When we sold our house and purged almost everything we had (see My Minimalist Story, Part 1: A Clean Slate), we discovered that the majority of our “stuff” came out of the kitchen. We had never realized just how many plates, pots, pans, glasses, utensils, and other cooking implements we had accumulated over the years.
After ridding ourselves of all the excess, we thoroughly enjoyed having an ultra-minimalist “kitchen” during our six weeks of transition from the US to the UK: nothing more than our sporks, titanium cups, and a tea kettle (and the occasional hotel microwave). Of course, we relied heavily upon restaurants and prepared foods from grocery stores—not exactly a long-term solution.
Now that we’re “rebuilding” our kitchen, we’re determined to keep things to a minimum. We only want to own those culinary items we use on a regular basis.
Sure, we could have a super-minimalist kitchen if we didn’t cook very often (or ate mostly frozen dinners or convenience foods). However, my husband and I enjoy preparing meals together, and try to base our (vegetarian + fish) diet on whole, unprocessed foods. Therefore, we’ve deemed a functional kitchen one of our necessities.
After an initial run to Ikea for the absolute basics, we’ve been taking it slow when it comes to culinary apparatus—and acquiring things strictly on an as-needed basis. Our main criteria: we must use something at least once a week for it to earn a place in our kitchen. So far, we’ve been getting by quite nicely with the following items:
Pots and pans: large skillet, saucepan, pasta pot, baking pan
Small appliances: tea kettle, rice cooker, French press (instead of coffee maker)
Other: chef’s knife, bread knife, paring knife, colander, steamer, cutting board, measuring cup, spatula, serving spoon, whisk, can opener, corkscrew, stainless steel mixing bowl, water filtration pitcher
For utensils, we purchased an inexpensive, four-place setting (after looking high and low for open stock or single settings, to no avail). It seems excessive to have extra forks and spoons on an everyday basis, but I suppose they’ll come in handy if we have guests for dinner. We also bought four plates, two bowls, two coffee mugs, and a set of four small glasses (to be used for all liquids other than coffee and tea).
[In general, I’m not a fan of owning extra stuff for the handful of times we entertain; when we hosted Thanksgiving dinner last year, I had no problem borrowing extra plates and utensils for the evening. That might be a bit harder here in the UK, though, without friends and family who understand our minimalist lifestyle!]
Plenty of websites and cookbooks offer lists of kitchen essentials; more than a few, however, seem intent on making sure you’ll be able to cook anything at any time. In that sense, having a minimalist kitchen requires some minor adjustments in priorities and lifestyle. I wouldn’t be able to bake cupcakes tonight on a whim, for example—but I’m okay with that. In fact, we’ve decided to forego bakeware almost entirely; instead of making our own sweets, we save those calories for when we travel—and sample the baked goods of the countries we visit. :-)
Of course, everyone’s list of essentials will be different; ours simply suits what we like to cook, and eat (mainly pasta, rice, soups, salads, and sautéed and steamed vegetables).
I’d love to hear what everyone else finds necessary… Leave a comment, and let me know what’s in your minimalist kitchen!
We seem to have a lot in common – we’re both minimalists, don’t watch TV, like sitting on the floor, and are pesco-vegetarians! Cool! (We’d love to become vegans one day though, if only we could let go of sushi and the occasional pasta with cream :)).
As for our kitchen, the apartments we stay in provide the basics – utensils, pots and pans etc. The only things we need to bring ourselves or buy are a rice cooker and a blender for juicing (we make juice every day). My husband would buy large noodle bowls for his ramen though if ever we settle down.
I basically have one drawer (a large one) in my kitchen for all the extraneous doo-dads that I love to use. After being here for 2 years I recently went through the contents, item by item and found that I consistenly used everything in there. So I was quite pleased. If I had to I could condense but I really don’t need to. The drawer is not overstuffed. Everything is in clear sight and I cook a LOT. We are vegans but I am also a former professional chef so cooking is just a huge part of my life. We love to eat. I love this site because it keeps me thinking about what is important in my life. I know I don’t truly qualify as a minimalist but I definitely lean that way and I want to keep learning. So thanks for your inspiration.
your friend,
janet
Fantastic post. Our kitchen was a clutter bomb. So we purged it of excess stuff and have kept it very minimal. We have eating tools, pots, pans, etc. Just enough for the 2 of us.
