A graphic of a kitchen with blue tiles and a cooker, pans and oven gloves
Episode 246 – 10 things to declutter from your kitchen

Today we’re here to talk about 10 things to declutter from your kitchen but there won’t be any chipped plates and expired food to be seen here. As always we are thinking outside of the box, so sit back and see how many of our 10 things you have in your kitchen.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
[00:00:00] Ingrid: Today we're here to talk about the 10 things to declutter from your kitchen, but there will be no chipped plates, no expired food to be seen here. As always, we're thinking outside of the box. So sit back and how many of the 10 things have you got in your kitchen? 

[00:00:21] Voiceover: You are listening to the Declutter Hub Podcast, bringing you tried and tested, no nonsense tips and advice from the lead in experts in decluttering and organizing your home. Now here are your hosts, Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman.

[00:00:52] Ingrid: Hello and welcome listeners. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley. If you're new to the Declutter Hub podcast, you're so welcome. What you'll find is that we try and find a fun factor in the serious business of decluttering, and if you've been here for a while, you know exactly what we mean. So thank you so much for listening.

[00:01:12] Lesley: If you'd like to get involved in conversations relating to this podcast, it all takes place in our Facebook group. So come and join our lovely, warm, supportive community. To find the Facebook group, go to declutterhub.com/group to find out more. Or you can search for the Declutter Hub community on Facebook.

So, Ingrid, we're back to talk about a review that we got in this week from the lovely Rebecca93415.

Now we do know Rebecca. We met Rebecca in Newcastle last year. Ingrid looking at me like, do we? Yeah. Yeah. You remember Rebecca that was sat on the table with us when we went to the Ian Anderson gray session? Yes. Yeah, so, uh, Rebecca is from round the c well not round the corner. She's from Lancashire as well, so she's not very far away, 30 miles away.

And I thought, I know that Rebecca, when I saw that picture attached to her review. So Rebecca's been in touch with the review. Ingrid, would you like to read it out? 

[00:02:08] Ingrid: Yes, Lesley, Rebecca says, absolutely love Ingrid and Lesley and the podcast. It's like having them round the kitchen table, nattering over a brew.

That's a cup of tea. For those of you who've got no idea what a brew is, no mug trees in sight here and setting the world of decluttering to rights. What a lovely review. I know. 

[00:02:31] Lesley: How nice is that? We have to read them out just to show ourselves some love, don't we, Ingrid to remind ourselves that someone loves what we talk about.

[00:02:40] Ingrid: I know. Nearly 250 podcasts down the road. It's, it's great to kind read these out. I must admit, 

and I definitely think that the 

[00:02:47] Lesley: nattering over brew, I love that. It's very Lancashire it's a very Lancashire phrase, right? That, well, northern, let's say. Um, but yeah. No, that's so nice. And, and that's nice that Rebecca thinks that it's like nattering over a brew. I like that idea concept. Cause that's what we're trying to , it's not that we're trying to create, it's what we do like without even thinking. So, um, so yeah. So thank you so much Rebecca. Thank you so much for listening and for sharing the podcast love. And if ever anybody else wants to do that, we'd love to hear more Ingrid and Lesley love, wouldn't we? Of course. Yes. What's not to like about that, Ingrid? 

Exactly. Leave us a review on any podcast player or leave a comment in the episodes. If you go to declutterhub.com/246 because this is podcast 246, then you can leave a comment. But yeah, go to your podcast player to leave a review because then other people, will also know that you love listening to this podcast and maybe listen in too. That will be great. We need to put more decluttering worlds to rights, Lesley,, because there's so much nonsense out there. 

[00:03:48] Ingrid: Yes, absolutely. So today, so we have to start off. You know, so Rebecca says that it's like nattering over a brew and it absolutely is, right? So basically the way that it works, when we're kind of starting a podcast, Ingrid does all the kind of things and she sets up the document. Cause we have like a, we don't have a script, but we, we have notes, right? What we're gonna talk about. And so Ingrid does all that stuff cause I get bored with that stuff very easily. So I'm in my head thinking about what are the 10 things we can declutter from the kitchen. And so I'm like, okay, I've got my list.

[00:04:17] Lesley: So, Ingrid's like right, what's your list? And she writes some down and she's like, Where do you think of these things from? And she's like, and I'm like, well, we could do boring things like chip plates and expired food and all that, but then there's nothing to learn in that, is there because everybody knows those things.

And Ingrid goes, well, I thought of those things. I'm like, that's why. That's what I bring. And I bring the craziness and Ingrid brings the sensible stuff. So hopefully together. It works. 

