Simplify and Declutter: Days 4 and 5 of 10

For ten days this January, we’re decluttering our house from top to bottom. We’re using Tsh Oxenreider’s ten-day plan from her book Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living.    Please see the links at the bottom to read about our entire household declutter.

Oxenreider devotes two days to the kitchen, and I can see why.  It’s a big job.  Because Charlie and I have culled so much over the last few years, I think it was easier than it could have been.  That being said, it was a pain.  We did it all in one day.

One of the things that I love about Oxenreider’s approach is that you take everything out of every cabinet and storage container.  This has helped us to cull items that we probably wouldn’t have.  As we touch each item that goes back to its home, we ask ourselves if it’s useful or beautiful.  If neither applies, it goes.

Below, you’ll see us in process as we take everything out of every cabinet and then give the cabinet a good cleaning before items start to go back.

For decluttering the kitchen cabinets, Charlie set up two folding tables in our dining room for us to use along with our dining room table.

Below, you’ll see a few items that went into our give pile.  From duplicate spices to bottles of molasses to pot holders that don’t work very well, we have a lot of goods that we’ll be freecycling or tossing.  We also threw out any storage containers that didn’t have their lids.  We use all of our kitchen tools, so all of those stayed.

Below is what we wound up with after culling.

I love the glassware solution that some minimalists have used.  One set of glasses for everything from coffee to tea to wine.  For now, what we have above is working fine.

Below, you’ll see my two favorite things that came out of the kitchen clean-out.  Our counters are wonderfully clear which makes food prep so much easier.   Gone is our fruit bowl, which used to live on the counter.  We have an old-fashioned pantry that vents to the outside of the house.  We put our fruit bowl, onions and potatoes on the shelf closest to the outside vent.  It took up a lot of counter space before, and I’m loving the change.  We also put out one of our vases to serve as a tool holder by our stove.

We put several items such as extra wine glasses and our Harsch crock on probation.  These items are in our garage until June.  If they haven’t been used by then, it will be time for them to go on to a new home.

We’re half way through.  Thanks for sticking with me so far.  Next up:  the bathrooms.

Click on the links below to learn more about our household declutter:

Day 1: Trash and surface clutter

Day 2: Living Area Day 1

Day 3: Living Area Day 2

Day 6: Bathrooms

Days 7 and 8: Children’s Bedrooms

Day 9:  Master Bedroom

Day 10:  Entrances

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