Keeping things clean and organized in your first apartment can be tricky. The kitchen tends to get particularly messy since you probably use it every single day, and before too long, you might find that your drawers, cabinets, and countertops are getting unreasonably cluttered. Read on below to learn how to declutter these spaces and keep them that way!
Drawers
Cluttered drawers are super annoying – everybody has experienced the frustration of not being able to open a drawer because a spatula or can opener is blocking it. Drawer organizers are super helpful for this, and they’re not just for silverware! You can get plastic, metal, or wood drawer organizers to fit all kinds of kitchen accessories.
Drawer organizers are great, but they don’t help if you don’t have a system for which things go in which drawers. If you don’t already do so, designate separate drawers for silverware and cutting knives, a drawer for kitchen towels and rags, and a drawer for plastic wrap and plastic bags. If you choose to have a junk drawer, try to clear everything out of it regularly or consider getting rid of it completely.
Cabinets
Your cabinets are the largest storage space in your kitchen and one of the largest in the house, so it’s easy to lose track of things and forget about things you store in there and never use. Between reusable containers with missing lids, way-too-specialized kitchen appliances, and expired food ingredients, cabinets get full of junk way too easily.
The best way to declutter your cabinets is to be honest with yourself about what you will or won’t actually use. If you get kitchen tools or appliances as a gift and you know you won’t use them regularly, don’t be afraid to just return them to the store or sell them online. If your cabinets are already cluttered with junk, simply take a day to go through each cabinet one by one and get rid of anything you don’t use or that you forgot you owned.
Countertops
The countertops are arguably the most important part of the kitchen to keep clean, as they’re the most visible surface. It’s easy, however, for them to become cluttered with small appliances, food ingredients, and decorative elements that stack up over time. It starts with justifying one thing, like keeping your toaster and blender on the counter, because it’s irritating to have to get them out of a cabinet every time you use them.
To get your countertops decluttered, limit the number of things you keep on them as permanent fixtures. When you have too many appliances and things on your counters, even when your counters are “clean,” they’ll still look messy. Try keeping any small appliances you use on a daily or weekly basis in a cabinet right above or below where you’d like to plug them in. Keep salt and pepper and other commonly used kitchen spices in a spice cabinet, and consider keeping knives and cutting boards in drawers instead of in a rack on the counter.