[00:04:45] Ingrid: Yeah, exactly. Because the first thing I thought 10 things to, from your kitchen, well, we're probably gonna talk about food that's expired, or a bread maker that's lurking in a cupboard somewhere. And then I'm like, right. Great. Let's see, I'm, I'm here ready to write down the things you've thought about and this craziest things come out and I'm like, Do you actually come up with this stuff? 

[00:05:04] Lesley: So yeah. Then I said to you, do you agree? 

[00:05:06] Ingrid: And I did? 

[00:05:08] Lesley: Are these things that you need to declare from your kitchen or not?

[00:05:11] Ingrid: Absolutely. 

So why don't we get started with number one? Because we love a 10 things podcast, but they always take forever. So I think we need to get cracking, Lesley. 

[00:05:21] Lesley: We do. So first things first, I really wantyour window sills to be shown a little bit of love. And so my number one is things off the window sill, right? And so. We need a kind of curated, we talked about this a few podcasts ago, didn't we? We need a curated windowsill and what windowsills typically are, if you, and I'm talking about a scenario where your sink is in front of your windowsill and you've got a nice view onto garden or whatever that might be.

And we sort of clutter up quite often our windowsills with kind of seedlings from plants and maybe a bit of washing up liquid, a bit of brushes, little tops of bottle tops that were recycling. Uh, maybe a discloth or two. Ingrid, anything else? 

[00:06:09] Ingrid: You, you name it. I've seen it. Coins, coins from, from pockets that before they've been thrown in the washing machine, uh, brushes for painting from the kit that were not dried out yet.

Um, stamps that were bought and have been put in a safe place in the windowsill. I mean, The most random things ever, but it looks so messy. 

Yes. 

[00:06:34] Lesley: You're so right. So we're not telling you what it is to declutter from your windowsill. We're just saying have a look. Cause it's that kind of thing that makes you become clutter blind, right? So you don't see these things on the windowsill all the time. And honestly having a clear windowsill makes all the difference because when you are looking out onto your garden, you want to look out onto your garden, not see the things that lurk beneath on your windowsill. So it's very important to do that, isn't Ingrid?

Yeah, I love it. I completely agree. So 

[00:07:02] Ingrid: Lesley, let's go to number two then, because you had another brainwave, didn't you? 

[00:07:08] Lesley: Are you just not saying anything yourself? Are you just, are you just leaving me to say everything? Well, I, I can do a couple. I can do a couple. 

Oh, nice. Right. Okay. So what I wanted to talk about was plastic straws. Now straws hang around, right. And the reason why I said plastic straws is because quite often if we've got kids, it's quite cute, isn't it? Sometimes to give them a straw. It makes it feel a drink. Feel a bit more special sometimes, doesn't it? We don't really need a straw, but we kind of have a straw. And then when we go to Ikea or we go to Target, or we go to somewhere, there's like these hundred straws in a box.

Yeah, yeah. I said, oh, that'd be really cool. I, I like straws, I'm gonna give the kids some straws. And we just, they just stay there. Don't they kind of unused in many, many houses? Not in all houses. If you're a straw person. Fair play. One of the things that's happened recently is that everybody's become more environmentally friendly. Cause plastic straws are a nightmare. from an environmental perspective. Yeah. And so people feel bad about having plastic straws, have found paper straws, changed over, but kept the plastic straws. 

[00:08:12] Ingrid: Yeah, or like me, have bought metal straws. 

[00:08:16] Lesley: Ah, yes, of course. Metal straws. 

[00:08:18] Ingrid: But then I'm now, I think I've decluttered them and now I think I need to check this Lesley after this podcast, cause I need to go to my drawer in my kitchen. But I think all the plastic ones, we either finished them up or we gave them away, but I don't think they're long, longer here. But yeah. 

[00:08:32] Lesley: And how do you get on with your metal straws? Cause I think it's a bit weird against your teeth. 

[00:08:35] Ingrid: Well, the kids use them. I don't use straws at all. I always forever when I'm going, if I'm going out or going somewhere, I'm like, do not give me a straw. I just don't like it. I don't like having a straw in my drink. 

[00:08:46] Lesley: Do you know, do you know where straws come into their own a little bit more? So when you go to, um, and, and we, we apologise because there are other countries in the world, but Ingrid and I have, have a lot of experience of America. So there are other places in the world that we could talk about, but in America they give you a lot because it's so hot all the time there, they give you, well not all the time, clearly not in Alaska and stuff. It's not hot all the time in Alaska. But there are many places where it's hot. So there's a lot of ice that comes with the soda drinks over there, so you get like a full glass of ice. And we kind of have that a little bit here, but not quite as much. And I think the straws work well with that kind of scenario cause you don't want the ice banging into your face all the time when you drink from your cup. So I think that's where straws come in when you, when you've got a fully iced drink. Yeah. That's where they come from and that's when they're useful.

