One of my clients complained to me that she always felt chaotic in her kitchen. I noticed she had a cabinet jammed full of various spices. There were even more on the counter top. I decided this was the place to start the kitchen clutter busting.
I put all the similar spices in groups. There were 12 peppers, 13 salts, 8 oreganos and 7 basils. There were other repetitions. She didn't realize she had so many of the same kind. Many were behind other spices. That's the thing about clutter, items get lost amidst the sea of things. Since people can't find the items, they go out and by some more. Also, with this client, many of the spices were years past the expiration date.
She tossed the old spices, and kept only one or two of each spice. She said she felt more peaceful in her kitchen. She felt she could think more clearly.
We then went through her fridge. We cleared out the old condiments and the ones nobody in her family were using. We tossed old foods in her fridge and freezer. That reduced half the items in the refrigerator.
Next we went through the silverware. There were only four people in her family. But she had enough silverware for twenty people. We got rid of the ones that nobody liked to use. Then we eliminated some of the excess. Again she said how much better she was feeling in her kitchen. He voice got stronger.
Lastly we went through the pots and pans. There were so many that it was hard to find the ones she wanted when she needed them. I took them all out and placed them on the floor of the living room. They filled the entire space. She was amazed. I asked her about each one. She let go of over half of them. These were ones that no one was using. Some were gifts people had given to her family that they didn't want in the first place, but they felt obliged to hang onto. We put back the ones she wanted and it was easy to see all of them.
When we were done she said she felt like she had a brand new kitchen.