It was amazing how much excess stuff we had in the kitchen. For example, we had 2 different sets of dishes that could have fed 12 people! One dish set was from our wedding and another a gift from my mom. We have people over all the time, but we could never seat 12 people. There isn’t enough room in our tiny apartment.
I love your rule of keeping only things you “use…at least once a week”. I used this as a guideline while decluttering my own kitchen, but cheated with my muffin pan (which I use once a year!). Today, after your post, I’m finally ready to give up my pursuit of muffin making – off it shall go into my donation box. When I really think of all that’s involved in the process – brown sugar, butter, white sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, oatmeal, chocolate chips, nuts, lots of stirring, lots of burning – I realize it’s not for me, anyway.
My kitchen has 19 things in it (18 after the muffin pan is gone). I’m trying to get all of my kitchen stuff to fit in one banker’s box. Not quite there yet, but getting closer each week.
Sunny, I love your goal of being able to fit all your kitchen stuff into one banker’s box! That is a fantastic idea – and it would make moving a whole lot simpler!
I also want to get my kitchen down to one box! I have already purged a lot. I could probably get it into two… maybe three :( One day, I will declutter all the way to my fantasy self! Good luck!
I am in love with our minimalist kitchen; perhaps more than any other room! We have very few utensils, pots and dishes. We keep dishes on a wire rack above the sink. Our food is kept on a small metal shelf and towels, electric skillet, cutting board, utensils and French press go under the stainless steel restaurant table which I love. We have one small cupboard that will soon be demo’d. The teapot stays on the stove. The pots and cake pan go under the stove. By the way, we spent about $260 on our kitchen redo after the demo which was necessary after water damage from an overfilled water filter. This includes the shelving, shelf brackets and floor. We still need to paint the walls and cupboard under the sink. I am considering making some curtains also. It’s beautiful, clean and simple! I have a great husband.
Such a timely post as I’ve been eyeing the kitchen cabinets lately.
It’s the entertaining and special events that seem to have guided me to purchase things which I no longer use and then they sit around, taking up space and collecting dust. From experience, like you, I know that friends are more than happy to bring items over for you to borrow and I need to rely on this more.
I prefer to have my countertops uncluttered and by relieving the cabinets from all the one-time used items I’ll have more needed storage with easy access.
Wow, you’re all so inspirational–I love this little community of minimalists we’re building here! :-)
Mia, we sound like two peas in a pod. I’d love to go vegan too, but can’t imagine giving up sushi or yogurt (the latter has done wonders for my digestive system).
janet, I think you’ve found your perfect point of enough–no need to reduce if you’re using all the items. I’ll definitely be hanging out on your blog for menu ideas; your Thanksgiving dinner sounds delicious!
LOL, Tammy–a long time ago I inherited a 12-place set of dishes from my grandmother. After dragging it around for two moves, I passed it along to another family member. They were beautiful, but didn’t fit our lifestyle AT ALL.
Great comment, Sunny. I love how letting go of a *thing* often frees us from an activity we weren’t that into anymore! (Hope you don’t miss the muffins, though…)
Ellen, love the description of your kitchen. It sounds so simple and serene. I’m also frugal, and very impressed with your $260 redo!
Zoe, it was such a relief to let all those seldom-used items go. Borrowing is a wonderful thing! I think you’ll love the space you re-gain.
When I moved from Upstate New York to the Bay Area, I really downsized, especially my kitchenware. I put a bunch of stuff up for sale on Craig’s List and it was great fun to discover that the woman who carted off the majority of it was moving into the house behind my apartment building! I have virtually no bakeware now and don’t miss baking at all. I love my metal wire shelves from Ikea for storing my minimalist stuff. Having everything visible and handy helps me not let things pile up.
Ann, I agree, it’s so nice to know someone else is putting your extra stuff to good use! I really enjoyed chatting with all the people who purchased our things from Craigslist.
I haven’t missed baking, either; in fact, we’ve had a ball sampling the sweets in London (and the European cities we’ve visited) instead!