But we don't typically do that at home, do we? No, like I don't put ice in my drink at home, do you? 

[00:09:33] Ingrid: No. No. It's interesting because indeed when I was traveling in the US, they'd put ice, like they stack it in and I'm like, I just want something to drink. I don't want all this ice, but because you get refills and things, it's, it's just different here. You get here you get one or two cubes if you're lucky. 

[00:09:50] Lesley: Yeah, exactly. 

So, so yeah, so dig out those plastic straws that will be lurking in your kitchen and pass them on. You can just donate them to a charity shop. Somebody will be happy for your plastic straws. Yes, it's a bit of an environmental one.

[00:10:06] Ingrid: Yeah, I like it. I like it. Let's go to number three, which is old dish cloths. With holes. So you're trying to dry stuff off when, from your hand washing or if, you know, sometimes the stuff comes out of the dishwasher a little bit damp, or it has little residues of water and you don't kind of, you want to. Shake it, the water off. But you sometimes need a little bit of a dish cloth to dry some stuff. 

[00:10:29] Lesley: Right, right. I'm gonna have to stop you, Ingrid. I'm gonna have to stop you. Sorry. I'm not sure you're completely au fait with what a dish cloth is. 

[00:10:37] Ingrid: Oh, it's not like a tea towel. It's not what you mean?

[00:10:41] Lesley: No, no. A tea towel's a tea towel. A dish cloth's a dishcloth. 

[00:10:45] Ingrid: Oh, you mean like where you wipe the sides with? Yes. Same idea. If they've got holes, what's the point?

[00:10:52] Lesley: Not it's not the same idea at all. A dishcloth is to wash things and a tea towel is to wipe things. 

[00:10:59] Ingrid: Yeah.

But I've never understood people using a dish cloth to wash things. That's like, that's weird. You've got washing up brushes. Right. Why would you use a cloth to wash up stuff? I find that really strange. Maybe it's an English thing. I don't know. 

[00:11:12] Lesley: I think might be an english thing. Cause I mean, I don't anymore. I use a brush now. to be fair but I use a dish cloth to wipe round that needs to be wet. But there's still a real difference here. One is wet. One is dry. 

[00:11:24] Ingrid: Okay, well fine. But whatever it is, a tea towel or dish cloth if they've got holes. I agree. I agree. There's no points. I mean, how can you wipe something or dry something when it's got holes it'll, it'll looks so sad. Yeah. It looks so sad. 

It does. It does. Yeah. 

[00:11:42] Lesley: I think that, you know the one thing that I would say is microfiber cloths. Microfiber dish cloths. Ingrid. Okay. Yes, yes. 

[00:11:51] Ingrid: I've got one of those. 

[00:11:52] Lesley: Well done, well done. They typically don't get holes in them.

Yeah. They're quite robust, aren't they? Cause of the mechanics of microfiber means that they don't get holes in them. But those other ones, you know, so quite often in, if you buy, um, normal kind of old school dish cloths here, they're kind of like a mesh fabric, aren't they? Yeah. Yeah. And with like, almost kind of with holes in them already.

[00:12:15] Ingrid: Do you mean those blue and blue with white ones? They're kind of very thin ones. 

[00:12:20] Lesley: Oh, that's, oh, they're called, um, blue. What are they called? J, um, J J Cloths are they called J cloths?

[00:12:29] Ingrid: I dunno. but I see them in people's houses. I don't understand those. I don't understand those, using something so flimsy to wipe your sides. 

[00:12:37] Lesley: I agree. No, you're right. I don't love a J cloth but people do. You know you and I can't say to other people that they can't use a J cloth to wipe sides cause they might work really well. And we would rather a side be wiped by a J Cloth, a dish cloth or in fact a tea towel if you're Ingrid Jansen.

[00:12:56] Ingrid: Than not at all. Agreed. Agreed. 

[00:13:01] Lesley: Yeah. But I think that, you know, definitely the J cloths that you're talking about, those really flimsy kind of things, they will definitely rip but they're more tear than holes. Yeah. And then you've got the, the kind of mesh dish cloth that get holes in the really easily once to go into the washing machine and stuff. A microfiber cloth is the way forward I think. 

