I recently had to treat myself as a client to deal with a situation in my kitchen. You see, I bought a new microwave. I've wanted one for a few years now. My old one still works, but it was small and not that powerful. After saving up some gift cards and doing research, I finally decided it was time. I love the new microwave, but it is bigger than the old one. My microwave lives inside a large cabinet next to the stove. I love being able to shut the door and hide the microwave. And the cabinet is large enough to provide some extra storage. I used to store cutting boards and sheet pans in the cabinet next to my old microwave, but now there is no room for that. So I was forced to make some changes.
When it comes to kitchen tools and gadgets, I have a hard time purging. But I know it must be done from time to time. In this case, I could have shoved the excess in another cabinet and just lived with it. But I knew I'd get frustrated by the overflow very soon. I also could have moved some things around and stored some items in the oven, like many people do. Again, not for me.
What did I do? I took all the baking equipment out from one smaller cabinet and the storage drawer under the oven. Seeing everything together, I decided what I really needed and used versus what I could do without. And then I packed up what was unneeded and put it in my car with the old microwave to donate to charity. I didn't allow myself to really ponder each item. I went with the facts of how often or when I last used each item. And I trusted my gut.
The process only took about a half an hour. And it was well worth it.