What I’m enjoying about your celebratory approach to minimalism is that it helps me celebrate my own inner minimalist. I’ve encountered many versions of minimalism that are more like asceticism, which doesn’t resonate with me at all. What resonates with me here in these postings is that I sense the value placed on beauty, which is important to me.
I’ll never forget the sweets in Paris! Hope you’ve enjoyed them. :-)
Thanks, Ann–I think that by eliminating the “distractions” in our environment, minimalism helps us recognize, and appreciate, beauty even more.
And yes, we very much enjoyed the sweets in Paris–it’s a good thing we did a lot of walking!
I’ve gone without measuring cups and spoons for almost 10 years now. I figured out the one cup level on our drinking glasses, and a lot of weights I guesstimate from the packages. Not doing any super precise baking, however! You’d be surprised how unnecessary they are…
Very cool, Tracy! I love learning creative ways to do *without* such things. :-)
Great ideas!
I was able to donate our rice cooker after I learned a great tip for cooking rice from Saveur magazine. Now we just fill up a large pasta pot with water – no need to measure – set that water to boiling and add whatever amount of rice you wish and then let it simmer for its recommended cooking time. Any excess water you can use a colander to strain. Makes perfect fluffy rice every time and it’s one less appliance that does only one thing, and I don’t have to dig it out of a cupboard any longer.
Now I need to go access my own kitchen drawers again – I know there is some egg poaching gadget I don’t think anyone has or ever will use ha-ha.
I need to try this. I have a rice cooker/crock pot contraption I got as a gift in 2009 and I’ve used it once. I’m sort of ashamed I still have it, but I keep thinking “One day I will want that to cook rice in.”
You know, I can live without a rice cooker, and I can live without slow cooker recipes. I have a pot.
Awesome. INTO THE YARD SALE PILE.
I’ve never used a rice cooker, since I’m pretty cheap. I simply measure out the amount of rice I need (I LOVE basmati), rinse it a few times until the water runs clear and then add water. My favorite water-to-rice ratio is 1 part rice to 1 1/2 parts water. Bring to a simmer, turn down to low and cover. I cook it in a large skillet and it turns out fluffy and wonderful every time.
Thanks for the tip on cooking rice, Kelly — I’ll have to try this. I like my rice cooker, but it would be nice to eliminate another appliance… :-)
I love this post, and love your list. I have been in major declutter mode … having realised that it wasn’t enough to only keep what I ‘use’ but to figure out ways to ‘use’ less! Your once a week rule is a great one! We got rid of our rice cooker as I actually prefer to cook rice the way Kelly suggested. Ours is still a work in progress …
Thanks Gypsy! Best of luck with your kitchen decluttering — have fun with it! :-)
It amazes me reading your blog of the differences between England and Australia. I was just out shopping tonight at the local mall and 1 of the shops there had a large display of single cutlery items, including sporks! I can’t believe the UK doesn’t do that how weird!
Oh and the other thing, you don’t have a garlic press in your minimalist kitchen? I would have thought being almost vegan (sorry can’t remember what you called it) that garlic would have been something you used alot for not only flavour but health benefits.
Hi nathaniel! Admittedly, we had been in the UK for all of one week before acquiring flatware; so perhaps we just never found the stores that sell single settings! No, we don’t have a garlic press; we just use a knife. :-)
Hi. I didn’t know rice cookers existed until I spent a couple of years in Toronto! I’ve always used a pan of boiling water (as have all my family and friends here in the UK – perhaps I just don’t get out enough…).
