This is a difficult question to answer without more information. But, for my family of 6 I keep my kitchen drawers and shelves very organized by only what we use on a regular basis.

I think what is most important is to designate a place for everything and make sure that that place has sufficient space for what you plan to store in it.

I don't have a lot of kitchen gadgets. About 10 years ago, I inherited a bunch of small gadgets and I got rid of all of them because I realized they were only keeping me from finding the things I wanted to use. I keep only the small gadgets that I actually use in utensil organizers so they are easily seen and available to use.

I also regularly go through my plastic ware and get rid of those that don't have lids or lids that don't have bases. I keep the lids in a plastic dish tub and I sort the containers by size and shape. The same thing goes for pie pans, cake pans etc. How many did I honestly need?

I use dish tubs for a lot of things including my spices. I have four tubs of alphabetized spices. The name of the spice is on the top of the jar. I also keep my pantry very organized because I hate buying things I already have on hand.

Not sure if this is what you are looking for or not, but I hope it helps some.

A lot of general or basic cookbooks have advice about what you need. Alton Brown comes to mind, because he's very against single-purpose tools. Those lists are a good place to start, keeping in mind your actual cooking and eating habits.

Another way to do it is to keep some seldom-used items in a closet or other out-of-the-way area. If you don't take them out in a year, it's time to get rid of them.

I purged when I packed up the kitchen & purged again when I put everything back after the reno. I really wanted my drawers to be organized. I also got rid of small appliances I hadn't use. Over a year has passed since the reno. I just went through my casserole dishes last night & got rid of a few more. I plan to go through my pots & pans and cake pans again.

First off.. don't stress over it. This is life.. it happens and we can stress over it or smile and collect, declutter, remember, enjoy.

Things are just that, stuff we accumulate in a pinch, when we get an itch. Those pinches and itches are what make life fun. So, yea, it can be frustrating when you see a lot of this stuff and it comes time to clear some of it out, but just think of it as a way to pass something on and help someone else have a memory and good moment of their own and for you to sell stuff in a garage sale and go find more stuff that memories are made of.

It's a cycle.. you can fall off of it, or let the wind blow in your hair and giggle like a kid again and again.

imo

The cabinets over the fridge are storage wonderland. They're the deepest cabinets in the kitchen, but everyone puts the vertical dividers in and uses them for cookie sheet storage, wasting the back of the cabinet. I use the 10" wide cabinet over my pantry pull-out for cookie sheets, pizza pans, and cutting boards. It also has a shelf.

I had my cabinet maker make two adjustable shelves for my fridge cab, so I have four compartments. Here's what's in my 36" w x 21" L x 27" D cabinet:

a 14" wide stainless steel bowl and a deep plastic bowl

cheesecake pan, angel food cake pan, Bundt pan

lunch boxes

yogurt maker, rice/veggie steamer, ice cream maker

two packages of paper napkins

salad spinner

6 qt. stockpot

Room to spare!

There are eight things on that above list that I haven't used for years!

Oh the gadets I have that I rarely use but lord help me if I need them and I did not have them.. lol

R

When it comes to clutter of any kind, I look to the 80/20 rule. Basically, we use 20% of stuff 80% of the time. You can probably get rid of half your stuff without feeling much of a pinch. Of course, you may have to use your pyrex bowl for everything, rather than choosing between glass, ceramic, plastic, metal, or silicone. My cooking skills are such that the bowl choice rarely matters.

Good advice so far. Also, remember that you don't have to store everything together. I have the gadgets I use daily or several times weekly in a drawer in my prep area where I need them. I have other gadgets in a plastic shoe box in my broom closet that I only bring out during canning season or that are used seasonally. My baking center includes everything I need on a regular basis except a few items, like holiday-shaped cookie cutters and my rosette iron, that are also stored in a different plastic shoe box in my broom closet. All my mixing bowls stack together and are in a drawer between my baking and prep centers, easily grabbed for either task. My super-big bowls, usually only used when canning or a few other odd times during the year, are in that same broom closet.

Good ideas. I just needed some other perspectives. I'm known as a good purger among my friends, and I'm feeling the pinch of space(or lack thereof).

Family of 5 in just under 1,000 sq ft. Less than a year ago we were living in 3200. Newly remodeled home in about 6 months will be just over 2100. Lots of changes, and moving stuff about!

Russ - thanks for your perspective on life, clutter, stress & fun. I went through my shoes tonight. Was feeling pretty frustrated - I feel better now.

Heh.. np... I get frustrated too when those junk drawers come time to clean, but I generally tend to start laughing at myself when I think of the money I make in a garage sale and then think of the fun I also have going to other people's garage sales and they must be having the same fun... so.. I remind myself of that each time and I keep a couple boxes in the garage all the time and as I find thing I just want to "get rid of".. those boxes fill up and when they are full.. garage sale time!

I have a rule, for large items, "want something, sell something" and when I wanted a kayak.. I sold an item.. when I wanted something else, I sold something else. It keeps the budget good and the clutter down, for the most part. That being said, we always need a garage sale every few years ;)

R

I more or less did what Jillius recommends and it's been a great way to optimize what's in the kitchen. I haven't actually gotten rid of all the stuff (I have a staff of wooden spoons in the basement that will replace the ones I have when they break), but extras are tucked away in the canning closet in the basement and my kitchen is not overly stuffed with anything that we don't regularly use.

I too did what Jillius describes. I recommend it.

The storing in boxes and finding out what you use is a great idea. Especially since everything is in boxes already. I think I'll start that way, thank you!