5 Tips to Declutter Your Kitchen with Loveleaf Co.
By Ally Milligan of Loveleaf Co.
All Images: Loveleaf Co.
If you’re trying to eat healthier, here’s some unconventional advice: declutter your kitchen! I started Loveleaf Co. because I know what it's like to feel totally overwhelmed by a cluttered kitchen ... and too busy to cook real, nourishing meals (cue the nightly takeout). Turns out the two problems are inextricably linked.
A streamlined kitchen will help you cook more efficiently, save money at the grocery store, and give you more energy and inspiration to actually cook meals you feel good about. And because I believe that cooking weeknight meals should be a source of nourishment and comfort instead of a source of stress, here my top five tips to declutter your kitchen.
1. Simplify FIRST.
Before you buy any fancy storage containers, jars, or baskets, edit your kitchen first. Go through your kitchen by category (small appliances, utensils, pots and pans, pantry items, etc.) and donate, recycle, or compost anything you don’t use or love. If you organize without simplifying first, you will end up wasting time by moving clutter around over and over again.
2. Organize Your Pantry
Once you’ve done a thorough edit of your pantry, it’s time to organize! An organized pantry makes it easier to whip up easy, healthy weeknight meals by saving you time and money; you won't buy items you already have and you'll feel prepared to cook at home (no more last-minute takeout!).
Group similar items together (baking ingredients, dry goods, snacks, etc) in a way that makes sense for your life. For example, I rarely bake, so I have a basket full of baking ingredients that I keep on a higher shelf in my pantry, up and out of the way. If you bake a lot, you would want to keep these ingredients more accessible.
3. Invest In Less, But Better
True story: I only use one knife regularly - an all-purpose chef’s knife. No need for a huge knife block or special drawer means even more counter space. A few other easy less-but-better upgrades: pots and pans (I use a set of cast-iron pans, a saucepan, and a stockpot) and food storage containers (a set of uniform glass containers will change your life… and make leftovers more appealing.
4. Keep Your Counters Clutter-Free
Clutter is stressful, especially when we can see it. One of the easiest ways to create a calming, stress-free kitchen environment is to keep your countertops free from stuff. My personal rule: only daily-use appliances are allowed to live on my counter (for me, that’s my blender and my coffee maker).
Everything else has a home inside of a cabinet, out of sight. If you find that your kitchen counters are a natural landing spot for mail and papers, get a “Kitchen Inbox” basket that can collect these items, and then make a point to go through and empty it once a week.
5. Put Your Kitchen to Bed
Each night, take 5 minutes to make sure the sink is empty and the kitchen is clean. The kitchen is usually one of the first places we go in the morning and a clean, decluttered kitchen will set a good tone for the day.
Reclaiming my sanity around food came down to drastically streamlining my kitchen and simplifying how I cook. And I promise healthy cooking is a whole lot easier when your kitchen is stocked with exactly what you need... and nothing you don’t. So pour a glass of wine, put on some music, and enjoy the process.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ally Milligan is the founder of Loveleaf Co. a food and lifestyle brand that takes a minimalist approach to simplifying the kitchen & diet to help women eat healthfully, without the stress.
Ally’s signature program, The Kitchen Reset Program, will help you declutter your kitchen and streamline your approach to weeknight cooking. Ally’s work has been featured in Woman’s Day, The Kitchen, Whole Foods, The Cooking Channel, Huffington Post, Self Magazine, and more.