[00:13:18] Ingrid: Yeah, I like them. I, I use them alot everywhere from my tv. 

[00:13:21] Lesley: But what happens, of course, Ingrid, is that people buy the microfiber cloths, but keep the old cloths. 

[00:13:27] Ingrid: Yeah. Declutter it. Let it go. Yes, let it go. Anything with holes, whether it's tights, tea towels, dish cloths, 

[00:13:36] Lesley: Ooh, there must be something with holes that's useful.

[00:13:40] Ingrid: No T-shirts with holes with, well, maybe like a jean or like a jean jacket with a hole. That's like cool, isn't it? That's not like raw. Anyway, I'm gonna go onto number four. 

Declutter too many bins. Lesley, you, you had me on this one. You, I'm like too many bins. 

Yeah, 

[00:14:00] Lesley: She writes it down. She approves the list and then she hasn't got the slightest foggiest clue what it is that my head is saying. 

[00:14:08] Ingrid: Too many bins. 

[00:14:10] Lesley: Right? Okay. So imagine the scenario, right? So you're not on top of recycling and rubbish that much. Mm-hmm. Quite often then people will have multiple bins, right? Yes. Yeah. This might have come from a place where you've got one for rubbish, one for recycling, or it might be, I need something bigger.

And so I think it's kind of chicken and egg scenario, people buy more bins because they want to keep more stuff in the bins before they take it out to recycle, to throw away. Mm-hmm. And so I've seen many times too many bins in a house taking over a kitchen. Yeah. So I think, you know, it's not that you don't need that bin space particularly, but you really need to think about the configuration of your bin to see if you can't get something neater that is gonna do all of the things for you.

Yeah. But that is not gonna clutter up your kitchen. So that's what I mean when I say too many bins. 

[00:15:02] Ingrid: Right. I was like, maybe people have like 12 bins in their kitchen or something. 

[00:15:07] Lesley: Some people, well, no, maybe not 12, but some people have a lot of bins. Yeah. And I think. And I think, you know, we've, we've, I can't remember what it was that we were talking about one time and, and it was a real light bulb for someone cause we talked about taking your bins out every day, didn't we? And talking about getting your kids to take the bins out after dinner every day or something. 

[00:15:22] Ingrid: Yeah, yeah. 

[00:15:23] Lesley: And it was a massive revelation to someone like, Well, I've never taken my bins out every day, but maybe that's what I should do. Cause I've got this buildup of rubbish bins and recycling inside. Yeah. That maybe I need to take the bins out every day. And, and for people that are not, don't, are not used to the terminology bins, we mean trash cans. Right. And so, You know, but, so just think about that, what you know. Is it that you need to take your rubbish or garbage out more frequently, or is it that you need additional bin space? Because you can still, it involves more work, of course, going out every day to take the bins out, but it, the plus side is that it's making your kitchen a little bit neater. 

[00:16:01] Ingrid: Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yeah. It, it's a, a job. It's not a great job to do. I think that's why a lot of people leave and they leave and they leave it, but in the end it's just better to stay on top of it because it's just so less messy. 

[00:16:16] Lesley: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I mean that def, that's definitely want to delegate like hundred percent delegate. You delegate it. I delegate it. Very rarely put the bins out. Honestly, at one bin in 20, I'm taking out kids all the way and it's easy for them.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's an easy job. You don't need to explain it. There's not much precision required with empty in a bin into another bin. You know what I mean? Yeah. Whereas wiping round or sweeping the floor or putting the dishwasher away or whatever, or stacking things that involves some kind of, you know, precision whereas emptying a bin doesn't. So I think it's the perfect job for a child. 

[00:16:50] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. Agreed. Well, Lesley, let's do one more then, because we've done four, only of the 10, so I think we should do one more, and number five is, Shot glasses. Yes. 

[00:17:02] Lesley: Yes. You're saying very little again. So she's, well, I've got, I've got to convince her of the 10 things as well.

Sometimes I do wonder which houses weird decluttering. Cause I'm like, this is like standard stuff. Like standard stuff. Um, so, you know, she's seeing expired food. I'm seeing like, why have you got 30 shot glasses? Like, what's like... 

[00:17:21] Ingrid: I mean, I've got a couple, a couple, but I mean.

[00:17:24] Lesley: Yes, a couple is good. A couple is good.

You gotta think how many times you're doing shots. But we keep there, you know? And sometimes if you do do shots, you're either a shot due in person or you're not. Yeah. And you can also do shots not in a shot glass, although it's not as much fun. It's better to do a kind of banging on the table doing a shot, isn't it?