I read on your profile that you were interested in making your own bread. I tried that last year in the hope of making tastier, healthier bread. Bought an electric breadmaker, lugged bags of organic flour back from the store. Persevered for several months, then realised that we (two adults and small child) just didn’t eat enough bread to finish a loaf before it became stale. And I was perpetually cleaning up crumbs from slicing the loaf, and bemoaning the amount of worktop space the machine and bags of flour occupied. So I ebayed it and am now much happier back with shop-bought bread. If I made my own bread again I’d do it by hand – much more minimalist :)
Look up “No Knead Bread”, it uses more water, less yeast and you don’t have to knead it. You mix the ingredients and let it set for about 18 hours, give it another mix, then toss it into a small Dutch oven or casserole dish. After about a half hour in the oven you take the lid off to make the crust nice and crispy. Delicious. I don’t eat grains anymore and i miss this bread :(
I am trying to push myself towards minimalism in all aspects of my life. I find it most difficult in the kitchen. While I got rid of my Kitchen Aid mixer because I discovered that an inexpensive handheld is easier to clean and takes up less space, my love for my kitchen to be fun and well decorated because I am a cook at heart and love spending time there overshadows minimalism. I do have a minimal number of pans and utensils, only one set of dishes, etc… I love having lots of spices, cute pictures on the walls, etc… I’m still struggling with how to combine minimalism, with having my space be meaningful and aesthetically pleasing to me. The other rooms, we have done well with this, my kitchen, not so much.
I love your blog BTW. I am addicted to it. It is very inspiring.
I sold most of my possessions 2 years ago to go travelling.. the things I kept (down to a small car load of boxes plus my bed, a slat mattress and demountable futon frame) were my most precious books, personal letters and photos, my uni notes (all to be put in my computer one day but too valuable to throw out).. and, my most essential kitchen items, wrapped in my cotton towels and sheets. I believe they fell into the most useful and most used category too! Plus I knew when we eventually returned we wouldn’t have much money to replace such essential items. It’s a small amount to store in a friend’s garage. As part of our travels my partner and I bought a converted van in NZ and travelled in it for 15 months. We had a great little kitchen at the back of our van. One large frypan, a medium saucepan, colander, two chopping boards (one doubled as a lid for the saucepan, while the colander doubled as a steamer), a bread knife, a cook’s knife, can/bottle opener, two plastic cups (plus my teacup), a teapot, a small boiler (to save gas) for tea water and my little extra to wash my face. Two plates, two bowls, 2 of forks, knifes, spoons. The challenge to my cooking skills was great – really stretched my creative capacities. I even managed to cook a magnificent roast on a gas cooker! Living in a small van, we really learnt how to organise our things. If it wasn’t useful, it didn’t belong. I can’t stand visual clutter too, does my head in, so the van experience reaffirmed the need for streamlining. Our bed was our lounge room. We had no fridge, so we bought fresh food often. We want to have our own house one day, and kids.. so that experience got me to thinking about what one really needs to live. I bathed daily (mostly) with a washer and a bowl of warm water (my breakfast bowl :)). Hair washing was either at a public pool or a cold affair under a beach shower. Some days bathing was a dip in the ocean. Cosmetics and cleaning products are a minimum and we spent the extra money on uber biodegradable dishwashing liquid and soap/shampoo/toothpaste. We had 2 folding chairs for out door sitting.. that was it. We free camped, always near a toilet. I never once got sick..(still not)… so what does one need? Good fresh food, lots of fresh air, a dip in the ocean now and again, the company of people you love, somewhere warm, dry and comfortable to sleep and be if it rains, and some simple passions that occupy you. That’s my list. But I digress! Now we are in Thailand, living in a little bungalow, and the kitchen consists of even less. We have a gas bottle with a ring for cooking. A wok, a knife, a small saucepan, two plates, two bowls, 2 forks, 2 spoons (cutting knife doubles as a butter and bread knife), 2 cups, one glass, a teapot and electric kettle. Makes washing up very simple! We do have a small fridge, but the local market is just down the road and we shop for fresh food every other day. I have to say.. I’m not a fan of repetitive cooking.. somehow even with such simple means, we rarely eat the same food. And I am amazed that after 6 months I am not sick of rice.. although we eat brown rice, which is tastier. It is incredibly versatile. We don’t have cupboards in the kitchen, other than under the sink where we keep our toilet paper and petrol and washing detergent.. so a small selection of incredibly versatile sauces sit on the counter in the corner, along with a big bag of rice and our water container. We have a wardrobe between us, very few clothes.. books are on rotation from the 2nd hand book store.. It’s becoming a way of life, and I really like it. Admittedly, neither myself or my husband have ever been big accumulators anyway.. but it feels great to live like this. Now in year number 3..
Inspiring blog by the way. You write very nicely.
