Declutter Water Bottles, Travel Mugs & Plastic Cups {15 Minute Mission}

Today's mission is to declutter water bottles, travel mugs and plastic cups.


This mission is designed to be done while working on the Kitchen Cabinet & Drawer Organization Challenge here on the site.

When working on this mission the object is not to get rid of all of these cups and containers. After all, your family needs to keep hydrated, including outside the house.

But if you're like me you might have more of these bottles and cups than you realize and could stand to get rid of some of them.

It seems like my family collects water bottles left and right, always getting a new cup or water bottle at all kinds of events, especially since we're a tennis family and go to all kinds of meets and tournaments.

What ends up happening is we throw the new one into the cabinet, but don't get rid of any of the older ones, and soon we're overrun, and they're spilling out of the cabinet each time we open it up.

Make Sure To Declutter These Types Of Bottles

Prime bottles and cups to declutter include:

• Cheap plastic cups from restaurants


• Water bottles you don't like or aren't a convenient size


• Bottles that no longer have tops, or the seal is broken


• Ones that are difficult to clean and therefore you avoid using

In addition, if you've got a lot of these travel mugs and cups, but not enough storage space, make sure to keep the ones that are BPA free, or stainless steel, for example, and get rid of the cheaper plastic ones.

A reader, Camisha, did this mission and showed all of her bottles (you can see them in the bottom photo in the collage to the left).

She said, "this is my collection. I will never get the value back out of some nice Contigo and Brita water bottles I am getting rid of, but my thoughts are these: no lid, bad seal, gone. Don't ever use - obviously not my faves, gone. Have to hand wash (I am blessed with a dishwasher), gone. Then I eliminated one more of every style (my least fave or in one case, my fave - but it was horribly beyond the point of keeping). I still have a good collection, but also have a young family of 6."

After you've winnowed them down in that way you may still have too many, so you've got to decide how many are reasonable for you to keep.

Thoughts About A Reasonable Number Of Bottles To Keep

Only you can decide what is a reasonable number to keep for your family.

Since we play sports in our family I need at least two per person, one in use, and one in the dishwasher getting washed for its next use. That means, for our family of five (since my husband and I both exercise each weekday, as well), we need 10 water bottles.

You decide what is a reasonable number for your household based on usage and the amount of storage space you've got.

Below I've gathered photos from readers who've already done this mission showing their results.

Plus, once you've got them decluttered make sure to check out the companion article with lots of water bottle and travel mug storage ideas to keep them organized in your kitchen.


Top photo in collage courtesy of a reader, Linda, and then lower photo from another reader, Camisha

Before & After Of Cluttered Kitchen Cabinet Full Of Bottles

Many of us keep our water bottles and travel mugs in a kitchen cabinet, and one of the ways you'll know you need to do this mission is if, when you open your cabinet, you are concerned some of these bottles might fall out.

That's what happened with a reader, Stephanie, who sent in the before photo, above, showing her stuffed cabinet full. She said, "Going to tackle this now. I'm a sucker for plastics, don't know why, but it's time to clean out some."

After she'd done this mission she sent in another photo, this time a collage, showing the before and after of her efforts, including the pile she was donating. There really is a difference, isn't there?

Don't Forget To Get Rid Of Restaurant Cup Clutter Too

As part of this mission make sure to get rid of restaurant clutter too. You don't need to hang onto every plastic cup from the fast food place, or to go cup from a restaurant.

For example, a reader Jackie, showed a collection of coffee containers her husband had accumulated with time. She said, "No problem with water bottles, but coffee containers, we had too many. Now gone! There are only 2 of us!"

She continued, explaining about the second photo, "cabinet much neater!!"

Once you've decluttered down to a more reasonable amount of travel mugs, plastic cups and sports bottles, you can check out this article with water bottle and travel mug storage and organization ideas for your kitchen.

Are You Ready To Declutter Your Home?

I hope seeing these pictures has inspired you to get rid of your excess sports and water bottles, travel coffee mugs and plastic cups.

When you begin to declutter the feeling you get is contagious, so if you're loving the results you're getting I would encourage you to keep going.

I've got a whole series of 15 minute decluttering missions (eventually 365 of them!) that you can do.

Just pick and choose the ones you want to do, that will make a big impact in your home. But if you want someone else to tell you the order you can also grab the 15 minute daily decluttering mission calendars and follow along as we all get our homes clutter free together!

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Getting Clutter Free 15 Minutes At A Time Hall Of Fame

Getting Rid Of Kitchen Clutter Hall Of Fame

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