How to De-Clutter Your Kitchen

By Cris Carl, Hometalk

Kitchen clutter can be a simple accumulation over time in a busy life, a down-sizing move, or acquiring an inheritance of goods. Judy Wolfson, of The Clutter Clearinghouse, in Whatley, MA has a system she has devised to help her clients whittle and refine their kitchen design.

SPACE

Wolfson’s system stands for:

S – Sort

P – Prioritize

A – Assign

C – “Container-ize”

E – Equalize or maintain the space over time.

The process

“The first thing I do when working with a client is to do a clutter assessment. I talk to them about what about their kitchen makes them happy or unhappy. I ask about their vision and their goals. The first question though is, ‘How did the kitchen come to be the way it is?’”

Wolfson said she then works with her clients to figure out what they want to keep and what they want to discard or sell. “Once we have a manageable space we can start to take into account age, disability, if they are short or tall, for example,” she said. Wolfson said that each kitchen and situation is unique and that when she works with someone the project might last from 10 hours to a year. “It just depends on the amount of clutter we have to work with.”

What’s next once the clutter is managed?

“The main set-up is assigning all items a place and finding suitable containers,” said Wolfson. It is rare that she runs into a situation where there isn’t enough cabinet or shelving space, so that isn’t usually an issue.

1 of 2

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

8:16PM PDT on May 28, 2012

thanks

May 28
send a green star

Donna H.

5:01AM PDT on May 28, 2012

Thanks for the tips.

Charlene R.

4:50AM PDT on May 28, 2012

I've always kept a clear counter with only the phone at one end and knife block at the other - fills up my bottom cupboard so there is less room for more stuff I don't need. Every spring cleaning I ask myself why all those dishes.... when we have free space - why do we feel the need to fill it with more "stuff" we never seem to use?

V S.

11:37AM PDT on May 11, 2012

I am going to look at those cans and herb bottles right now! Thanks

May 11
send a green star

Karen F.

5:57PM PDT on May 2, 2012

Before buying yet another 'time saving device', really, really think it over. There is a plethora of kitchenware available and you don't really want some gadget taking up space and perhaps never or rarely used.