Stop List: 10 Things to Remove from Your Kitchen

2. Extra mugs. A collection of mugs also takes up an unreasonable amount of space on the kitchen cabinet shelves. Free up that space for something else, keeping only your most favorite cups and mugs. There's no need to hide them in a cabinet: you can put a set on open shelves so that beautiful dishes are always in view.

3. Unnecessary items in drawers. Keep only the items you actually need on your kitchen counter. Get rid of cluttering old coupons and sauces that remain after fast food dinners. A collection of jars is also not necessary: keep just a couple of jars in various sizes, and repurpose the rest into cool candle holders or flower vases.4. Old dish sponges. Dish sponges are the main source of microbes in your kitchen. They need to be replaced regularly, or otherwise washing dishes might become meaningless. To keep a sponge dry and clean as long as possible, secure it after use with a paperclip. You can also heat the sponge for one minute in the microwave — no trace of unpleasant odor or microbes remains.5. Plastic bags. Many of us have a separate drawer for plastic bags from the supermarket. Give up on them in favor of canvas bags: they take up far less space and are not harmful to the environment. Moreover, such a bag can be taken with you to the store: it doesn't tear and holds many products. To avoid forgetting the bag during a trip to the supermarket, keep it in your car's trunk.6. Old cotton towels. Cotton towels that are found in nearly every kitchen should be replaced with disposable paper towels. The reason is that towels quickly become unusable: they must be washed at least once a week, or else they acquire an unpleasant odor that's hard to get rid of. Disposable paper towels are cheaper and handle mess just as well as cotton towels.

7. Unnecessary appliances. Household appliances on the kitchen occupy a top spot, but that doesn't mean they should clutter the space. For example, those who rarely cook can do with a compact refrigerator that's twice as small as usual, placing it on a low cabinet or built into the wall. Those who never use an oven can buy just a cooktop and use the space underneath for storing kitchen utensils.8. Extra kitchen knives. As is known, you can never have too many tableware items, but it's better to avoid large sets of kitchen knives. These sets are expensive, and even famous chefs usually only use three or five knives from the set. Therefore, it makes no sense for even an experienced gourmet to buy such sets.9. Unused cookbooks. With the arrival of gadgets, cookbooks and magazines seem less useful than before. Of course, it's great to have a cookbook with recipes from famous chefs, but only if you actually use it. If the spine of a book by Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay just catches your eye, it's better to give that book to someone who will find a good use for it, freeing up space on the shelf for something else.10. Thousands of small items on the fridge. Cleaning expert Marie Kondo says that all items in your home should bring either benefit or joy. Otherwise, they should be thrown away. This applies to notes hanging on the fridge and unnecessary magnets. It's easier to store a pizza delivery phone number in your phone, and most magnets probably don't serve as pleasant memories of vacation. Moreover, thousands of small items on the fridge create a feeling of disorder.