Decluttering kitchen

[Deleted]

I have been working for two days moving things, washing things, throwing away, etc. in preparation for dd & sil to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets tomorrow.  I have limited energy, so mornings are spent doing this and afternoons for recovery, errands, gardening a little, etc.

There is so much stuff!  I don't need it and a lot of it needs to find a new home.  DD is having a yard sale week after next, so it is the perfect time to declutter but it is hard.  I have a lot of stuff that is sentimental.  That makes it doubly hard.

[shin]

Sometimes I have some brief regrets after decluttering and disposing of things left unused, but the long term relief is worth it.

[Deleted]

As I have been washing piece after piece and stacking in crates to get them out of the way, I'm realizing I haven't picked them up since the last time I cleaned and washed that particular area. I think I'm going to get rid of some and store the most sentimental for a while and just enjoy the clean look of things.

[Deleted]

Our kitchen is very minimal. The rest is stored away. We have a 4 place setting of dinner ware and silverware (Stainless) in the drawer, the rest is in Grandmas silver chest on top of the buffet. 1 frypan, 2 pc.set of Revereware copper bottom pots, glass loaf pan, and glass casserole, moved from cabin to outdoor kitchen. A peeler and 2 knives, 1 paring and 1 5" butcher knife, sharpening steel, a potato masher, grater, pancake flipper and mixing/stirring spoon. A matching set of utensils in the outdoor kitchen. We have an 8 piece set of plastic storage containers with lids and a few cottage cheese and butter containers. We cook, eat and then do a quick cleanup. We cook 1 meal a day, eat the leftovers and a light supper (popcorn, cheeses, applesauce, fruit, nut butters and muffins)....James

[farmchix]

Unless it is something I am absolutely certain I will not need any time in the future, I do not get rid of the kitchen stuff. The newer products just don't have the same quality as the older ones. I had to quit canning for about five years due to divorce, move, etc. and hung on to my huge pile of canning jars. So glad I suffered through. With the prices of what they are now, I am sitting on a gold mine! LOL And....I will finally be able to use them all--NEXT summer. Right now, I am only using a few.

[Deleted]

I have a "purgatory" box. Things I'm not using go in there for a while, and if I don't miss them they go away. I look through the box one more time before it goes to yard sale/charity to make sure there's nothing sentimental in there...

[Deleted]

I have gotten rid of a lot of kitchen stuff. Especially plastic. One thing for sure is I would never get rid of canning jars either! They might not be used every year, but then other years, like last year, I use just about every single one. Two other things I won't get rid of is my cast iron pans and my Pyrex bowls, baking dishes, casseroles. Every time I say that I need to get rid of some of these things, I need them. So those things stay.

[spacecase0]

I figure that someone else can go get rid of it all after I am gone,
I got it all for a reason, and none of the reasons have changed
but then I have enough room to box up things and put it in a corner

[Deleted]

The trouble with letting someone else get rid of it when you are gone is that it cost money to do that if it has to be thrown out. My husband and I had to do that with my parents' house and they had stuff in there from the fifties. It was a horrible job and I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. Maybe if I had a daughter it'd be different. Like I got my parents' canning jars and stuff, but not much else. I plan on being a minimalist and one thing I am aware of is that as I get older, the more I want to do this. I am just tired of having some items that I do not use anymore taking up precious space. I look forward to open spaces in my house.

[wildhorseluvr]

People have no idea of how much it costs others in time, energy, emotion and money to get rid of their stuff after they're gone. Having had to do this more than once in my life, I am now in the process of doing a major declutter. House, outbuildings, yard and critters.  I refuse to make someone else deal with my stuff and we never know how many days we have left to us.

I'm not a minimalist but am paring down to a fraction of what I have now. The sentimental things I can't bear to get rid of will be on a list of what goes to which kid, with notes on why they have sentimental value. When I'm gone the family can keep them or toss them, won't matter to me then!    Having just dealt with the unexpected death of my husband, I am also making sure there will be a briefcase containing my will, living will, property papers, vehicle titles, legal & financial papers, medical info, bill paying instructions, notes on pet care, and copies of all the keys, etc. It will make life a lot easier for my family. What we've had to deal with since my DH died I wouldn't wish on anyone. 

[Deleted]

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your husband.

[Deleted]

We're all different so I won't criticize anyone who likes to keep their collectables and sentimental items, but I live simply and could go even more so. I've moved so many times and each time I sorted and gave away or threw away so many things, and haven't missed one thing! Not one.

