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Keeping It Simple: How To Declutter Almost Anything

Our kitchen is old. Old and cramped. (Click here to see it). It is a constant effort to keep it clean and semi organised. Last week I was digging through the two utensil drawers under our bench, when I noticed that there were things in the drawer that I had never used. Clearly it was ripe for some decluttering.

One of the keys to decluttering is to do little things often. Waiting till I have time to do the whole house is never going to happen, so I aim for one thing every other week, and a few extras during school holidays.

In the last six months I have gone through the kids toys and clothes, my clothes, our books, our pantry, odds and ends drawer (batteries, rubber bands etc), and laundry. Of course there is always more to do, but no matter what I am decluttering, I always follow the same process.

Step By Step Decluttering.

1. Remove everything – take everything out of drawer or cupboard, and pile it up neatly somewhere out of the way. Don’t put it right in front of the cupboard, because it will be in the way for later steps.

2. Wipe out the drawer or cupboard and let it dry. This way it is nice and clean before you put items back in there.

3. While the drawer is drying, sort all the contents into three piles:
 a. Items  that are used regularly and are in good condition.
 b. Items that you never use or is broken. Be ruthless and honest about this. There is no use keeping something you never use or is broken on the off chance you might “need” it sometime.
 c. Items that you’re not sure whether to purge or not.

4. Once the drawer is dry, sort the items you use regularly and put similar items together. Put these back into the drawers – you may need to use dividers or containers to help keep items separated.

5. Throw out items that are broken and donate any items that are in good condition but never used. I have a box that I put anything that will be donated into, that way I remember to take our donations with us when we go to town.

6. Put all the items you’re not sure about in a box somewhere accessible. If you need something from that box, use it then put it into the drawer with the other items you use. If after 3 or 6 months, you haven’t used the items, donate them.

As I was clearing and sorting the kitchen drawers, I thought I would take some before and after photos for you.

What is your strategy for decluttering? Do you declutter regularly?

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…
A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the scho A picture perfect Autumn afternoon to end the school holidays. We’ve been busy spending time with friends and family, harvesting the last of the summer produce, as well as a short escape to explore the big smoke. After the craziness of last term it was the break we all needed. It’s back to school for me tomorrow, and the kids are back on Wednesday. Shearing starts soon and so it’s all systems go over the next few weeks.
Covid has made some late changes to our weekend pl Covid has made some late changes to our weekend plans so we are embracing the unexpected and doing not much at home. Plenty of time for hanging out on the dam and enjoy the perfect weather.
Autumn has arrived in the orchard and the apple tr Autumn has arrived in the orchard and the apple trees are full of fruit. Yesterday we filled five baskets of apples that had fallen off the trees. Then we had apple crumble for dessert last night. Between the orchard and the vegetable garden this time of year is always super busy as we deal with all the harvest. No so busy though, that I can’t grab the camera and snap a few pics.
On weekends he makes himself a hot milo and lies o On weekends he makes himself a hot milo and lies on the veranda in the sun, just chilling and enjoying the freedom (until mum grabs her camera at least 🙄🤣).
Late summer evenings spent picking fruit in the or Late summer evenings spent picking fruit in the orchard are just the best. We take baskets down to gather the fruit and we inspect the trees and plan what we will do with it all. Tonight we gathered blackberries, nectarines and the first apples. The kids eat the fruit right off the trees - it tastes so much better than shop bought fruit. All the rain this year has not been good for all our plants; no mulberries and a lot less of some of the others. It reminds us of how much we depend on the weather and how much is out of our hands.

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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