Yeah. Would you agree? Yes. But I think shot glasses is one of those things that when people are younger, they gather on holidays. So it's a perfect souvenir for a lot of people, isn't it? Mm-hmm. So people do love a shot glass from somebody as a memory, and then what happens is these shot glasses kind of start to kind of increase, increase, increase to a point where we've got 10 shot glasses and the chances of you doing shots with 10 people, It's slim.

I don't know. Cause I dunno how many people are doing shots. I might be wrong. Mm-hmm. But in general, look at the amount of shot glasses. because in my experience there's often too many for your needs. 

[00:18:19] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. I think we can even widen this a little bit. I think it's probably the only shot glasses. It's also kind of drinks.

We used to drink in glasses. Like I remember my Mum drinking Sherry, you know, way back when, when I was a teenager. But now she's like, don't drink that anymore. But we still have, you've got all these glasses, right? Of stuff that we used to drink. So have a little rummage through, but shot glasses is a good place to start.

[00:18:43] Lesley: Have we ever done shots? 

[00:18:45] Ingrid: I don't think we've ever done shots. 

[00:18:47] Lesley: That would be very dangerous if we started doing shots. That would be very dangerous, wouldn't it? 

[00:18:55] Ingrid: I think we have to go for a break. I don't think, I don't need, let's go for a break. I don't think I wanna go there.



[00:19:07] Ingrid: Right. Well, we are back in our 10 things to declutter from your kitchen and we've had quite an an, an interesting number one to number five ending up on short glasses and thinking that we've not done short. And I think we should keep it that way, Lesley. It's probably safer for everybody, for our sales or for everybody around us.

So let's go on to number six. You've thought of another very interesting one, haven't you? 

[00:19:32] Lesley: Yes. Tombola or raffle prizes. Now let's think about the way that tombola and raffle prizes goes. So if you're anything like me, and I know there are some very, very kind, thoughtful people out there, your child then goes, I need a raffle prize, and you go, okay.

For a tombola or whatever it might be, a drinks one. It might be, you know, a chocolate one. It might be something. You're probably gonna choose the things that you actually want to declutter to send to a tombola or a raffle, aren't you? 

[00:20:05] Ingrid: Yes, yes. 

[00:20:07] Lesley: Yes. So perhaps the quality of that item might not be amazing, or perhaps it might be something that's been hanging around for a while.

It might be towards the cheaper end of wine. So I'm just thinking, you're not gonna give away your most prized chocolate or wine. You're gonna give something that is a little bit more substandard. Would you agree? Is that really horrible to say that that's what you do for tombs and raffles, or is that normal?

[00:20:33] Ingrid: Uh, well, I think that's normal. I think let's, let's, let's be honest here. Let's not, let's, let's not go. Oh, no. Yeah. We all kind of go, okay, well there's a tom here, grab this. You know, we're not gonna put great thought into the thing, but interestingly enough, you think about stuff to don donate. I actually thought about the things you win at tombola? 

[00:20:53] Lesley: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. So I'm talking about, that's the beginning part of a tombola. I've not even got to the crux of the story. So that's what we're donating for tombola. But then we go to the school fair or whatever and we win it. Yeah. So we are winning substandard. 

[00:21:08] Ingrid: Somebody else's substandard. 

[00:21:09] Lesley: Somebody else's clutter, basically back, yeah, it might not be food or drink, but it's gonna be something that somebody doesn't want probably, unless it's a very kind, thoughtful person.

And there are those people out there who would try and give nice gifts. But in general, you're kind of scrambling around at the last minute and you're just gonna grab something and you're not gonna. Grab something that you wanna drink that night or that you wanna put on your face. Sorry, you gotta grab something that's been hanging around a while.

So tombola and raffle prizes, you feel obliged to bring them back, you put 'em into your cupboard and they sit there because they're never quite what you really are gonna reach for. 

[00:21:40] Ingrid: Yeah, exactly. 

[00:21:42] Lesley: Sorry you didn't, let me finish my story. 

[00:21:44] Ingrid: I know. I'm sorry I jumped ahead there, but yeah, I think you're right. Let's just. Let, let's throw some realism in this. Please. You know, just let's declutter it. You can put it on olio, you can give it away, but it, hanging around your kitchen is not gonna make you eat, drink, or use it. So let it go. 

[00:22:05] Lesley: So what you do , Ingrid, is you send it to a tombola or raffle prize. You do you do the next one? Yes. Cause it's not left field. This is one that, that you came up with. 