Ps @ nathaniel.. garlic presses are the most annoying and inefficient kitchen gadgets ever! A flat blade of a knife and the heel of your hand are the best.. and you don’t have to scoop and scrape it out. Don’t peel it, just bang it and cut off the base… the skin comes off like a dream, the lovely oil is there.. and then chop to the size you want. Cold water on the blade after cutting gets rid of the stickiness and the smell on your fingers. :)
It depends what you are cooking! It is almost a must-have if you want to make Indian or Turkish recipes….
Guilaine
Oh, and I think the idea of having friends bring a plate is great.. literally! I’ve had parties on low budgets asking good friends to bring a dish, sometimes they’ve brought glasses or such things too.. If each guest brings their own tableware too.. I like the collaborative feel of such affairs. I’ll stop hogging your comments page now. :)
here is my basic items i use for my socalled minimalist kitchen that i use everyday
-x-large 10.inch round dinner plates-x-2-
-x-plastic drink tumblers-x-3-one acts as a silverware holder
-x-set of two round rubbermaid large bowels to eat out
-x-set of two super large coffee cups
-x-large one gallon sized jug for sweet southern style tea to drink
-x-set of two of the basic silverware-x-steak knives-x-butter knives-x-long handle tea spoons-x-regular spoons-x-forks
-x-round bowel for spaghetti and pancake mixs
-x-round drain collader for spaghetti and mac and chesse
-x-square large frying pan for eggs and pancakes
-x-large pot for spaghetti
-x-med size pot for mac and chess and potatoes and othr dish i need to do
-x-sqauare glass baking bowel for oven items
-x-round pizza pan that doubles as a oven pan as it need
-x-hot pot holders
-x-measureing cup
-x-measureing spoon
-x-spatula for cooking
-x-no cut type of can opener
-x-kurieg k-pod coffee maker for tea and hot chocolate
-x-mircowave oven
-x-gorge foreman large grill for grilling meats
-x-two sliced toaster unit
-x-over the sink type drainer board unit for use after washing the dishs
-x-rubber sink drainer stopper
so this is my basic kitchen for me to use and it works great for me some other people feel it not enough in the kitchen area to work for them
My kitchen is stuffed. Its small, I have 5 cupboards that have to hold spices and all my groceries & stuff to. I looked at it just now, and I use most of it, and the rest is not mine to purge. I do have way to many plates, but I’m clumsy and break a lot, plus I like heaving guests a lot, and I want to show them every hospitality, from not having to see someone sitting on the floor, ‘lower’ than them, to presenting my food to them on a plate. I think I’m not the type to let that go. I love to bake and use my oven and oven pans a lot. I don’t like to cook, but I do like to eat tasty food, so I use my pans often. I like the feel of wine in a wine glass, tea in a tea glass and coffee in a coffee mug. I like to present guests with a nice milk can and sugar bowl. I like sitting up straight at a table, and curling on a couch with a blanket.
When I get home from vacation I love my house, with my chairs, table, couch, tv, computer. After 2 weeks in a tent, making do with one knife to cut the garlic into to big pieces, cooking on a camping gas burner, eating one pot meals, having sand on the moist air mattress lying on the ground, making do with a wardrobe of a few pieces, I’m so happy in my home!
Thanks for the inspiring blog, I can definitely do with less, but I think I will go for a balance between enjoyment of my stuff, but not to much of it.
Your blog forms part of my therapy at the moment and is helping keep me sane. Renovating a house to sell (yourselves) and moving country is enough to make anyone want to be minimal. We’re in the process at the moment and I’m trying to enjoy it but boy is it hard. With every wall I paint and every item I get rid of I swear I will never, overload my life again and owning another house will be very low on my list of desires for a considerable time.
This is going to be a little late now because i’ve come to this from the ‘a year ago…’ post but it’s pretty easy to get single crockery items in the UK especially if you go somewhere targeted at students. Sainsburys and wilkinsons are 2 major retailers who do.
I left for uni with a nice compact bunch of equipment but I seem to have acquired plenty of things I don’t really need. A lot was presents so it makes decluttering harder – don’t want to offend. Mentioning my (2) pans were getting battered ended in a huge pan set and i’m still using the old ones because the new ones aren’t non stick. Oops.