I've asked my kids what they want and they want very little (they're men, so maybe it's different with girls) which helps in getting rid of stuff.

I have a rule: if it's not used during one full year I have to make a decision on whether to keep, give away or throw away. I don't sell stuff. It's better to give away and bless someone.

[whisperwindkat]

I am getting ready to go through my kitchen as well. I have more things in there than I use, so I have decided my extras are going to be packed in boxes for the two girls. There is enough to give them a head start on their kitchenware. Then my kitchen will be down to the things that I really use on a regular basis. Like many of you as I get older I am tired of all the stuff and am really minimalizing our possessions. I have already told my husband that I want to get rid of some of the furniture so if there is something in particular he doesn't want to get rid of he better speak up now before it is gone. I also have so many things that I have saved for projects...you know those really cool things you see on pinterest. So, I am gathering them all up into one space in my craft/sewing area. Whatever hasn't been turned into something in a year is going to goodwill or the dump. But at least they are all together in one space yet and I have a plan.

[Deleted]

Well this weekend I am going through my kitchen. I cook and bake allot, but I have just way to much stuff. Some of it I haven't used in many years and some of it I have duplicates. There is a young couple in my town that is just starting out. I think I will donate it all to them. After the kitchen the rest of the house .

I don't remember when or how I acquired as much stuff as I have. It is now time for it to go. I live a simple life and it is about to get simpler.

[Deleted]

Jun 13, 2015 23:06:07 GMT @stef said:

 I don't sell stuff. It's better to give away and bless someone.

I've participated in a couple of garage sales but I'm with you - the goal is to get what is still usable out of my house. If you are participating in a garage sale, the "free box" is an option for items you can't justify selling but still may useful life to someone else. One of the kids had an ink pen "incident" in an outgrown, like new pair of jeans. In good conscious I could not justify asking money for the jeans so into the free box they went. A woman quickly snagged them proclaiming them play jeans for her grandchild.

[Deleted]

Back to this thread. The next day after the kitchen was painted I decided that the ceiling looked nasty and started to texture it. Hopping up and down on a kitchen chair all day did a number on my hip that wound up lasting all summer. Three weeks ago I had a shot in the joint. Two weeks ago I finally started to feel better and moved one shelf back into the kitchen after a good scrub. The other shelf is still in my sewing room along with a number of boxes and crates of dishes, kitchen tools, etc. Now I have a small table and two chairs in the house that needs to go to the farm soon. (Long story)

Now I can't stand the mess that has accumulated this summer, so today I will start again. I'm going to get out my pennys and a small jar. For every 5 minutes, I will put a penny in the jar to track my progress.

[Deleted]

25 minutes later all the file folders from book research are gathered up; one stack on new small table for daily work till done, other stacks in bookcase in sewing room, coffee table cleaned off, loveseat cleaned off, kitchen table cleaned off and ready to wipe down and put new Goodwill placements down.

[manygoatsnmore]

Sorry to hear about your hip pain - I live with hip, knee and back pain (and now either bursitis or tendinitis in my right shoulder), and know how hard it is to be enthused about cleaning (or much else), when you are hurting. Glad to hear that you are feeling better and back in the groove!

[Deleted]

Manygoatsnmore, I was finally diagnosed with bursitis and had to have a shot in the joint. The doctor said some people have to have two or three. It is still tender at times, but the never ending nagging pain is gone. Even with a first shot of lidocaine, plus more lidocaine mixed in the shot that went into the joint it was painful but worth it. The nurse came and wanted to know if I wanted to hold her hand. I was gripping the side of the table with all I had and I asked her if she really wanted her fingers broken. Just because I'm old and fat, no one really understands that I regularly carry 50lb sacks of feed and salt, pull and push whatever and have more strength that they realize.

I rested a bit, got up and made 8 jars of jelly plus a little leftover for the cook, then washed up all of that mess. Except for the hot jars, I'm ready to take all the other jars, both empty and full to storage. It will help the looks of my kitchen a lot!

[Deleted]

I've pulled out a number of kitchen items that I will put in a tote to be placed in dd's yard sale. She can price them, I don't care. The nice clean table is half full of 'stuff'. I gave away two mixing bowls, an oven mitt, a can opener that I hate and a broiler pan to a friend last night. The table is still full. I had to wash a tote and let it dry today, so I'm going to go get it before it gets wet and start filling it up. I saved this week's newspaper to wrap the glass things in.