[00:22:19] Ingrid: Exactly. The next one is declutter the front of your fridge, or if you've got a notice board, have a look at all the stuff you've got pinned on there and all the magnets that are on the outside of your fridge door.

What stuff is on there are actually others old receipts invites for parties that you've been to and way, way back when Is it a form that should have been filled in age ago that you forgot about? What is on the front of your fridge or on your notice board, all these loose, random bits of paper that you thought were important at one point, you need to go through that on a regular basis.

So maybe this podcast is going to jump you into action and go, oh yeah, it's been a while, and people have lots of stuff on their fridges and their no sports. 

[00:23:07] Lesley: They do indeed love that one. And honestly, a nicely tended to notice board or fridge front is way more appealing and nice to look at than a cluttered one, that's for sure. Yeah. Makes a big difference to the way that your kitchen looks, doesn't it? Aesthetically. 

[00:23:22] Ingrid: Same as well, Lesley, in, in an extension of that, the magnets themselves. Can you please have a look at them as well while you're at it? I mean, if they've been on your fridge for like 20 years, sometimes they don't look great anymore.

[00:23:35] Lesley: Now I think you, you've very much gone into dangerous territory here, Ingrid Jansen. Very, very dangerous ter... people who look the fridge magnet is, they're like sentimental pieces. I know, I know. And you're telling people that got to declutter them. I know that wouldn't come out my mouth. 

[00:23:49] Ingrid: I'm going rogue on this one, Lesley, that's for sure.

[00:23:51] Lesley: I know fridge magnets was not on the list. 

[00:23:55] Ingrid: But I know that. But it's like sometimes things have been on there for such a long time. They're falling apart. They're completely lost. Their, their, their color or they feel a little bits broken off. It just doesn't look great. 

[00:24:08] Lesley: Agree. I'm sorry. I agree. I know. Don't be, don't be sorry. I kind of agree, but I'm saying you're gonna get a lot of fridge magnets, you know. Dunno what the word is, you know? Yeah. Kick back. Kick back from the fridge magnet people. That's what I'm gonna say. I'm guaranteeing our comments on YouTube and everything. There'll be somebody who says they love fridge magnets, and I'm gonna leave you to reply to them.

[00:24:33] Ingrid: That's okay. Let me know. Let me know if you've had an honest look to your French magnets and yeah. Ingrid, no, no, I'm not going there. Or, You're actually right. I have not considered this. So let's then quickly move on to the next one, Lesley. 

[00:24:48] Lesley: Yes. So we talk a lot about junk drawers and we talk about the fact that they are a drawer of organised things.

That's what we like to call a junk drawer. Yes. So we think a junk drawer do definitely has a place in a kitchen for sure. Cause we all need things close at hand. We just don't need too many of them. And it needs to be something that we know what's in there. And it's only a certain number of things. And one of the things that many people have in their junk drawers are things that are waiting to go somewhere else, like recycling.

And so I'm talking about things in particular like bulbs. And batteries. So we have to dispose of these things in a, um, Um, environmentally friendly. I'm trying to get the word environmentally friendly way, so we kind of have to wait, don't we? Ingrid? So it's to wait till we go to the supermarket or wait till we go to the tip and we kind of often in a drunk draw, we have them a gathering place in there.

Yeah. And so every now and again, make sure that you make a conscious decision to, um, pass these on to wherever they need to be recycled in. 

[00:25:47] Ingrid: It feels, I think it always feels really good. It's a small job, but when you're like, okay, I've put my batteries in a battery recycling container, that feels like a good thing to do, right?

I think it's like, yeah, give yourself a pat on the back. You've done a good thing for the environment. I mean, batteries are, Bad for the environments, but we just need them sometimes for things, but at least making sure they're being recycled in the right place. That feels like a good thing. So yeah, let let this job not be overlooked in your kitchen.

Same goes in these for light bulbs, Lesley, they, you can bring them to the recycling center. They've got a special container for, uh, bulbs, at least here in the uk they have. So, yeah. 

[00:26:25] Lesley: Definitely. Nice one. Nice one. Yes. What's our number nine, Ingrid? 

[00:26:29] Ingrid: Number nine is chopsticks. We find them in lots of kitchen drawers, sometimes only a couple, sometimes loads.

But do you actually use them when you're at home or is it kind of more of a fun thing from when you go out for a meal? Or have you maybe picked them up or been given when you. A takeaway. What, what's his whole chopstick business? 

[00:26:56] Lesley: I mean, of course there are gonna be lots of people who use chopsticks every single day.

