Decluttering/Refreshing/Cleaning a Kitchen Cupboard

Two days ago I challenged all of us to re-organize a kitchen cupboard or drawer. I chose to work on the cabinet under our double sink. This is where we keep a bucket of potting soil for quicky seeding or planting jobs, scouring pads, a couple of cleaners, extra dish soap, and a container to hold produce scraps for the worm composter. There are a couple of other items under there, too. I have a bottle of sherry for a kind of tomato soup I make sometimes and I also keep my rubber dishwashing gloves there. Oh, and the salad spinner lives on top of the potting soil bucket so it’s handy for washing greens in the sink. This is Step One to successful decluttering: Determine the use of the space. When I decide what I will use the space for, I also decide what it will not be used for. In this case, we store items that get used in or at the sink. We do not store other items here. (Except for the sherry — I use it right at the nearby stove and don’t have a better place for it.)

Before: It doesn’t look too bad at first glance. You can see some effort at corralling the smaller items in the bucket.

Second Step: Remove the items from the space. I cleaned the inside of the cabinet — carefully — because our cabinets are inexpensive particle board boxes covered with glorified contact paper. A previous plumbing leak left a decided sag in the floor of it, too.

Look what I found in the bucket! The new scrubber is entirely understandable — I picked it up for a good price when I found it since we go through a scrubber every year or so — but why didn’t the old pathetic clear one get pitched when we started in with the current one we keep at the sink? The red and white one is meant to be a dish scrubber but we use it for produce. The yellow one? No memory of it at all. I think the green and white one may have been an experiment in a different style that nobody liked. BUT IT IS STILL HERE. So, we come to Step Three: Get rid of anything that does not serve you or bring you joy. Goodbye, unloved/unneeded/past it brushes.

Check out the 30+ year-old bucket. As pathetic as it is, it does do the job we ask of it. It rarely gets pushed or pulled on, so even though it is badly cracked it could stay. However, I am very tired of looking at it and I had a brainwave. I have a lovely pottery piece that cracked recently and can’t be used for cooking anymore, but it could get a new life as a glove/veggie brush/Choreboy holder. (I know you’re dying to know why I store queen size knee-hi stockings under my sink. I use them as a strainer to fit over a wide mouth jar when I grow alfalfa sprouts. I found these on clearance for a quarter, so they’re waiting in the wings until my current one loses its oomph.)

Step Four: Put back only the items that belong and will fit comfortably in the space. While I was getting my beloved batter bowl, I noticed a large blue flower pot and saucer I haven’t used for an outdoor planter for a couple of years. I decided to use the pot in the rear right corner to hold dishwasher accessories and the saucer in the front center to hold the cleaners. Then it occurred to me to grab an old Ball canning jar to hold disposable scouring pads. I think that idea is what I like best about this job — the bluish pads look neat in the blue glass jar. Step Five: Admire your good results shamelessly and make the regular effort to keep it that way.

Yesterday, I encouraged you to create an oasis of loveliness for yourself — an activity that would leave your refreshed and content. I had three oases of loveliness in my day — the weather was grand and warm for January, so I ate an afternoon snack while I sat on our front porch steps. I was wearing no jacket and felt comfortable — such a gift to this lady who is less than enthusiastic about winter. Later, I walked to the post office and the library — again in shirtsleeves — and just enjoyed the soft air. And earlier, I made myself a special lunch with some beautiful leftover salmon (on special for a great price this week!):

I just adore these kinds of cold plates for lunch — this one has artichoke and sun-dried tomato spread in the center, a hard-cooked egg, and the salmon with shallot/preserved lemon/parsley/mint mayo. Because everything you see here was made ahead, my lunch was ready in moments. Mmmm. Today’s Task If your schedule allows, choose one or both of these: Clean your stove top thoroughly. Tackle another cabinet or drawer in the kitchen. Remember the steps to successful decluttering: Determine the use of the space. Remove the items from the space. Get rid of anything that does not serve you or bring you joy. Put back only the items that belong and will fit comfortably in the space. Admire your good results shamelessly and make the regular effort to keep it that way. Did you create an oasis of loveliness yesterday? Have you done any home keeping jobs? Do tell.