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I have a confession to make: I used to own over 40 mugs.  

Did I use all of them? No. But was I at least sensible enough to get rid of the ones I wasn’t using? Also no.

It wasn’t until I came across the concept of minimalism and decluttering that I realised how all these seemingly not-big-deal piles of items were actually affecting my stress and overwhelm levels on a daily basis.

In this article, I am sharing with you how I simplified our kitchen, what we keep, and how we organise it. 

Keep reading below or watch the video:

Mugs and glasses

Our mugs and glasses cupboard is right at the top, above the counter and sink area. And yes, I used to own so many mugs and glasses for all different kinds of drinks. 

Then I realised that actually, keeping such a variety of glasses was in fact pointless because we don’t really need so many of them. So we kept just a few. I think we have about 10 glasses and about 10 to 12 mugs.

We do like to keep a few because obviously we’ll have guests over. Sometimes we host people, and I’ve found that’s a good balance and a number that works really well for us. It’s not a universal number that works for everyone—we’re all different.

If I were to start again, the first thing I would do with all of the kitchen cupboards is declutter them before even trying to organise. Organising chaos and piles of items was so unproductive for me, and it took up time I could have spent doing other things, like working on my business or spending time with my kids. So the first step should always be to declutter.

While here, another thing I decluttered was water bottles and different kinds of tumblers. We used to have quite a few, but we didn’t actually use them all. Now, for example, my kids each have one water bottle. Same for my husband and me, and we don’t feel the need to have any more than that.

For organising mugs, glasses and water bottles in the cupboard, I find it really useful to have racks that create two levels, like tiers inside the cupboard. They might not work for all cupboards as they are all different, but this has worked really well for us. Ours might be from Amazon—I got them so long ago I can’t remember—but you can definitely find comparable ones at IKEA, like the VARIERA shelf insert.

Tupperware

We actually don’t keep a lot of plastic containers for our food anymore. We try to use glass ones whenever possible. Not saying we’re perfect—I still use plastic lunch boxes for my kids—but for leftovers and things like that, I try to use mostly glass containers and we have a few.

Some of them are IKEA 365+, and some are Pyrex. We have a mix of taller and shorter ones, and they work really well for us.

The way I like to organise them in the cupboard is, first of all, by not having too many. We don’t really need that many. I also find it helpful to store them with the lids on. I know sometimes it feels like that will take up more space, but as long as we have a reasonable amount of containers, they actually fit just fine.

Keeping them with the lids on also means it’s not a whole jumble of lids flying everywhere. It’s so much easier. It looks a lot neater, and it’s also more functional. When I go in there and want to grab a container, I can just take one and it already has the lid on. I don’t have to scavenge around to find the matching lid, and I find that really helpful.

Pantry items

In the next cupboard, we have pantry items—like flour, pasta, rice, those kinds of things. We also have some other items like the blender and just a few random things like that.

In here, I mostly use IKEA containers. I have a few white UPPDATERA boxes that I keep for different purposes. One is for the blender, and another is where I keep the kids’ medicine. I’ve actually labelled it “Kids Are Sick.”

Then we have an array of containers for dry foods, where I store rice, pasta, and similar items. What I like about them the most is that they’re clear. I can see what’s inside and how much we have left. I really dislike having lots of open packets of different kinds of pasta because it gets messy. It’s harder to see what we have, and the packets often end up at the back of the cupboard, where I completely forget about them. This system makes it so much easier.

Breakfast bar

We call the next cupboard “the breakfast bar cupboard,” and it’s where we keep cereal, coffee, sugar, bowls, and all the things we need for breakfast.

The tall cereal containers were actually from Amazon. I like them for cereal as they hold a lot and fit perfectly in this cupboard.

We also have another one of those white IKEA containers where I keep all the coffee pods.

Right at the top, I have a mesh basket where I store our medicine—mostly for myself and my husband, and things I want out of the kids’ reach.

Under sink

Here, I try to keep products to a minimum. I also try to choose more non-toxic options whenever I can, and I like to use Purdy&Figg. I have their bathroom spray and their counter spray. They did send me some of their products a while ago, but I’ve been purchasing them myself ever since. This is not sponsored, by the way.

For organising this area under the sink, I use clear drawer containers. I like this system because I find it more functional. We keep all the laundry pods, dishwasher pods, refills for Purdy&Figg, as well as sponges and other random items in these drawers.

I also have inserts on the door where we store all our cleaning cloths, dish towels, and similar items.

Pots and pans cupboard

There’s no major organising system in the pans and pots cupboard. I just keep a few. I think we have two pans and four pots, and that’s the extent of what we tend to use. We don’t really need any more than that, and simplifying our pans and pots has been really helpful.

Drawers

For the drawers, I like to use inserts whenever I can because they help divide items and stop them from getting all jumbled up.

One swap I found really useful in our kitchen was moving the plates to the drawer next to the dishwasher. It’s a low drawer, so it’s really close to the dishwasher. This means that when I unload the dishes, the majority of them, which is plates, go straight into that drawer. This makes the process a bit faster and easier.

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but these little swaps here and there can make a huge difference to our day. Tasks like doing the dishes are repeated daily—either by me or my husband—so small changes actually add up and simplify things, making them a bit easier.

Snack cupboard

In the snack cupboard, I have some more of the white IKEA containers. In here, we keep snacks for my kids and for us, and also bread or other bready items like brioche or burger buns.

I find these containers really helpful for organising things better. They create drawers in places where there are only shelves. If I just stash things on the shelves, they tend to get mixed up. It’s hard to find what I need, and it quickly becomes a huge mess. Creating “drawers” with these little containers actually helps a lot.

Under oven

In the drawer that’s directly under the oven, I keep all the oven trays and everything I use for the oven, like oven mitts.

Under it, we have another drawer that I use to keep potatoes and onions. I keep two mesh baskets in here, they are the RISATORP ones from IKEA, and they’ve been working really well for us. They keep the vegetables organised and allow a bit of airflow, which I find useful.

Doing a few swaps here and there in your kitchen can actually make a big difference. I get messages from people who have downloaded my declutter checklist freebie or joined my Simply Decluttered course. They often say how these little swaps—like moving the plates next to the dishwasher or keeping the lids on the Tupperware—made a big difference.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful and that they give you some ideas for your kitchen. Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll be back soon with more practical decluttering tips.