If you've got Asian heritage and, and you, you've grown up using chopsticks, then of course don't throw your chopsticks away. That would be, that would be useful because you use them every day. But I think as Ingrid says in those instances where you have got them, I don't know, when did, where did chopsticks even come in?

I don't even know how they kind of come into your house, but we see loads of chopsticks. Cause you don't get them with a takeaway. Mm-hmm. You have to consciously buy them. I think often they might come when you buy little bowls, you know, like nice little soup bowls and stuff for like, um, you know, you know like those really beautiful Asian bowls that you might have soup in or you might have noodles in.

I think sometimes they come in in, um, Sets for that kind of thing. But there are people in life who can use chopsticks and there are people in life who can't answer you, wouldn't they? People in life who really feel like they should be able to use chopsticks. But it's tricky. So some people always choose a knife and fork to eat if that's what you've grown up with.

And so, but what we're saying is evaluate what you're doing with those. Things. The problem is with chopsticks is that they're little and they can kind of scoot down the side. They're not really taking up much space, so do we actually need them? So really think about things like that. And it's not just chopsticks, it's those kind of things Also, um, what do you like, um, what do you call those things?

So those things that you put kebabs on, you know those skewers? Yeah. Like skewers. People keep wooden skewers, metal skewers. Think about your kibab, um, kind of. What you do with kebabs? 

[00:28:23] Ingrid: Yeah. How do, how you prepare it? How you prepare the food? 

[00:28:26] Lesley: How you prepare the food. Do you use wood? Do you use metal? Do you actually buy kebabs from a supermarket ready made?

Would you ever use, make kebabs yourself? And you'll think about all those kind of things because these are kind of things that are very narrow, very thin. You just scoot them into utensil drawer, think that they're not really causing any problems. So why would I get rid of them? But really dig deep and evaluate whether things like chopsticks, things like, um, What? What did I just say? They were called, I can't remember. Skewers. Skewers are useful to you? 

[00:28:53] Ingrid: Yes. I like it. I use all of them. Lesley. 

[00:28:56] Lesley: Do you? Can you wait with chopsticks? Yeah. 

Yes, me too. 

[00:28:59] Ingrid: So we have a certain meal that my husband makes a really nice, um, rice dish with, um, with chicken and um, and we use chopsticks when he, chopsticks when we eat that.

So, yeah, I can either them, but I could not do that on a daily basis, I think. Um, That would be not be something that I would do. 

[00:29:17] Lesley: Well, I mean, you know, western food doesn't really lend itself to chopsticks, does it? because it needs to be sort of chopped up and stuff like that. And that's tricky. I always find that quite tricky.

But I've, I've been to Asia a few times and you know, I say I can use chopsticks honestly, you know, compared to people who've grown up with that. I mean, it's not even in the same league. I'm kind of...

[00:29:33] Ingrid: I know. 

[00:29:35] Lesley: Like a bit of a pathetic chopstick user to that I can get through a meal. With a chopstick. Yeah. Two, ideally. Two, yeah. Two is good. Ideally two. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, so yeah, think about that. 

[00:29:48] Ingrid: Nice one. Nice one. Well, let's go on to number 10 then, on our 10 things to declutter from your kitchen. And that is place mats that are past their best. Wow. I, I find these a lot. Lesley, this is actually an excellent number 10 because, People, some people there are placemat people and they're not placemat people.

There's like, and there's no hardly any in between, but the place met people normally have multiple sets. Sometimes a set actually lives and stays on the table when that they've got, which is falling apart. It's a perfectly new set that they've got three, four Christmases ago that's still been unused and it's like, oh. You know, it, it, it can make it catch you look a bit, the table look a bit sad if there are all these old place met hanging about. But there's a beautiful new set. It's still not unused. 

[00:30:42] Lesley: I thought you're being a bit disparaging about the place map people and the way that you're describing them. Oh, I'm joking. Like there's the placemat people. No, but what is, so are you a placement person? No. Never? 

[00:30:57] Ingrid: No, I have, I do use a tablecloth, like when I've got people offer for a meal or something, then I use a tablecloth, but hardly ever, and I don't think, I don't even know I've got placemats actually. 

[00:31:08] Lesley: I think it very much depends on the surface of your table. Mm-hmm. So, um, we've got like, um, God, what's, what would it, it's like a me melamine, like a plastic, I mean it sounds awful. A plastic table that's effectively what it is. Um, like a glass, like a white gloss table. So that kind of really needs a place mat on it because if you put hot things on it, I don't think it would go through it.

