Yesterday my husband was bored and wanted something to do. Out of all the possibilities he decided to clean out the kitchen, from top to bottom. That meant cleaning off the top of the cabinets (they do not reach the ceiling), removing EVERYTHING from the cabinets to clean out the cabinets, and tossing out stuff we no longer need, use or want.
We have a tiny kitchen so we figured it would take maybe 2 hours, give or take. It took us over four hours plus numerous trips to the dumpster and the recycle bin. The dumpster is outside our building, down six flights of steps. The recycle bin is up the hill towards the entrance to our complex. That alone took up a lot of time.
I clean my kitchen all the time. The counter tops and floors are spotless. However we don’t usually clean out the cabinets frequently. Our “game plan” a few years ago was to clean them out every six months. It’s been a long, long time since we cleaned them out last (probably more than a year ago).
Can you say EWWWW!!!
On the outside my kitchen is perfectly clean. It’s what was lurking deep in the cabinets that was funky.
I won’t even describe what the top of the cabinets looked like. I WISH ours reached the ceiling so we didn’t have to worry about that mess.
We went through all the food (non-perishables) in the cabinets and pantries. We found food we didn’t realize that we had because it got covered up by something else or pushed behind things. We also pulled out things that expired. Thankfully most of the expired things only expired a few months ago. We did find a spice jar of Oregano that expired in 2006 and a jar of Cinnamon that expired in 2008. In my defence where our spices were kept it was hard for me, at my height, to see towards the back without physically removing everything. 
We’ve since moved the spices to another shelf (lower) so that I can see everything at once.
We were shocked at how many pots and pans we had too. We tend to use the same 3 or 4 pots and pans, yet we had dozens! We went throught and washed everything and tossed out the ones we haven’t used and have no plans on using. Our cabinet is so much neater now and I can find exactly what I need when I need it.
Our cabinets look bare too. Once we tossed out expired things and things we won’t ever use and re-arranged stuff we now have empty looking cabinets. In a way that is a good thing because now we can see what we have. I never knew we had clams or chili, things I could have made for lunch or dinner.
It’s a great feeling knowing that the kitchen is squeaky clean now. However we really need to make it a point of cleaning it out every few months. If we just do a little cleaning every few months it will make things a lot easier compared to waiting a year or more and having to spend hours working on it.
Next up the hallway cabinets. 
When was the last time YOU really cleaned out your kitchen from top to bottom? When was the last time you checked the expireation dates on everything in the cabinets, including spices and other non-perishables?
If you haven’t done so in a while I would strongly recommend setting aside some time to get it done. I know it’s not a fun thing to do but once it’s done you’ll feel great.
Kimberly
looks great. i really need to clean my kitchen
Last March we repainted (inside the cabinets included) and put new flooring down so everything came out of the kitchen.
Found some fine breadcrumbs in a Tupperware container that were pretty ripe!
The stuff we don’t use anymore and still useful went to the Salvation Army. You could also post the items on a site like http://www.fullcircles.org/ or http://www.reuseitnetwork.org/
Hint from an exterminator: Put all your food items in an air tight container. e.g. Screw top jar or Tupperware type container. Even the packages that appear sealed. You could have brought the bugs home from the store. They can get into what appears to be sealed packages. Also if you live in an apartment it keeps them from hanging out in your cupboards because there is nothing there to eat.
Thanks for the great tip.
Most of the pots and pans we tossed out were funky anyway. Like non-stick ones with the non-sticking material scratched up. Or things that looked rusty or just too gross to use. Several got pushed back way deep in the closet. That is why we forgot about them.
We donate to a local food bank or shelter, depending on the item. Plus we use our local FreeShare/FreeCycle group which is another great resource.
I really need to do this! Stuff definitely gets ‘lost’ under other things, especially on the lazy susan cabinet and pantry.
Sometimes I go through the pantry and figure out what is expiring soon, or I look at our cans of stuff, and I choose a week where we work on getting rid of stuff. For example, lasagna noodles that have been sitting there nearing expiration, or a can of coconut milk or artichokes. I feel like so much stuff goes to waste if we don’t make an effort to use it. Same with stuff in the freezer.
I also try to do this around when the postal service takes donations of nonperishables in the mailbox.
i really need to clean, but i hate it….i have so much doggy stuff everywhere, over half of my kitchen cabinets and drawers are filled with doggy stuff, meds, treats, food, brushes, sweaters and jackets, homeopathic meds-entire 2 shelves, shampoos and conditioners-entire shelf, everyday vitamins and things-2 shelves…..i have 3 min. schnauzers – even 1 whole shelf in both fridge and freezer have their foods. yes my 3 little girls are spoiled rotten but that is what you do for the people you love and adore….
How nice to have everything in the kitchen cabinets organized and cleaned up. It is a big job and that would be something I have to do over the summer when I have more time. It seems that things can get messy in the cabinets quite quickly even if I try to keep organized. The junk drawers really need to be cleaned out, everything gets thrown in them often.