Like many people, I suspect, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to de-clutter. I fully believe junk expands to fill the space available…and then spills over. Just take a look at a shelf that I designated to store gift wrapping boxes, paper, and bows.

At least that shelf is hidden away inside a bedroom closet. Still, every time I go to get supplies to wrap a present, something inside me shudders. I want to live a simple, organized, clutter-free life. And by Jove, I’m getting started on this goal.

I’ve decided to save the gift-wrapping shelf de-clutter and tackle the kitchen first. Part of what’s prompted this urge to purge is that I’m bringing in even more stuff. My mother-in-law died a few months ago, and the family is tasked with emptying her house. A lot will undoubtedly go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, but there are items to be saved.

Such as these Corning Ware dishes. The kind that you can cook in on top of the stove, serve from, and then put in the refrigerator with the leftovers. I don’t think you can find these anywhere today except at yard sales and occasionally, if you’re lucky to be there at the right time, secondhand stores.

I cleaned out a kitchen cabinet and organized a shelf of Corning Ware, adding my mother-in-law’s dishes to the few pieces I already had.

To make space for the additional dishes, I took out a few that I’ve had for years but never use. The avocado green Pyrex dish is divided, with neither side holding much. I don’t make pies from scratch, and I’ve never liked the handle on that small Corning Ware dish.

If my daughters don’t want this stuff, it’s going to the thrift store.

To make room for a couple of my mother-in-law’s glass tea pitchers that I think I’ll use, I took out two items in my glass-front cabinet that have been mainly just for show.

Confession: I wavered and put back the pitcher on the left. It matches my canisters, and I have used it occasionally when I’ve remembered I had it. That big jar on the right in the picture above, though, is going to be repurposed as a planter in the spring. (Take the clutter outside?)

The pitcher also adds some color to that glass-fronted shelf in my kitchen. (The glass door is open for this picture.)

I know, you’re thinking, one step forward, two steps back. But I am parting with some tiny juice glasses from my husband’s grandmother’s house. I have other mementos, and I seriously doubt anyone but me knows where these glasses came from.

And that yellow candy dish I once picked up at a thrift store just because I thought it was pretty? Gone. That tiny cup from Cuba that I bought because I felt sorry for the lady selling it? Gone.

Hey, I’m making progress. Baby steps. If I can get rid of five things a week (without adding five things), that will be 260 items I’ve eliminated from my home in a year’s time. I’m not sure the math adds up favorably this week, since I added two tea pitchers and several Corning Ware dishes, but just getting that big canister out of my cabinet (the one I’m going to turn into a planter) seemed to free up some space.

I’ll keep you posted on how this de-cluttering, re-organizing project goes. Happy New Year!