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Cleaning Out Your Kitchen on Your Next Move – Save Time and Money

Do you spend countless hours packing and unpacking cupboard after cupboard every time kitchenyou move? How about spending way too much time trying to reorganize everything once you make it to your new home? Just to realize you have too much stuff and not enough space …

Having lived from one apartment to the next in my life span I know exactly where you’re coming from. The kitchen was always my least favorite room in the whole house. Living off take out for a couple weeks, before figuring out where everything is, and feeling at home. Not only does that make for unwanted weight and stomach issues, but it also cost way too much money to do for a long period of time. I mean think about it. The average meal costs about $6-$8 per person for regular take out, not to mention a fancier restaurant could be anywhere between $15-$20 per person. Now take that and times it by three meals per day and 7 days a week. You’re looking at as low as $126 to as high as about $420 per person for a week of eating out. Now times that by a family of 4, you’re looking at more than your monthly mortgage.

Next time, let’s try keeping that money in your pocket and preventing unnecessary stress. I found what works for me is going to the store to purchase bins, or boxes, and a sharpie. Roughly 6 bins and a sharpie wouldn’t cost you more than $60 in total. Using these bins, I empty my cupboards individually by bin. Each cupboard, or pair of cupboards, gets an individual bin labeled with what’s inside. That way it goes out of one cupboard and right back into the new cupboard in minutes.

My other rule of thumb is if you haven’t used it in the last year, you’re probably not going to use it this year either. Load up all your unwanted/unneeded kitchen supplies and drop them off at your local thrift store. That way you’re not wasting cupboard space that you could potentially use in the future. This is something I’ve always struggled with. My husband and I have a running joke about just how many water bottles I really need for one person alone.

Lastly, a final tip for cleaning out your kitchen is always saving the cleaning supplies for last. Have you ever emptied out under the sink first and ultimately couldn’t figure out which box had your cleaning supplies in it? Now you’re fumbling around at the store buying extra supplies to clean up the kitchen for the next tenant.

Save time and money by labeling everything, keeping everything together, and making sure you save the cleaning for last. Don’t let the stress of moving bring down the joy of that freshly cleaned new home to make a million more memories to cherish later. Good luck on your next adventure.