My most used items seem to be things that other people have got rid of! I use a pasta bowl for most meals and a measuring jug all the time – the handle makes it good for cooking and eating hot liquidy foods like soup and porridge from. I microwave cook veg in it if i’m feeling lazy too. And measure with it of course!
Don’t think I could get rid of my baking stuff but I don’t keep that much anyway. It easy to accidentally build up stashes of flavourings, colours & spices for baking though.
I came upon your blog yesterday. My kitchen (and house & life!) are fairly crowded. I’ve been married for 18 yrs, with 3 children, and my husband & I are both self-employed with occupations that require quite a bit of equipment for each of us. But we are SO less cluttered than we used to be!! We’ve moved 18 times in the 18 years and while it’s still embarrassing the amount of stuff we have, it’s not the king-sized U-Haul it used to be. We had pared down quite a bit for several years getting tired of moving it all and operated under the theory “if it doesn’t fit in our horse trailer in one trip, we don’t own it.” However, 5 years ago we made a move that we thought would be our last & family went crazy buying us large pieces of heavy furniture & stuffing our kitchen I’d worked so hard to pare down. My mother-in-law is an amazing cook and it’s her whole passion and she owns most everything a kitchen-supply company could carry and is convinced I should too. We are now living in a much smaller rent-house (8 months here now) while looking for land to build on, in what will hopefully REALLY be our last move, and I once again purged while moving but it needs to be done again now. So far I have gotten by with telling her that all that extra kitchen stuff is stored due to the smaller house/kitchen and eventually it will conveniently get lost/damaged in the next move. I do cook a lot and I’m expected to cook the holiday meals, so my kitchen will never be quite as minimal as yours as there are some pans/pots that I’m not willing to part with even though I only use them seasonally. And we live in a very rural area so I can’t shop daily for food, it’s more like a big weekly trip. Since we rent, I can’t plant a garden even though I have plenty of space for it.
Now if only I could control the toy clutter that belongs to my kids, my house would be in great shape. Being married to a rancher, we always have a full herd of cattle and horses, and all the equipment that goes with it, so we will never be pure minimalists, but I am making the strides I can. At least stumbling upon your blog helped me decide against the big wooden head/footboards for our bed that I had just told my DH I wouldn’t mind having for Christmas. :)
I love the idea of creating a minimalist kitchen and your list of items is incredibly helpful for me as I donate and discard unnecessary items from my kitchen. The one thing that kinda bothers me is borrowing items you need from “friends and family who understand our minimalist lifestyle.” I’m not sure why anyone should burden family and friends by borrowing items simply because owning these items doesn’t fit into one’s philosophy. I don’t want to rely on others if I want to host a dinner party or invite an extra person over for supper.
Jon:
There are many catering companies that rent dishes and flatware if you host the occasional event. It’s a very good option if you only host a large group once or twice per year. You can just rent the number of place settings that you need and return them when you’re finished.
As a guess, I always ask what I can bring. To bring my own plate seems no different to me than bringing the potato salad (except that it is less work). Perhaps it is not as much of a burden to your guests as you think. I know I have been asked to bring similar things before.
In the US, there is this expectation that everyone be as independent as possible. And no matter how much you could care less what others think, your going to feel pressure from it as it tries to shape your life. The more I think on this, the more I realize how much it wastes financal and natural resources, and disconnects community. We all are pressured to have our own indepentent house and all of our own individual things. Bringing your own plate requires collective participation, which we have been trained from birth to have an avertion to. Perhaps it would be libarating to break out of what is comfortable. I am thinking about selling my fine china myself and doing it.
John Lewis sells flatware items individually.
For inexpensive funky designs, also check out Octopus on the King’s Road – again, items are sold individually.
PS it would never occur to me to cook rice in anything other than a pan! Fancy having a dedicated appliance!
My husband got me a rice cooker because I could cook everything but rice well. My rice was always funky. I have been through two rice cookers in the last 12 years. It does seem like a frivolus appliance. However, you might be supprised at how much you can do with a rice cooker, especially an expensive one with a timer. I have cooked cake, meatloaf, fish, chicken, lamb sausages with potatoes and carrots, mac and cheese, pasta, eggs, frittatas, quioa, oatmeal, stir frys, puddings, couscous, and steamed veggetables in mine with a silicone steamer basket. It makes the best steamed red potatoes ever. And the timer makes it so that I can put rice and a peice of frozen salmon in the bowl, set the timer and have it timed for my return. I figure the rice cooker is a little cooler for the frozen salmon, until it starts the cooking process. If I had to choose between my stove and my rice cooker, I might just pick the rice cooker.
