Be honest with yourself – how many unused appliances do you have sitting in the kitchen cabinets that you haven’t used or even remember owning in the last year or so? Chances are, the answer is too many.
I, for one, definitely know what it feels like to get in on the hype when a “new and improved” appliance comes out onto the market.
Your kitchen cabinet is probably bursting at the seams with the number of unused appliances sitting on the shelves, metaphorically collecting dust as we speak. We have compiled a list of items you can get rid of to declutter your kitchen cabinets.
(Source: Champion Lakes Gallery)
1. Unused appliances
This category covers not only unused appliances but also novelty, duplicate and small appliances. Think of what appliances you use on the daily. That may be your coffee machine, toaster and your top-of-the-line Nutribullet blender.
Think about the random appliances you have sitting at the back of your kitchen cabinets collecting dust and not receiving the love and care they deserve. Perhaps you had two other blenders before purchasing your expensive Nutribullet, that you never got around to donating or selling, which has ended up in the shadows of your unused waffle press.
Go to your cabinets and take out everything from within and lay them out. What do you actually use and what could you go without? To be honest, most of these appliances you have probably already forgotten about or used it every day for the month straight after you bought it but they never saw the light of day again. Those are definitely the ones you could go without.
Duplicate appliances tie in with the small appliances. Perhaps you bought a new appliance that does the job of two appliances you already own. I don’t see the reason why you should own all three… in fact, you could sell off the other two. Why add unnecessary clutter to your cabinets if you know there’s a 99% chance you won’t actively go out of your way to use them again?
Let me be the first to tell you that you WILL NOT be going back to use the small appliances when you have your new one. The purpose of getting the upgraded appliance was probably so you didn’t need to use the two you have originally. Keeping all three will defeat the purpose of purchasing the all in one appliance.
2. Platters and dishes
Go through all your platters and serving dishes. Realistically, how many do you use and how many make an appearance when you throw a little get together in your home?
The ones that you use when your family and friends are over, you should keep. But the ones left in the cabinets or has never been used, you should find those a new home.
“Oh, no I want to keep my fine China serving plates that I’ve had for 10 years because I’ve yet to have an event grand enough to use them”. Well, in that case, you have two choices here. You could use them anyway – replace all your basic serving plates with these fine China OR at your next party, take them out and use them. Luckily for us, there is NO rule stating you need to wait for a fancy event to pull these pieces out. Life’s too short to live that way. Why not use your fine china for every meal?
3. Pots and pans
Look at how many pots and pans you own. Do you purchase new pots and pans often, even though your previous ones work perfectly fine? Where do the old ones go? That’s right, it finds a spot in your cabinets and sits there until you find a new use for it again. What about ones that are missing the lid? Perhaps you misplaced it or accidentally dropped it, but still kept the pot, because, you know… “just in case”. Yeah… those are some things you can get rid of too.
4. Mugs
Let’s be honest here, how many mugs do you own and how many do you use? Maybe you have a water mug and a coffee mug. That’s two. What about your ten random mugs you have all lined up neatly in your cabinets? All the mugs you were given as a gift but can’t possibly use them all? Think about how many are used when guests are over. Any excess mugs can be donated to aid in decluttering your cabinets.
(Source: @themrseverything_ on Instagram)
5. Food containers
Go through your stacks of food containers and Tupperware. How many are missing a lid? Or is there a lid but no container? You can definitely donate those that do not have a matching counterpart as there is really no use for it. Now go through the ones that have a pair. Are any of them broken or stained? Those can also join the recycle pile.
Decluttering your kitchen cabinets will allow for more space for the things you love and use, while finding a new home for your pre-loved items. To ensure the contents of your cabinets only hold the items you use and treasure, it is recommended to go through and declutter your cabinets every 6 months or so to keep only the essentials.
If you are looking add more cabinets to increase your storage options, don’t hesitate to contact us at 9234 3000 or email sales@charactergroup.com.au to get in touch with one of our talented interior designers! If you have a vision, we want to help you bring it to life!
