Kitchen Purge : Part 2

The Itty Bitty Kitchen Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About Setting Up and Cooking in the Most Ridiculously Small Kitchen in the World - Your Own
by Justin Spring

(Page 2 of 2)

Your first step toward recovery will be in admitting that you are powerless over kitchen-cluttering stuff, and that your kitchen life has become unmanageable as a result.

Your second step will be to envision your kitchen as once again a working kitchen, rather than just a storage area for stuff.

Your third step will be to believe that, through the de-clutterizing process, your kitchen can be emptied of stuff and restored to normal order and use - and also that, by extension, once this stuff disappears, your life will be vastly improved by your newfound ability to make your kitchen function (that is, to cook).

Your fourth step, of course, is actually getting in to that kitchen and ridding it of stuff.

Once you decide that a fully functional, stuff-free kitchen is something you really want - and George, God bless him, may never get there - here is how you start.

The Art of the Purge

Organization experts who consult with home owners on the management of domestic space have many approaches and techniques for getting a kitchen into shape, but all agree that the key to managing any space well is to rid it of stuff. You can pay one of these highly effective consultants anywhere from fifty to two hundred dollars an hour to help you with the process - and it's a valuable service, costing less than psychotherapy; reach one of them through the National Association of Professional Organizers, www.napo.net, which has an automated online referral system. But a more economical alternative is simply to suck it up and do the work yourself. If you choose this latter course of action, you will need an extremely well-organized friend to stand in for that expensive, experienced, and totally focused professional organizer.

So select your mentor carefully. Someone who has himself conquered a clutter problem is best, since that person will know exactly what you are facing, and at the same time will have an appropriate (which is to say limited) sympathy for your anguish. Those who have mastered the art of home organization and stuff removal are often keen to share their hard-won skills with others, but the skill itself is based on a "tough love" philosophy, for stuff is infernally seductive; in fact, the stuff of addiction.

Once you have found the right person to help you, here's the drill.

First, prepare by getting your kitchen as clean and neat as it can be. (Otherwise you may panic and give up.) You will have better luck with your kitchen purge if the rest of your little home is very clean too, since once you start unpacking your kitchen, stuff is going to flood into your living space and threaten to take over your life.

Second, agree in advance that your well-organized friend will supervise you for a set period of time (four hours is about as much as most people can take). Don't hesitate to offer some kind of hourly payment or in-kind recompense for the job, since a "clock-is-ticking" mentality actually helps keep both of you motivated (the natural inclination, halfway through the job, is to wander away from the kitchen, pour a large cocktail, and watch some TV).

Now, with the help of this limited-sympathy friend, lay out five boxes or areas in the middle of your living space, labeling them as follows: put away (kitchen), put away (elsewhere), give away/sell, storage, and trash. Now start sorting through your stuff, putting each thing into one of the five boxes. Your friend's job is to urge you on, keep you from getting distracted, and correct you when you start putting huge amounts of stuff back into the put away (kitchen) box. He or she will also encourage you to stop sniveling and whining about what is, essentially, a whole lot of really useless junk.

Not everyone can do their entire kitchen in one go. If you are dealing with extreme amounts of stuff, or find de-stuffing your entire kitchen simply too overwhelming because of stuff-related emotional distress, allow yourself to do the job gradually. Do one box, one cupboard, one drawer, or one shelf. But once you commit to spending a certain amount of time sorting and discarding, stick to it!

When you have finished all of your sorting for the day, hurry the box marked trash out the door. The give away/sell box should also leave sooner rather than later - your stern but caring friend may even offer to take it away on your behalf (he'll probably try to sell it on eBay, but that's his business).

Remember, your kitchen is small, so even if it's packed full of stuff, this will not be an endless task. Just remember that recovery from stuff addiction is an ongoing process - a process you will return to, over and over again, for as long as you preside over a kitchen, itty bitty or otherwise.

For Those Who Can't Let Go:
Tips and Tricks For Kitchen Pack Rats

Letting go of stuff comes easier to some than to others. For those of us who have a really hard time getting rid of unused and unneeded kitchen stuff, here are some thoughts to keep in mind:

1. Remember that much of the stuff you are now going to make a decision about was in fact given to you by someone who, however thrifty, secretly wanted to be rid of it - and finessed the job by giving it to you.

2. Console yourself that much of the stuff you are making decisions about was never meant to be held on to and has no great commercial value.

3. Beware of meaningless sentimental attachments.

4. Focus, whenever possible, on the possibility that by cleaning out your kitchen cabinets you will be giving some really good stuff to others. Your guilt about letting go of stuff (and your fear of unwittingly losing some really valuable stuff) can thus be vanquished through the reassurance that you are giving stuff to charity. Thrift shops that benefit specific charities are your best bet, since your stuff will find a good home, the proceeds from the sale will help a worthy cause, and - hey! - you will even be getting a tax deduction.

5. Finally, and most important: remember that you are not so much getting rid of stuff as making room to live.

Copyright © 2006 by Justin Spring.

About the Author

Justin Spring, pictured here in his 45-square-foot New York City kitchen, is a writer who learned many of his small-kitchen strategies aboard a family sailboat.