We were so minimalistic in the kitchen that when my mother-in-law came to visit, she bought us pots, pans, bowls, spoons, etc. She said she couldn’t cook a thing (I was on bedrest at the time and she took care of me for over a month!). I found it so surprising, as I’d never had any trouble before, haha. :)
7 months ago I met my beautiful daughter. Now, I feel that I’m drowning in 7 months of clutter! Truth be told, I’m not that neat or organized, although I like being in neat and organized places. Anyway, I’m inspired. Tomorrow, I’m going to wreck havoc on our bathroom.
As for simplifying the kitchen, I’m deciding to share. I have a nice stand mixer that I always think I’m going to need (funny before I had one, I seemed to have needs for one, but now that I do, all I do is dust it). I also have a friend who bakes on a daily basis. I recently found out that her stand mixer died. Today I shot her an email, seeing if she would foster my kitchen-aid. If by any chance I discover I have a huge need for it, I’ll pick it up.
I gave my mother-in-law my kitchen aid. She deserves to have a nice mixer for once in her life and she puts it to much better use than I. This worked out well, since my parents gave me the mixer and they were pleased that I gave it to my mother-in-law. I think they would have been offened if I had just gotten rid of it.
I just recently made some cupcakes for the school fun fair (I bake very little though I am capable of it). It was a little bit of a challenge as it required more arm strength, but it turned out well. I could have gone over there to borrow it if I had wanted to, but I didn’t end up needing to.
Although tacky, wouldn’t it be possible to use recycled paper plates if you only have a party once a year? It isn’t that much paper if you think of how much junk mail you get everyday. It would only cost $1-2 for a pack and then no plates to store year round.
This is a great website (just found you!) and I love this idea.
If anyone here starts making bread on a regular basis you should get an electric knife, if sounds stupid but I make bread everyday and electric knives are the best thing since sliced bread
… wait a minute.
Nice one. Moving overseas sure does help a lot with downsizing doesn’t it? I just recently wrote up my own little guide to tiny kitchens–my kitchen is about four square meters–and one of my guidelines is also the if you don’t use it once a week toss it idea. When I start to feel overcrowded I like to imagine my possessions interviewing to keep their job…and the more versatile the object, the more likely I am to keep it. Here’s my own tiny kitchen guide if anyone is interested: http://www.clickclackgorilla.com/2011/03/08/the-gorilla-guide-to-tiny-kitchens/
Embarking on new phase, divorced, retired. Family home to be sold. Any clutter will be mine. Need to see how little I need for just myself.
Hey mrs minimalist,
I love reading your blog and am slowly working my way to living my simply. Something I notice is that it seems like most of your readers are families of 2 maybe a kid or 2 but we have 6 young kids and I dont really know how to minimize with a big family. Especially in the kitchen. One thing we have done is the kids each have a klean kanteen. (stainless steel) that they fill with filltered water that they keep in the fridge and we wash them every couple days. Any other advice or input?
Thank you so much. Becky
We managed for three months with two pans, two knives, and one set of dishes and tableware for each of us. We missed having a popcorn bowl and a frying pan, but that’s about it. We were living in 14 feet of space in our tiny motorhome at the time, all three of us.
Now that we’re home again I’ve started minimizing the kitchen again. We sold the kitchen table and chairs a couple of weeks ago. We picked up a couple of barstools and just sit at the counter for meals now. Maybe it isn’t traditional, but we sure are enjoying all the extra space!
Very interesting posts. I live in the Uk and I can assure you that you can buy single cutlery items, sporks etc. from most large department stores. I don’t use a garlic press as such a nuisance to clean. I crush and chop it with a knife. Also, I have never used a rice-cooker – it seems like a very big waste of space and don’t boil my rice in lots of water. When I was first married 36 years ago, an Indian cookery programme on TV said to rinse rice well, put in heavy bottomed-pan and cover with an inch of water. Bring to the boil then turn heat right down and cover with a well-fitting lid and steam either for 10 minutes for white rice or 25 for brown. I have never had a problem with this way of cooking.
