Concord Reserve: 3 Things You Can Clear Out of Your Kitchen Cabinets

Doing what you want to do when you want to do it, that’s how retirement should be. At Concord Reserve, you can enhance the lifestyle you’ve worked hard for. By choosing a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), you can have peace of mind knowing you have access to care, services, and lifestyle options to support you in aging well.

If you are considering a move to a CCRC, you might want to start your journey to downsizing and decluttering and your kitchen is a great place to start!

1. Utensils and Gadgets

There are a lot of gadgets and utensils with specific uses. The question is which ones are you using and which ones never get picked up? Here’s a test to see what you use: put 15 of your most used gadgets and utensils in your drawer or utensil holder. Take the others and put them in a bin in a different room. Throughout the month see which pieces you need to retrieve from the bin. This will give you a good idea of what you use regularly.

2. Small Appliance Inventory

Take stock of what appliances you have and what you’re really using. If you have lots of appliances squirreled away for their one-time per year use, consider whether or not you really need to hang on to them.

3. Dishes and Glassware

Everyday Dishes vs. Good Dishes – There was a time when everyone had ‘everyday’ dishes and ‘good’ dishes. The good dishes are usually china and were brought out during holidays and special occasions. If you find you’re not using the good dishes anymore consider taking them to a consignment shop that specializes in fine china to sell them.  Or check with www.replacements.com/ to see what patterns they are purchasing.

Glassware – Glassware is the same as dishes. Think about what glasses you pull out and use every day, those are obviously the keepers. But if there are juice or beverage glasses that rarely get used consider moving them on. Remember to keep what you need for family gatherings, but donate or sell the rest. This goes for fine crystal as well.

It’s a Process

Any downsizing and decluttering you do is a process. Tackle one area at a time and don’t try to do it all in a day or you’ll get overwhelmed and discouraged. Take it slow and remember to be honest with yourself about what you have and how you use it and you’ll have the best results.

Start the new year off with some help from our guest expert. Join us for a 2 part virtual series- Downsizing and Real Estate Trends: What You Need to Know. Registration for this free event series can be done online by visiting concordreserve.org/events or by calling 440-961-3693.

Concord Reserve is a continuing care retirement community in Westlake, Ohio. For more information, call 440-871-0900 or visit us online at concordreserve.org.

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