Declutter Kitchen Towels & Dish Cloths {15 Minute Mission}

Today's decluttering mission is to declutter your kitchen towels and dish cloths, and also decorative tea towels, and even kitchen rags.


We're doing this mission while working through the Kitchen Organization Challenge here on the site.

This mission probably won't take you too much time, but do actually do it. I can't tell you how many people have said to me, as they've done this mission, that they were surprised by the sheer number of these cloths they actually had in their kitchens, and they didn't realize it.

You know you'll need to do this mission if the drawer, cabinet, or other area where you store these items is hard to close, overflowing, or so junked up you can't find what you're looking for.

For example, one reader, Reba said: "I will admit, when I started, I thought, 'I have a handle on this mission, there won't be much to get rid of.' But I was wrong. I have some new-found cabinet space. Woohoo!" Here's the photo she submitted of the items she decided to get rid of.

How Many Kitchen & Dish Cloths Should You Keep?

This is a common question I've received when we do this mission, but it is also quite subjective and something hard to make a rigid rule about.

The best advice I can give is to make sure you keep a good enough supply of both kitchen towels, as well as dish cloths and kitchen rags to have enough to use between launderings, and I suggest washing these types of items after each use (or at the end of a day of use at the least).

That might mean you need enough kitchen towels for about a week max, if you do laundry that infrequently.

Of course, you also need to only keep enough to fit into the space you've got for them, which might mean you'll need to change your routine some and wash cloths a bit more frequently than you have in the past.

Tell me in the comments below how many you've kept and why, which can help others with guidance when choosing a good amount for themselves as well.

Which Ones Should You Declutter?

First get rid of the stained, ripped, frayed and worn out cloths and rags that you always try to avoid using anyway.

That's the obvious ones to declutter, and then just keep decluttering until you have the amount you need and that will into the space you've got available to store them.

Don't Forget To Deal With Seasonal & Holiday Tea Towels & Kitchen Cloths

I know a lot of people love to have seasonal cloths for their kitchen, and that is perfectly fine. My personal suggestion though is to not keep those in your kitchen taking up space year round.

Instead, keep those cloths with that season's decorations and take them out when the season begins, and then return them back to this storage area when the season is over. That way you don't forget to use them when they're appropriate but the rest of the year they're not taking up valuable space in your drawers or cabinets.

What Should You Do With The Cloths You Declutter?

Another frequent question I receive during this mission is what to do with the cloths you declutter.

There are most certainly a lot more ideas than what I'm suggesting below, so be sure to give your additional ideas below in the comments.

If they are nice, you just have too many, donation to a charity that helps families who need general household items is a great idea.

In addition, those which are extremely worn or stained may move from being nicer kitchen towels to cleaning rags within your home, so you are moving them to a grimier purpose in your own home.

Remember again, tell me your ideas below!

So, without further ado here are photos sent in by readers who've already done this mission. These photos also give you several ideas for how and where to store your dish cloths and kitchen towels in your kitchen in case you need or want to move them from their current space.

Top image courtesy of starshaped on Flickr CC

Before & After Of Decluttered & Organized Kitchen Towels

by Kelly

Kelly sent in this before and after photo, and said, "I realize that I have a LOT of kitchen towels. They were spilling over from their drawer into a cluttered cabinet.

I purged some, put seasonal towels into storage, and rolled the rest to try to fit more into the drawer."

I Had A Lot More Dish Cloths & Towels Than I Realized!

by Laurie

Laurie stores her cloths in her cabinet right by the sink, and she sent in this photo, saying, "I had waaayyyy more than I thought! The cabinet is deep, so I actually bought more thinking I didn't have enough! Now, I only have ones in there that I am not embarrassed by : )"

Great job Laurie! Looks great now!

Got Down To One Drawer From Two!

Dana also decluttered and she showed this after photo, above, saying, "Ok, so I had two drawers full of this stuff and things I didn't even remember I had! I had 5 oven mitts. For gosh sakes I only have two hands! Unless I was fitting an octopus to do my baking, I pitched all but two! Lol. Went from two drawers to one!"

Great job Dana! Make sure to also check out the declutter potholders and oven mitts mission for even more ideas and inspiration for getting rid of these types of items, which are often stored in the same place as your kitchen and dish towels.

In addition, if you want to separate out various types of towels from one another inside your drawer you can keep some in a small shallow basket, similar to how a reader, Chelena, did it below. She said, "Here is my drawer. That's a Tupperware ice cube tray!"

You might notice how several readers photos show how they fold their kitchen towels and dish cloths, like Chelena does.

Believe it or not, the way you fold your kitchen cloths makes a big difference in how tidy they look, and how organized they are.

That's why I've written a quick article about how to organize and fold kitchen towels here that shows you what I believe is the best way to do it! Bonus, it's simple and quick!

Unpaper Towels & Homemade Cleaning Wipes Drawer Organized

by Susan

Today's mission includes whatever kinds of cloths you've got in your kitchen for wiping up spills, cleaning dishes, or whatever use you have for them.

The photo above is from a reader, Susan, who explained, "We ditched paper towels this year, so this is my drawer of unpaper towels for scrubbing counters and messes and extra homemade baby wipes that I reallocated for cleaning baby hands after meal times.

Same size drawer as my other towel drawer, and when all are clean, the drawer is completely full. The tube there is extra (clean) produce bags. My mom saved them when I was a kid, and they always seen to come in handy."

Storage Idea: Hold Your Dish Cloths & Kitchen Towels In Basket Or Decorative Container

As you've seen these photos from readers showing how they did this mission you've simultaneously seen the two most common ways to store kitchen towels and dish cloths, either on shelves in your kitchen cabinet or cupboard, or in a kitchen drawer.

But there are other alternatives as well, and if you don't have a lot of storage space in your drawers or cabinets, this one might work for you -- use baskets or a decorative container to hold them.

That's exactly what a couple of readers have done. The picture above is from a reader, Sabrina, who as part of this mission moved her baskets to a new spot.

In addition, the picture below is from another reader, Tamara. She said, "Dish towels 7; Rags 5; all gifts which fit beautifully in the space I budgeted for them. I think they look kinda like a bouquet."

How cute, right? This idea may or may not work for you, depending on how much stuff you want to keep on your kitchen counters, but it is at least one to consider!

Are You Ready To Declutter & Organize Your Kitchen Towels Now?

I hope these instructions and photos have inspired you to do this mission now. It won't take too long, but it can make a positive impact in your kitchen.

(And thanks to a reader, Melissa, for the photo above!)

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Kitchen Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering your kitchen, and there's a lot of stuff to declutter in this space.

Get your 2 page kitchen decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Getting Rid Of Kitchen Clutter Hall Of Fame

How To Declutter Bath Towels & Wash Cloths

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