13 things in your kitchen you should clear out right now

Pull all your plastic containers out of the cupboard. Now match up the containers with their lids, and throw away and unmatched pieces. Keep only the ones you know you are likely to use and organise them by size and shape before stacking them neatly in the cupboard.

Any glasses and cups with a chip, crack or stain need to be tossed. They are unsafe! And any you no longer use that are simply taking up space can be boxed up for charity or you can get creative and repurpose some as stationery holders or vases for example.

Big appliances such as stand mixers, blenders, slow cookers, food processors, etc, tend to take up a lot of room in your kitchen. Anything you don’t use on a regular basis can be tucked away in a cupboard or pantry. If you have items you never use that are just collecting dust, why not pop them on ebay and make a few extra dollars out of them.

Toss any old non-stick items that have scratches or baked-on stains that will no longer clean as they not safe to use any more. Organise by size when you put them back in the cupboard and keep the ones you use regularly in a place that’s easily accessible.

Empty out the cutlery drawer and sort out your silverware and your knives. Get rid of any mismatched pieces of cutlery. Sort through all those kitchen gadgets and be ruthless when it comes to tossing things out – when was the last time you used that melon baller or the 13-piece gadget that finely chops your fresh herbs but takes half an hour to clean – it’s time to toss! Keep only what you need and use regularly and for those gadgets you use occasionally and don’t want to part with, store in an organiser or box in your pantry or an under-used cupboard.

You know that kitchen drawer that holds all the random stuff that doesn’t seem to have a home. Old keys, food menus, those wooden chopsticks you brought home with your Japanese takeaway… and the rest of the miscellaneous junk. It’s time to sort it out. Toss any junk that no longer serves a purpose and then before returning useful items, fit out the drawer with an organiser to keep everything tidy and easily accessible.

Give your chopping boards a once-over. The more use they get, the more they accumulate lots of deep grooves and food stains – making them unsanitary – trapping moisture and becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. And if you have any glass cutting boards, just give them the boot – they may look sleek in the kitchen, but they really blunt your knives!

Cooking oils last a long time, and often we lose track of just how long they’ve been sitting in the pantry. So, take all your oils out and check expiration dates. If they are not expired, give them a quick taste to make sure they are still good and have not turned rancid. Before you put them back on the shelf – give the bottles and shelf a wipe down with soapy water, as oil bottles do tend to drip.

Similar to oils, spices seem like they should last forever, but they do come with expiration dates. Check them every couple of months to ensure they are still at their flavour peak. If you’re having trouble finding the expiration date – or you’ve thrown away the pack to store in your own jars, just rub a pinch of the spice between your fingers and check that it still has it’s very distinct scent. If not, throw away.

Give the entire pantry a really good clean out. Check expiration dates and throw away anything out of date. As you go, keep a list of things you need to replace. If you have cans or packets of food that you probably won’t use – that tin of baby beets that’s been there for 3 months or the jar of nuts your 4-year-old is allergic to – box them up and take them to a local charity.

Clean out that overloaded freezer before it becomes a wasteland of inedible food. If anything has been in the freezer more than a year, it goes straight in the bin; cooked leftovers such as beef or chicken after six months, frozen raw meat after five months and leftovers like soups or casseroles after 3 months. Remember to put a date on foods when you freeze them so you know how long they’ve been in there.

Leftovers and lunch meats should be tossed after three to five days. For fresh meat and poultry it’s important you strictly adhere to expiration dates… and use your nose, if something smells a bit iffy it’s probably no good. Check expiration dates on condiments also. And give your fridge a really thorough complete clean out a few times a year.

If you have a car, return your reusable shopping bags to the boot so you won’t forget them when you hit the grocery store. Recycle paper and plastic shopping bags by using them for your household trash or take them back to the shops for reuse.