, clothes, etc. and get them out. Treat your bedroom as your sacred space and keep out anything that detracts from that. Like bills, the ten books you’ve been trying to read at once and the mending pile that makes you more anxious than excited.

Make it a goal to keep the surfaces in your room as clear as possible.

Also, if your nightstand has a space to store extra stuff, as ours did, empty it out and keep only what must stay in your bedroom.

Either put the rest back where it should go or get rid of things you can part with.

How important is it really if it just gets shoved in a drawer and forgotten about?

Be selective

When it comes to the stuff you keep on display in your bedroom, be selective. (Hell, that applies to your whole house.)

• If you have a nightstand, maybe keep a lamp, one book, a journal and something pretty. Or just the lamp and book.
• On your dresser, you might keep a photo from your wedding and a little dish to put jewelry.
• If you keep a desk in your room, try to keep just the essentials on it and maybe something that inspires you.

Think of a relaxing retreat you’ve either been to or seen a picture of. There’s no clutter; the surfaces are clear. And whatever’s in there has been carefully chosen to help you relax.

Treat your bedroom the same way.

I know it’s cliche, but less is more.

This is your space to relax and connect intimately with your partner.

The less you have, and the more treasured the items that you keep are to you, the easier it is to make it peaceful haven.

Now go get started.

Posts in the Declutter Series: How To Declutter Your Home Series: Before You Begin,  How to Declutter the Kitchen, How to Declutter the Bedroom, How to Declutter the Bathroom and How to Declutter Toys.

When I first started decluttering, the bathroom was one of the scariest spaces for me to attack. Why? Because it’s so easy to accumulate a whole lot of stuff in there.

And so much tiny stuff at that: bobby pins, hair ties, cotton balls, travel size thingies.

The bathroom can be intimidating.

That’s why you approach it with a plan.

Before you even get started, I want you to consider your bathroom routine. Think about the whole day and what you often go into the bathroom for.

What do you use most frequently?

Make a list.

Do you use hair accessories on a regular basis? Which ones are your favorites? How about makeup and hair products? Narrow down what you use most often and put it on the list.

Now go into the bathroom with a box and put everything from your list in said box.

I find that this is a really easy way to get started because you’ve already got your must-have items out of the way and you can focus on clearing out the rest of the clutter.

Okay, time for the rest of the stuff.

If you really want to declutter, you’re going to have to go through a lot of stuff and make some decisions, like:

• Does every member of the family need their own body wash?
• How many hair ties are really necessary?
• Is this toxic? You can check here.
• Do I want to keep using the products I buy or do I want to make my own?
• Can I donate any of this extra stuff or does it need to be tossed?
• Is _____ really an essential part of my life?

The biggest part of the decluttering process is answering those questions. And then taking action.

Now, get started.

So, what makes sense to you? Tackling the shower first? Or maybe under the sink? Maybe getting into those drawers will be best. Whatever order seems right to you, just get started.

Toss the old, nasty stuff. Grab a box or basket to put everything your want to donate in. And keep the stuff that stays to a minimum.

It’s really that simple.

It’s just answering those questions and taking the first step that stops most people.

And if you’re really stuck, here’s a list of what we’ve kept (I know some people, like me, need to have an idea of what someone else has done before they dive in).

What’s in our bathroom:

• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Razor (we share a safety razor)
• Soap dish with boar bristle brush
• Shampoo
• Bar soap (this recipe)
• Face cleanser
• Moisturizer
• Saline solution
• Contact lense case
• The Balm (get it here)
• Essential oils (we use them for deodorant and, well, for pretty much everything)
• Hairbrush
• A few hair ties and bobby pins
• Small pouch with makeup (mascara, blush, black eyeliner, face powder, lip stick)
• Clipper/scissor set for hair cuts
• A few washcloths
• 6 towels

This is just a tiny fraction of what used to be in our bathroom and I love having so little to take care of. Everything gets used regularly and when we travel, everything we need fits nicely into a small toiletries bag.

Declutter, friend. You’ll be so glad you did.