We have officially lived in our little 2 bedroom apartment in LA for a whole year now and I have to say—as much as I LOVE it, I’ve got some work to do. It was already crammed to begin with and now with all the things we’ve accumulated in the last year—I feel like we are bursting out the seams! I have heard great things about Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as I’m sure many of you have as well. I didn’t realize it was such a popular book!

In fact, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a best seller in Japan, Germany, and the UK, with more than two million copies sold worldwide, and has been turned into a television drama for Japanese TV.

How did I miss the wagon on this one?? Anyway, I finally got my copy from the library and have started delving into it. It is so fabulous and I cannot wait to incorporate her ideas to making my home more organized and manageable.

I have already gotten rid of FIVE huge garbage bags full of clothes from mine and my husband’s closet. My motto was—if I haven’t worn it in the last year—it’s GONE! Obviously that particular piece of clothing isn’t that important and there is no need for me to hang on to it. I feel so much better already! I don’t miss those clothes at all. It makes me feel more free.

Well, that got me thinking about the kitchen. I have the smallest kitchen I have ever had in my 8 years of marriage. We have just 2 very small drawers. I don’t even have room for a junk drawer for goodness sakes! (I should probably be counting my blessings on that one! ;) )

Anyway, the kitchen can be a really easy place to look for some things that are just taking up precious space that you rarely, if ever, use. Here are 8 things you could probably get rid of in your kitchen today!

1. Cracked or unused glasses and mugs.

If you haven't used a cup or mug in over a year, it's time for it to go. And if it's cracked? Don't let nostalgia stop you from throwing it away. Make room for all the things you actually use and love in your kitchen.

2. Gross sponges.

When was the last time you changed your sponge? If the answer is "I don't remember" or it just smells, maybe it's time to get a new one. You don't want to clean your dishes or countertops with something that is already dirty, anyway.

Tip: If you feel guilty about filling up the landfill with sponges, here’s a little tip. When you first get home with your handy yellow and green sponge, cut it right in half. You really only need a small sponge to do your normal tasks, then when it’s no longer clean enough to use in the kitchen you can use it for other scrubby, grimy jobs like cleaning toilets or car rims and then you can finally toss them when they are really worn. You can get so much more life out of these guys this way.

3. Plastic containers.

Do you ever feeling like your cupboards are swimming in these plastic containers for leftovers like this??

It's time to get rid of the old, cracked, and discolored Tupperware you've been hoarding. And if your Tupperware doesn't have a lid, get rid of that too.

You really only need to keep a few on hand and definitely only the ones with matching lids. You could follow these 2 rules:

Keep the lid attached.

Only keep as many as fit in one cupboard or drawer. You really probably do not need more than that for your everyday use. No need to create unnecessary clutter.

You will feel much happier when your plastic containers look more like this:

4. Anything dated on the front of your fridge.

Forget to take down old wedding invitations? Or that baby shower invite? Now is the time to tackle your fridge with wild abandon and take down anything that is no longer

5. Takeout chopsticks, condiment packets, and menus.

How many times have you kept the cheap wood chopsticks and condiment packets from your takeout dinner because "maybe" you would use them one day? You're not going to use them. Throw them away. And there is no need to hang on to paper menus since mostly all restaurants have their menus online.

6. Extra measuring cups.

This is what the Pioneer Woman’s measuring cup drawer looks like. She is one of few people in the world who might actually use all of these measuring cups, but for the majority of us this might be a tad excessive. It's time to ditch some of the extra measuring cups you have in the kitchen that you don't use. You know the ones.

7. Teflon Pans with Peeling Coating

These are really not good for our health and we all know it. Just get rid of it! Then you can stop worrying about anybody being poisoned from your cooking.

8. Cracked Wooden Utensils

How many splinters are you going to tolerate before saying goodbye?

Do you have any items you would take away or add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!