Operation kitchen cabinet clean-out

We all know I don't cook, (Ok, that's a lie - I DO cook...but I hate it.  Like with every fiber of my body HATE it.) so it became amusing astonishing to me that I had so much stuff to cook with.  I mean, really - how does a gal that hates to cook have so much cooking STUFF?!   Plastic bowls, Pyrex containers, baking sheets, cutting boards - you name it.  We had gotten a lot of things when we were married that I never EVER used.  They were just stuffed in the cabinet.  I struggle with feeling bad about throwing something away that we were given as a gift.  However - after 15 years I decided I was over feeling bad & no one would remember what they got us anyway.   If you see something you gave us - thank you SO much for sharing our special day & for the thoughtful gift!  

Anybody else tend to kinda 'stuff' things into a space until the doors won't close anymore & stuff is stacked on top of other stuff it's full?  No?  Just me then?  Mmmm kay... And I'm fine with that - until I'm not.  It's like a switch goes off in my brain.  You know how it is when you're cleaning & you find something you forgot about & you're all like, "Oh wow!  I forgot about this!  I will TOTALLY use this!  (Even though you SOOO won't!) I try to not do that anymore.  When I do these 'spring cleaning' tasks my motto is this:

"If I haven't used it, seen it, worn it or knew it existed for a YEAR - it's garbage."

Learn it, people - it will change your life.

 And I do love me some 'before & after' pictures so don't worry your pretty little heads about that.  They're coming...

I spent Saturday afternoon on "operation kitchen cabinet clean-out".  I had a plastic container to put things in that I may need from time to time, but not on a daily or weekly basis to put in the basement on the shelves.   (Cupcake pan, deviled egg container, ice bucket - stuff like that.)

I drug everything out (this is just one section below) & onto the floor. 

Notice how Sonny is kinda there & in the middle of it all - yet not really helping me?  Hmph, cats...

 I found three, count 'em THREE loaf pans.  I have never made a loaf of any kind in any of these.  NEVER.  I pitched them all.  

(Notice the Pampered Chef one still had the directions & scraper in it?)  

When all was said & done - I filled up 4 of the large trash bags with kitchen 'stuff'.  

Again- Sonny doesn't care a bit about all the progress I made... 

 Before:

(I had TWO George Foreman grills.  My mother in law gave me one a LONG time ago.  When Shauna bought herself a new one she gave me her older one because it was newer than mine.  Make sense?  {Both shoved/stacked into the cabinet.   Why throw one away when there was clearly room for another one?! Duh...} And the baking sheets - I had cheap ones, then got Pampered Chef ones.  Instead of throwing the cheap ones away - I just piled the Pampered Chef ones on TOP.  I mean - you just never know when I would've needed to bake 40 dozen cookies at the same time using 5 baking sheets... Madness, I tell ya.)

After:  

(I kept 4 cutting boards.  No way do I need 4 cutting boards.  However, they're all a little different that's how I justified that. One is itty bitty, one is medium sized w/ a liquid catching 'ditch' on it, one is a bit larger w/ no ditch & the biggest one is a nice Pampered Chef one with measuring cups on the end AND a liquid catching ditch.  Sad things is - I threw 3 away.  Who the hell needs 7 cutting boards?)

Before:

After:

 Before: 

 (That's a deep fryer thingie on the bottom right.  I haven't touched that in maybe 7 years?  It made the house smell horrible.  There was still oil in it...it was kinda like the consistency of rubber.  Lovely...)

After:

 Best part is I still have some empty space to fill up in case I have to add to my culinary collection of tools.   But until then - all the doors close & everything... 

"Operation kitchen cabinet clean-out" = success.