A Less-Cluttered Kitchen is Only 20 Minutes Away — Here’s Your Game Plan

Decluttering can sometimes take the form of a capital-P project (like the one we’re doing right now with the Cure) where there’s a big effort over a brief period of time. But people with tidy homes also know the power that small, frequent efforts can have towards keeping a home uncluttered, too.

Everyday clutter — those small objects that pop up far from their homes or don’t make it into the recycling bin as quickly as they should — is clutter all the same, and can contribute to a space that feels out of control.

To get you into the habit of picking up everyday clutter, we’re going to take on four different decluttering sweeps of rooms and areas at home in the course of this two-week challenge. They’re timed—the goal for each day isn’t a spotless space, it’s cleaning up as much as you can in 20 minutes, to build a habit you can keep up year ’round.

Here’s how it works: Set a timer for 20 minutes, and head into your kitchen with a laundry basket (or something else to collect clutter with). While the timer is counting down, venture around and collect as much clutter as you can into your basket.

You’re looking for anything that’s out of place, including stuff that needs to be trashed (or maybe just needs to find a new home). Remember the five decluttering rules from yesterday—if you wouldn’t buy it again or take it with you when you move, it might be time to let it go.

• cabinets
• drawers
• on the counter
• inside the fridge or cabinets
• on top of the fridge or cabinets
• any freestanding furniture, like a hutch or island
• the bar or bar cart
• anywhere you store cooking and serving supplies, even if it’s not “in” the kitchen

1. Anything that belongs in another room
2. Broken cups, mugs and plates
3. Multiples you have too many of
4. Kitchen tools you never use
5. Duplicate kitchen tools or measuring cups
6. Small appliances that you never use, or that you use so infrequently you can probably find an alternate technique or borrow from a friend
7. Baking sheets, pans, pots, and cutting boards that sit untouched
8. Holiday-themed serving pieces that didn’t get used the last time you hosted
9. Novelty accessories
10. More than two-ish bottle or wine openers
11. The fifth and sixth water bottles you never get to using
12. Old, gross cleaning supplies
13. Old, stained, or extra plastic containers
14. Takeout condiments, plasticware, and stray menus
15. Out-of-date invitations or event announcements
16. Expired coupons
17. Excessive collections of paper or plastic bags
18. Expired medication
19. Bottles of liquor that don’t ever seem to get drunk
20. Cookbooks that haven’t been cracked open in more than a year

Gather it all up in your basket. When the timer stops, you can stop too. Empty your laundry basket by returning things to their rightful place, or by discarding anything you don’t want into the trash, recycling, or  your “sell” and “donate” boxes from day one.

That’s it for today! You can stop after 20 minutes, confident that you’re on the way to discarding clutter and building better habits.

• Sign up for email updates
• Visit the 2021 Decluttering Cure page and catch up on assignments
• Download the Decluttering Cure calendar
• Join the Apartment Therapy Cure Facebook group