All the things you can declutter from kitchen drawers without a second thought

Decluttering can be an overwhelming and emotional task, especially when we feel conflicted about getting rid of things we own.

But there are some items that don't need much thought about whether we should give them away or throw them out, making the task of cleaning out spaces easier.

One area with plenty of things you can get rid of instantly is the kitchen, and in particular your kitchen drawers.

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While rearranging my main cutlery drawer to trial a new storage unit that meant I could condense the contents of all four kitchen drawers, I came across several things I quickly realised were unnecessarily taking up too much space.

Here are the items I had no trouble getting rid of to inspire you for your own decluttering.

Utensils missing parts

There is just absolutely no need to keep things when they are missing the very part that makes them functional.

This was the case with the handle of a basting brush I found in my utensil drawer which is missing the brush part, rendering it absolutely useless.

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Multiples of the same utensil

Ending up with multiples of something tends to happen when clutter piles up and you can't see, find or forget what you already have so you buy another.

For some reason I not only owned the handle of a basting brush, I also had two complete basting brushes. This means I had at least two at one time and then went on to have two and a half, even though I only use this item once a year at best.

So one of those basting brushes got the flick along with the brush handle.

Things that don't work

Like items with missing parts, things that don't work and can't be fixed or repaired shouldn't stay in your home taking up space.

I don't know why I have kept a meat thermometer I bought about seven years ago that didn't work when I used it (the dial didn't even budge a degree Celsius) – or why I clearly remember trying it – but I did.

So that gadget was a no-brainer to get rid of.

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Broken items

Had I known the mess that could emerge from disintegrating sparklers I would have thrown out the few remaining sparklers I had left from a packet.

The metallic debris was as annoying to clean up as the knowledge that a broken item I haven't used in years and don't plan on using any time soon was taking up space.

That means the open packet with a few sparklers went, as did anything else broken and unfixable.

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Empty packets

Who among us hasn't ever left an open packet in a drawer or cupboard after using up the contents?

I somehow took that to the extreme with with four empty baking paper boxes and one empty cling wrap box, which probably took up a third to half of one of my drawers.

Packaging and rubbish is probably one of the easiest things to declutter without thinking.

And no you're probably not going to reuse it for something else because you already would have reused it if you were ever going to.

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Items you never use

For me this was a pair of salad servers that match a salad bowl I've already put aside to donate to a second-hand store.

I don't really entertain large groups at home and if I'm making a salad, even a big one, it ends up in a container as it's much easier to store in the fridge than a salad bowl.

Other items in this category I got rid of were a wooden spoon and wooden wok spatulas because at some point I realised I prefer using metal or silicone utensils and never used wooden again.

So if you don't use something you've owned for a long time it's OK to get rid of it and if it's in good condition it can be donated to a second-hand store.

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