How We Decluttered Our Kitchen for the New Year

There’s something about the New Year that gently nudges us to pause, reflect, and reset—con calma. And if there’s one space that truly deserves a fresh start, it’s the kitchen.

Our kitchen is the heart of our home. It’s where slow mornings begin, meals come together, sobremesa stretches longer than planned, and holidays are celebrated loudly and lovingly. After a beautifully full year of cooking, hosting, and gathering—especially through the holiday season—our kitchen had clearly been doing its job.

It wasn’t wrecked. Just very well loved.

Think lots of flavor, lots of memories, and yes, a little extra buildup that naturally comes with life happening in the best way. That’s why, as part of Cocina’s New Year Declutter and Reset series, we took this moment to intentionally declutter the kitchen and give it a thoughtful reset.

Nothing drastic. Nothing overwhelming. Just a focused refresh to make the space feel lighter, more intentional, and ready for everything the new year brings.

Starting Small: Where the Magic Happens

We began where most of the daily magic happens: the range alcove. This area sees constant action, so over time it naturally collects grease, splatters, and little reminders of past meals. Giving it a deep clean felt surprisingly satisfying—like peeling back layers to reveal the kitchen we fell in love with all over again.

It was a simple declutter-adjacent reset, but one that instantly made the space feel brighter and more inviting.

From there, we moved to the cabinet just to the right of the range—our go-to spot for everyday cooking tools. Over time, this cabinet had quietly become overstuffed, making it harder than it needed to be to grab what we actually use. Classic clutter behavior.

The Real Declutter Moment

We pulled everything out, wiped it all down, and took a moment to really see what we had. That’s where the real decluttering began.

We asked ourselves: ¿Lo usamos de verdad este año?

If we hadn’t reached for something in the past year—or couldn’t remember the last time we used it—it was time to let it go. Some pieces were passed along to friends and family who would genuinely use them. Others were donated so they could find a new home.

Letting go didn’t feel wasteful. It felt good. Like sharing abundance instead of holding onto clutter.

Less Clutter, More Flow

Once we pared things down, reorganizing became easy. Every tool now has a purpose and a place. Cooking feels smoother, cleaner, and more efficient. Less digging. Less mess. More flow.

Más orden y menos estrés.

Decluttering the kitchen didn’t just change how it looks—it changed how it works.

Thinking About Decluttering Your Kitchen?

If you’re considering a New Year kitchen refresh, start small. One cabinet. One drawer. One corner. Pay attention to the items you used the least this past year and be honest about whether they’ll truly serve you moving forward.

If not, consider gifting them to someone who will love them or donating them so they can be useful again.

Decluttering isn’t about perfection. It’s about making space for what matters.

A more organized kitchen doesn’t just look better—it works better. And when the kitchen works better, everything else feels a little easier. Sometimes a fresh start isn’t about adding more.

It’s about clearing space for the good stuff.

Y eso siempre se siente bien.