I think it's quite durable. But we do use a place mat, but then you've got to be quite on top of place mats as well. Yeah. Cause you've got to kind of wipe them down. They get very messy, don't they? Yeah. And I think a lot of people, you clear the table down, but you don't get, if, if your table, for example, is not. Next to where you white round people don't always white place mats over and they get a bit messy and stuff, don't they? So, yeah. Yeah. Definitely I, I'm with you Ingrid. On the placemat, placemat love. I think that we see a lot of tatty. Yeah. Place mats that are definitely past their best because they get a lot of use. If you are a place mat person as Ingrid likes to call them, um, then you definitely use them repeatedly and there's hot things and there's spills and there's, you know, they take a lot of abuse maybe, or abuse. Yeah. 

[00:32:14] Ingrid: Yeah. And some of them it's like, You can wipe them quite easily, but sometimes they're fabric and there's lots of stains in them because they've been used and used to use, which is great because it's great to get use out of things.

But when it starts to look a bit as sad and a bit tired and a bit too messy, then it can bring the vibe that you're wanting to bring to your kitchen or your dinner. It can really bring it down. So have a look at those things and see if you can maybe have a nice new set that you've been thinking that you've been saving for best.

Mm-hmm. Um, Just at some point, you know, you, you, you can overuse stuff, you know, and it's like... 

[00:32:50] Lesley: Or are you a coaster person? No. So you dealt like a placement or a coaster? No. But you've got wooden tables. Yeah. So do you just put your glass down on a wooden table? Yeah. Yeah. You're not bothered about things going onto your wood and stain in your wood? No. I'm gonna, next time I come to your as, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be examining your wood to see what it's got rings from your wine glass on it. 

[00:33:14] Ingrid: My, my, my tables are not so fancy, so I'm, maybe, I'm not so worried about it. And when I do want it fancy, you put a tablecloth on it. 

[00:33:22] Lesley: No, I mean, like your side table when you sit down at night and, you know, a...

[00:33:26] Ingrid: I use a tray, some sort of tray and its fine.

[00:33:29] Lesley: All right. That's, you're a tray person. 

[00:33:32] Ingrid: Yes, I've got like a wooden tray, like a big wooden, because I've got like a, it's like this huge foot stool, which is ideal, but not when you want to. So I've got a big tray that you can easily wipe and actually it that, that needs replacing. Yes. Bought, yes. I've been looking for one.

I haven't found one yet. I've bought this one many, many years ago. The lovely shop in the Netherlands where, I can't remember where it was because it's been there long ago. Um, but I should get a new one. But anyway, that's the whole other story. But yeah. 

[00:33:59] Lesley: So what, which one of the 10 have you got? How many of the 10?

[00:34:03] Ingrid: Uh, let me have a look. Uh, no plastic straws possibly have to check. No holes, no bins, short glasses, only a few and I want to keep them. Tombola or raffle prizes are given away to other tombolas. I've got nothing on my fridge. Uh, I've got a separate space for light bulbs and batteries. So, that does need emptying. So, and I'm going to the, uh, um, the recycling center shoes, so that's a good one.

I have chopsticks and I don't have placemats. I'm doing good. I'm doing good. 

[00:34:37] Lesley: I should hope so. As soon as you're the one's curating this list. Ingrid Jansen right? Or not is the case May. Um, so, right. Okay. So that sounds, that's 10 things, 10 left field things. I think that was quite left field. Yeah. I think she was a bit more difficult to be left field, I think.

Yeah. But hopefully we've given you a good list of. Of things, let us know. How many on that have you got on that list? I've got, let me see. I've got the batteries and bulbs and I feel like my place mats might do with some love. They're not really bad, but I might treat myself to some new place. Mats. Yeah, decision made. That's what I'm gonna do this weekend. 

[00:35:15] Ingrid: Okay, well, nice work. I can't wait. So, um, yeah, share with us which of the thin 10 things resonate with you, or which ones you're like, yeah, I've got that. I would love to know. Let us know in, uh, declutterhub.com/246 and leave us a comment. We love reading your comments. And again, don't forget to, uh, leave us a review on the podcast. So that's it for us for this week, and we'll see you next week. So thanks so much for being here.

[00:35:44] Voiceover: Thanks so much for listening to the Declutter Hub podcast. Don't forget to subscribe to us in your podcast player so you don't miss an episode, and we'll see you next week.
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Episode 246 – 10 things to declutter from your kitchen

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Episode 258 – The transition from young adult to home-maker with guest Penny Moyses

Episode 257 – Dealing with friends and family on your decluttering journey

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