Is it just me, or do you ever peruse photos of organized closets, beautifully arranged homes and office spaces, or look up how to “feng shui” your bedroom and feel immediately relaxed?
The truth is, our external environment has a HUGE impact on our internal health and wellbeing, and not just for organized or orderly personality types.
Even something as simple as clearing your desk off can provide greater creativity, clarity, and productivity in your work!
In fact, decluttering any part of your life can help you tackle other projects and to-dos you may have been avoiding, building momentum and making you feel great in the process. It’s a win/win!
Since I’m a Nutritionist, I want to give you some action steps for clearing and organizing any clutter in your kitchen space.
Making sure you know where everything is in your kitchen, while keeping the space open, clean, and clear, can make it so much more inviting for cooking delicious healthy meals (and helps you feel less stressed just looking at it!)
Top Kitchen Decluttering & Organizing Tips
Before your next grocery run, take inventory of everything in your fridge and pantry!
Sometimes we forget what we bought and end up buying more of the same or forgetting something we need. This will save you space, time, AND money!
If you have canned items you simply have no use for and they aren’t expired, give them to a local food drive.
Stick to your list.
I’m a professional Meal Planner - prepping what I’ll have, knowing my ingredients, and sticking to the list at the store helps keep extraneous items out of my cart! (Think of it like Meal Prep Minimalism)
This also helps me stay on budget and not waste food that’s not in the plan!
Just be sure not to shop hungry - it’s much more likely you’ll veer off the list!
Clean your fridge and freezer.
Get rid of anything that has expired, and look at expiration dates so you know when to use it!
Reuse any glass jars that you can for storing leftovers or fermenting!
Give the surfaces and compartments a good clean - no one wants to open their fridge and see debris around their food.
Keep the Kitchen tidy!
Clean kitchen surfaces so they sparkle.
Wash your dishes soon after use or while you wait for things to cook (piles of dishes are an eyesore, just tackle it).
Dishes piling up can lead to unwanted bugs, smells, mold, and more internal chaos of the mind.
Try to use up everything you have before buying more.
Experiment with a “no spend day” where you only cook with things you already have at your disposal.
This amplifies creativity and uses up pantry items that may be lingering so you can create more room for what you need next.
Storing Food:
Buying great glass storage containers is not only more eco-friends and non-toxic, but also looks great to the eye!
Whether you are storing food in your fridge or your countertops, you can buy containers and bowls made from non-toxic materials and display your foods in an attractive way. Ex: a gorgeous bowl for your non-refrigerated fruits on your counter.
You can also learn proper storage techniques that keep your food from spoiling as quickly!
As soon as you get groceries, properly wash, dry, and prep your produce so it’s in “grab and go” style containers. It looks so orderly in the fridge, attractive, and you just saved yourself time not having to wash and prep as you go all week!
Storing Methods:
No one likes having to search through a messy drawer for the tool you need in the middle of cooking. Everything should have its own “home” in your kitchen, so you know where it lives when not in use.
Do your best to keep countertops clear - this also feels like less chaos and clutter to the mind! Use up your cabinets wisely.
There are really neat and low-cost storage tools for your fridge, pantry, and other areas that make restocking a breeze, and also help if you live in a tighter space (hello NYC apartments!).
Labels can be helpful if you have roommates or want your kids or partner helping with chores, so they know where things get put away! (Have you ever had house guests unload your dishwasher and don’t know where anything is? haha)
Appliances
If you only need an appliance for one recipe, don’t buy new and clutter your kitchen! You can reach out to neighbors or nearby friends and family to borrow.
There are even communities that create an online inventory and rent out home supplies to each other! Everyone saves money on things that may only need to be used a couple of times.
Create a “Habit Friendly” Kitchen
Put foods that spoil faster in front of your eyesight, and plan them into your meal prep earlier in the week!
This is HUGE for my clients, who may struggle with emotional eating/food temptation. If there is something in your kitchen, be it sugar, canola/vegetable oils, or things you know do not serve you, do not keep them around. Immediately order replacements and either give them away, turn them into something useful outside of eating them, or throw them out!
I.e. if you are trying to cut back on cookies and have them right there tempting you, that makes it 10xs harder to make the habit changes you want.
If you have granulated sugar, you can make body sugar scrub with oils and essential oils! They also make great gifts!
Creating more space and peace of mind in your kitchen makes a tremendous difference, whether you are cooking in a stressed out state of mind or feeling grounded and joyful. I hope you’ll give these decluttering techniques a try, and that they have a positive ripple effect on all other areas of your life!