Friday, August 10, 2012

Decluttering - Are There Definite Rules?

I have been slowly working on some deep cleaning and decluttering.  I felt I needed a little encouragement so I have been reading It's All Too Much.  I found some helpful tips and agreed with much of the book until I reached the kitchen section.  A list of rarely used kitchen items as included.  I own seven of the items on the list.  Here it is in case you are curious:

Fondue Pot
Bread Machine*
Crepe Maker
Ice Cream Maker*
Juicer
Slow Cooker*
Waffle Iron*
Propane Torch
Cookie Press
Banana Rack
Pizza Stone
Egg Slicer*
Apple Corer*
Pizza Cutter*
Grapefruit Spoons

I own the items with asterisks.  The ice cream maker is the main seasonal item.  It gets used almost weekly during the summer.  I suppose I could do without the apple corer.  The egg slicer is also a mushroom slicer and strawberry slicer around here.  The waffle iron gets used monthly for a bulk cooking session of waffles which are frozen for use throughout the month.  The slow cooker is used at least weekly.  I have used it twice this past week.  The bread machine.....I own three.  Two are purchased from people who would probably agree that it is a rarely used item.  I use mine a minimum of once a week.  W is proud to tell everyone that I often have all three going at once. 

These items do take up space in our home.  All of them are well used however.  I think the basic point of the book and good advice for decluttering is that if you use and/or truly love an item it is worth keeping.  I have purchased items with good intentions and never used them as I imagined I would.  I have struggled with guilt over the wasted money.  Keeping but not using the item is not helping at all.  Then there are the items that I use occasionally.  Where is the line?  I need to seriously think about what I have room to store.  My house is mostly neat.  I tend to do a bunch of things myself rather than buy them premade.  Again it goes back to items actually being used. 

I am looking forward to letting go of some things I have been holding onto when I start the Holiday Grand Plan later this month.  The marked rarely used kitchen items will definitely be staying though!

3 comments:

Vicki in UT said...

I magree with you, decluttering is a very personal thing. I think anything you use regularly, even if it is only once a year, is something you should keep. Decluttering is for those things you don't use and enjoy.

Helena said...

well I'm sure someone else's unused kitchen items may be another person's favourite kitchen tools! I'm not sure someone can really tell anyone what should and should not be useful.

Julie said...

Oh my, it's really almost time for the Grand Plan again. I'll see if I can make it for more than 2 weeks this year.