Weekend Projects

This Weekend: Get Rid of These 10 Things In Your Kitchen Right Now

published Dec 2, 2017
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(Image credit: Lisa Diederich)

A kitchen that’s crammed with things is not efficient. If your cabinets are stuffed to the gills with items that you have to dig through to unearth the mixing bowl — and then, ugh, you have to put it all back before you’re even able to cook, you probably dread cooking. This weekend, edit what’s in your kitchen so you can chop, saute, and bake all week (and beyond!) with everything you need, from carrots to the pepper shaker, right at your fingertips.

This Weekend’s Assignment: Set your kitchen up for frustration-free use for the end of the year and beyond

  1. Food that’s too old to safely eat (spoiled produce or leftovers older than about five days max)
  2. Food that’s almost too old (eat it or freeze it for later; produce can be used for smoothies or in homemade stock)
  3. Unnecessary duplicates of kitchen tools (spatulas, whisks, can openers, etc.)
  4. Chipped dishes (bad fung shui)
  5. Junk drawer detritus
  6. “Freebies” from restaurants (napkins, sauce packets, S&P)
  7. Baking items that you use once a year or less (evaluate whether you really need them and, if so, store them where they aren’t clogging your kitchen)
  8. Relics of past sets of silverware, dishes, or drink ware (donate them)
  9. Outdated pantry items (spices that have lost their flavor, rancid whole-grain flours, expired canned goods, marshmallows stuck together in one giant glob)
  10. Pots or pans that you never use (even if they came in your set, if you don’t use it, lose it)

For more inspiration, check out:

Remember, as with all of our Weekend Projects, just do what you have the time and energy to do. This is a marathon, not a sprint!

  • Help motivate others by letting the rest of us know how things are going! Share your tips and photos of your Weekend Project work on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #ATweekendproject.
  • Check out 2017’s entire Plan for a Healthy & Happy Home to access all Weekend Project ideas, so you can pick and choose what to do this weekend.