Kitchen Decluttering

It's so important to take before pictures! I recently decluttered my kitchen a bit more, but I wish I had a picture to compare how far I've come.

My counters used to be cluttered with so much stuff. There was a pile of paper always by the sink and the wifi was also located there. It was all such a mess! There was hardly any free counter space and it always looked so sloppy!

I took some pictures of what my kitchen currently looks like, but I wish I had more before pictures so I can remind myself that our kitchen is so much more pleasing to the eye now than it used to be! If you are starting a minimalism journey and you want to watch your progress, I suggest taking pictures! Decluttering is like losing weight; you reach a point where you feel like you can't see a difference, but you know you have been working so hard to change. Then you see an old photo and realize how far you've come. This has been how I feel with decluttering. I feel like there is still so much junk around, but I need to remind myself how far I've come to get to where I am at, especially with having OCD. Letting go of things is so hard for me, but I know I have been working hard and that things used to be so much worse.

Over a year ago we got rid of our dish rack that was white, large, and dirty. We got this small one that goes over the sick that can also be placed out of sight into the sink. I like this one much better than our last because it helps to free up counter space! Another way we have kept declutter out of the kitchen is by using a baby seat that attaches to our chairs instead of buying a large baby seat to take up space.

In my recent declutter I got rid of some baby spoons we have. Our baby had six spoons and I realized she does not need that many spoons! I donated three of them. 

I am not sure when I received these alcoholic beverages. I think perhaps someone brought them over after I got my master's degree, but I was pregnant and not able to drink. I told my husband to keep them in the fridge because I would have then after I had the baby. Flash forward almost two years later and guess who still hasn't had these to drink? This gal! I finally accepted that I've lost my desire to drink alcohol, especially since I'm on medication that won't respond well to it. I tossed them out.

 An item I had a hard time letting go of was this cat balloon we got from Sprouts from Halloween. You read that right: HALLOWEEN! I have the hardest time with stuff that belongs to the girls. The baby loved having this balloon around. This is what anxiety can look like. I used to be much worse and would keep things like this around for years (embarrassing to admit that).

 I've mentioned before that I sell Norwex, so it is evident that I am a big believer in trying to reduce waste. We have a lot of reusable straws in our drawer. I got rid of a few though because though we are proactive in avoiding straws that will end up in landfills, the amount of reusable straws we had were out of hand (I know, I feel bad to toss them out, so I added them to a donation bag. If they get tossed out anyway, I'm sorry Mother Earth!)

I know I can reduce more and make more space in my kitchen, and there is one major area that is left to declutter. I am very happy with how far I've come though and work on cleaning up after myself every day. It's all about creating good habits and reminding myself of the overall goal to have less stress in our lives by eliminating the clutter. 💕