'Tis Home Sweet Home - Dish Cupboard Decluttering

BEFORE

This is my small dish cupboard in the kitchen. I got tired of reaching to the top shelf every morning to get my coffee mug. I am 5'8" but it is still a stretch for me and even more of a stretch to reach the ones toward the back. So with my current decluttering mode, I took a look at this cupboard as I knew there were a few things I never use in there, and some that I just needed to stop using. And I need things convenient to me in order to use them at all. One day I was mulling it over in my mind as to what I could do with this, and it finally dawned on me. Move those coffee mugs to the bottom shelf! I rarely use the fragile drinking glasses so why are they the handiest? A major shift was in order.

AFTER

I see I didn't get a very good picture since I cut off half the right side, but this gives you an idea of how I changed things. Now the coffee mugs are closest to the sink. My morning coffee is a mug of water heated in the microwave and then flavored instant coffee powder added to the hot water. Fast and easy and oh - so - good!

The Christmas mugs are still on the top shelf since they are seasonal and not used every day. I wish I had enough room to have the luncheon plates in a separate space from the dinner plates, but I haven't found that space yet. Maybe some day.

This is what has been removed from that cupboard and will be donated. I never use the small juice glasses so why should they take up precious space? Does anyone use juice glasses anymore? The yellow glasses are cheap plastic. The white mug in front of them is a Care Bears plastic mug. Maybe they are worth something to collectors today, so someone will get a lucky find. The two mugs that are dark green outside and white inside are free ones that came with a Gevalia coffee maker my kids gave to me several years ago. They have gold on them so can't be used in the microwave, so I never use them. Then there are two clear plastic glasses, and behind them is a water bottle minus its lid. I think that might be in a drawer so need to check that out before it is donated. The dark cup is a single that I got on clearance once, thinking I would use it at the sink for quick drinks of water or to take pills instead of the ugly plastic one I have used for a long time. But this mug shows all the water spots from our hard water and I really didn't like to use it either. The three blue cups are Melamine that we had in our camper trailer. For some reason I thought I had to keep them when the trailer was sold. Don't need them. The mug in front with the picture on is a souvenir mug that was given to my husband by his daughter when they went to Washington DC. It means nothing to me, and it now has a small chip on the edge. Out it goes. And the three cups on the right are plastic travel cups from a quick stop. My husband always had to have a cup of coffee on the road so they were used a lot. I even like drinking out of them, but they are so ugly with half the printing worn off, and I don't need them. I love my large capacity green mugs from the dollar store, and I have 8 of them, so that is enough for company, and enough for me to use between dish washings. All those things are now packed in a box and ready to take to the thrift store.

These are ice cube trays that make long, skinny 'cubes' to put in water bottles. I used them when I was still going to Curves and took water along to exercise sessions. I don't go there anymore, and so don't need these. I did use them this summer for extra ice cubes, but they did not come out very well and were more of a nuisance. So I found some regular cube trays and these are going out. They were not in the dish cupboard, but are part of my general decluttering.