8 Things Anyone with a Small Kitchen Should Get Rid Of Immediately

Every time I cram something into an overstuffed cabinet or drawer, I am reminded of just how tiny my kitchen is. To set the scene: My kitchen sink is actually smaller than my bathroom sink, there are no built-in drawers, and there is quite literally zero counter space.

Over the past four years living here, I’ve gotten pretty good at making things work in my pocket-size kitchen. But I know that whenever things get too cluttered, maneuvering around the small room gets harder. So, I’ve had to learn how to regularly cull items from my limited storage space — and every time I do so, my kitchen feels just a tiny bit bigger. 

In fact, some of the items I’ve gotten rid of recently (or have been meaning to get rid of) are probably items anyone with a petite kitchen can do away with, too. Below, find out eight items you can probably get rid of in your small kitchen. (Additionally, before tossing anything in the trash, see if you can give it new life by repurposing it beyond the kitchen or giving it away to someone else.)

My studio apartment can barely fit more than five people, yet I have three large serving platters — which I think I’ve used once since moving here. Unless you host dinner parties often, the extra serving platters collecting dust on your top shelf can probably be given away. 

If you have a small kitchen, multitaskers are your friends, and unitaskers are your enemies. Sure, items like avocado slicers, strawberry hullers, banana slicers, and garlic presses can all be handy if you actually use them on the regular. But if yours are never touched, it’s time to give them away, and instead just rely on basic multitaskers, such as knives.

Taking stock of my kitchen, I have five rubber spatulas, four wooden spoons, three regular spatulas, three whisks … shall I go on? The ones you don’t reach for are just creating clutter, so it’s time for them to go.

A nonstick pan should be thrown away once the surface experiences any scratches or chips, becomes discolored, or loses its nonstick quality. Superficial scratches mean that small bits of the nonstick coating may be flaking off into your food, and considering that Teflon is in the PFAS family, it’s probably worth replacing any chipped pans with a Teflon-free alternative, like a ceramic pan.

If you don’t usually wear an apron when you cook or bake, chances are, you never will. I have two aprons, both of which I haven’t worn in years and plan to donate now.

A person only ever needs one water bottle and one coffee cup at a time. Yet, I have an entire shelf filled to the brim with reusable drinking vessels — and you probably do, too. You can put any old ones in the recycling bin (as long as they’re recyclable), and donate the ones in good condition that you never reach for.

If the surface area of a plastic cutting board is more grooved than it is smooth, properly cleaning all the bacteria out of each scratch is very difficult. And if you’re using the same cutting board for raw animal products as you are for raw veggies, you could get into trouble. It’s a good idea to throw these damaged plastic cutting boards away (or to use them for tasks other than chopping) in favor of wooden cutting boards anyway, if you’re looking for a more sustainable option.

To always reuse before I recycle, I keep all the plastic containers and glass jars I accumulate, whether they’re from takeout, hummus, or pasta sauce. But once or twice a year, I conduct an audit of all these containers: I lay them out on my kitchen table and single out any that are cracked, don’t have a matching lid, or are simply taking up too much space. Then, I either find a way to repurpose them outside of the kitchen or put them in the recycling bin.