I really need to do this. I have a ridiculous amount of smallish skillets I don't really use, but don't get rid of because they're "still usable."

It seems illogical to assume that the purchase of a new item automically renders an existing item extraneous. On the other hand, most of us could probably stand to let a thing or two go.

My mandate for my girlfriend: One in, TWO out.

I could definitely be better about this--I too have a hard time letting go of something that "still works"... That said, I think there are certain things that are useful to have in duplicates because I use them so regularly that one is often in the dishwasher or even in use just when I want to reach for it again. (And I'm lazy about hand-washing stuff on the spot primarily because my kitchen sink water takes SO long to get hot.)

There are definitely places where I want duplicates too! (Wooden spoons, cutting boards, mixing bowls...) It's the whole equilibrium thing - it depends on whether your kitchen is fairly well-stocked already.

I need to forward this article to my huband! He's very sentimental. When we got married we had, my stuff, his stuff grandma's stuff and kitchen things that his parents used when they were married (they divorced when he was three). So top that all of with Wedding gifts and we have a full kitchen, and then some. Of course I tossed all of my stuff but we have something like 5 ladles.

This is so relevant for me today-I just bought a new whisk, but wasn't going to get rid of the old one because there was nothing wrong with it (I bought the new one because it's bigger and has a more comfortable handle for when I'm going for the stiff peaks!). I'll try and find a new home for the other one now, thanks for reminding me about 'equipment creep'.

I do this, and not just in the kitchen, but only when the thing I bought is a replacement. For example, if I bought a stack of new dinner plates because the old ones are mismatched and chipped, I discard those immediately.

Heather77 has a point, it doesn't make much sense to throw something out when you added something totally unrelated.

I do this with kitchen tools and cookbooks, too. It's sometimes painful with the cookbooks, but I just don't have room!

hey, who's talking about throwing out?

there are second hand stores, halfway houses, youth emergency shelters, salvation army stores and countless other charitable organizations that would love to have your cast offs. i have a real problem with throwing useful things away, so i don't. i pass them on to someone who can use them.

each time we brought a batch of my mother-in-law's mismatched mugs to the loal youth emergency shelter, they were thrilled!

as for the one-in-one-out rule, we tend to stick to it pretty religiously, except my husband "requires" several ladles and i have not yet been able to convince him otherwise. sigh.

@the polish chick, yes, donating is definitely encouraged throughout all of the Cure -- except of course when the items in question aren't good enough quality, or will just be thrown out by the donation center. In that case it isn't good practice to donate; it just takes up more of their limited resources.

In my case, that spoon was awfully rusted (the worst of it isn't seen in that photo) so I put it in the recycling bin.

I don't know exactly what else you could use a rusted spoon for, but there are times when something can be re-purposed rather than thrown out. For instance, when I buy a new toothbrush, the new one gets relegated to the cleaning supplies basket. I know most small children tend to love playing with pots and pans--as long as there is not a safety issue, perhaps no-longer-useful cooking tools can be passed down to them to be used as toys? There is definitely a time for things to be thrown out or donated. But if you get creative, you might be surprised at what else you can do with your "useless" stuff! :)

I found that I had lots of multiples in my kitchen. That I didn't need, but were still in great shape. I ended up packing all the multiples in a box. I keep a list of what's in there on my computer and when I notice something is in need of replacing I check my duplicates list to see if I already have it.

Yup, pretty much. I HATE having two of any tool. I also like trying to do without the broken thing that "needs" to be replaced. I lived for 4 months without my immersion blender before deciding I did really miss it.

I have duplicates of lots of tools, but they're all somewhat different. It comes in handy if I'm cooking a huge meal. I've kept things like a whole stash of wooden spoons. I have a collection of serving utensils in plastic and in metal. Depends on how much I'm cooking. I feel like it's been purged down to what's realistic.

Maybe it's a subjective thing?

At least once a year I do a thorough purge. During the last spring cure I got rid of a plaid thermos I'd had for five years and never used as well as a duplicate set of dishes. I really didn't need them.