Some kitchen utensils are indispensable, but others just float around your kitchen and will never be used again. However, all it takes to clear out your kitchen storage is a simple process.
In a post from 2015 the Kitchen asked its readers for their best tips on shrinking utensils, cookware, and other kitchen-related clutter. Commentator cook_at_home suggested the box methodwhich is as simple as it is effective:
Take everything and put it in a box. Only take something out when you need it.
Before taking anything out, consider if there is any other way to do the job with what you have.
After a month, take the box to the basement (or some other “distant” warehouse). Donate the box after 6 months.
The boxing method works so well because it forces you to be realistic about your cooking habits. This makes it pretty easy to separate the real necessities from the clutter. It’s also important to set a fixed time frame: If you haven’t used something for six months, do you really need to keep it?
Feel free to customize this process to suit your needs. For example, if it sounds a little messy to throw everything in one box, try breaking your kitchen utensils down by category. Start with bulky appliances, oversized cookware, and anything else that takes up a lot of space. Narrowing down the big things first can potentially free up enough space that you won’t have to be as reckless with your smaller tools. You can also set the waiting time longer or shorter, depending on how much “remote storage” your home has.
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We all have kitchen gadgets that we bought to do this one thing and never did it again even though we vowed to do it. Think of this as a kind reminder to erase from time to time. All of these idle tools just take up space that you could use to store other things – preferably the ones that you actually use.
This article was originally published March 2015 and was updated with new information on June 14, 2021 and is in compliance with Lifehacker style guidelines.