I just came across this blog and love it! I have been working on cutting down the clutter and living more minimalist. It feels great and so freeing. Unfortunately my husband does not share the same enthusiasm. I have lived overseas with few possessions and realized that i don’t really need all this ‘stuff’, however my husband doesn’t feel the same. Although he likes the feel of a neat clutter-free home, he gets very uneasy when i try to part with possessions we no longer need and unwanted wedding gifts etc. He hoards many boxes of things from his childhood and uni days and i can’t convince him to let go so we will cart it around when we move house. Does anyone else have this prob?
no need to apologize for having things to cook with, especially if you consider how much waste and trash goes into restaurant meals, or processed prepared grocery dinners. you enjoy cooking together? you feed each other? that sounds like a little bit of stuff very much worth having.
We have a dishwasher and microwave but I prefer not to use them. Someone gave us a breadmaker but I prefer to bake bread without one. I now only have one cookbook-The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I stopped baking this year. We don’t have white flour, white bread, white rice or white sugar in the house. I don’t always buy juice. We do drink orange juice sometimes and organic grape juice occasionally. We do buy purified reverse osmosis water. I don’t buy soda and we don’t eat pork,ham,shellfish and the other unhealthy/unclean foods listed in the Bible. I like Jordan Rubin’s nutrition books. I was reading about a raw foodist. She has many children and no stove/oven. She uses her mother’s oven to bake sourdough bread.
I’m vegan, which I find lends itself to a pared-down kitchen–I don’t need carving knives, and there are no cross-contamination worries. I’m still in the process of decluttering my kitchen as I whittle it down to the things I truly use on a regular basis:
My cast-iron Lodge camp cooker (from the old, non-pre-seasoned line): I love, love, love, love this skillet. I cook with it at least once a day. Truthfully, I could probably get along with it alone. The skillet is perfect for stews, sauteeing, even small stir frys. I’ve even baked cornbread and corn pudding in it. The lid doubles as a shallow frying pan–just right for toasting spices for Indian meals. I also use it to catch peels and pits as I’m cleaning fruits and veggies. And as well-seasoned as it is, it’s a snap to clean up–just rinse, wipe, and replace on the back burner. It may be my most cherished possession.
A heavy Thai-style granite mortar and pestle. Great for grinding fresh spices, and easy to clean up.
A small, footed glass container from Fire & Light recycled glass, originally made for storing cotton swabs, but which I use to store salt, since I use sea salt exclusively. I like the fact that it has a lid, so dust and detritis can’t fall into the salt. I also have a small olivewood spoon resting on the top, which I use to scoop the salt out.
A ceramic container that holds a wooden spoon that I use for cooking (don’t want to use metal on a cast-iron skillet!), and an iron spoon rest on the stove.
A wooden knife block with a paring knife, a bread knife, a large butcher knife, and a small serrated knife. Truth be told, though, I use just the paring knife 99% of the time…
My tool drawer contains the knife block, a garlic press, a can opener, and a microplane grater.
I have two colanders: one fine-mesh one for grains and lentils, and a larger, standard one for rinsing produce.
I have a set of metal measuring spoons and another set of metal measuring cups.
While I have silverware, four dinner plates, four glasses, and a large bowl (all in the same recycled glass as my salt cellar), I really could probably get along with just spoons, the bowl, and my huge stainless-steel bottle that I usually drink from.
There are some other things that I’m wavering on, because they were gifts (a large enameled pot and teakettle and a set of Wedgwood china) or because I’m still in that “but what if…” mindset (a baking dish, pot with steamer insert, Pyrex measuring cup, muffin tin, and sifter). I hope to be able to let go of those items, too. (I just feel so guilty over the gifts!)
I am, at present, a moderate minimalist. Having been raised by hoarder parents with the mantra of “you can never have enough storage,” my life has been a 50 year process of reversing that thinking and discovering where it plays itself out without my ever knowing it. I like nice things and beautiful objects. But, as long as I have a place to neatly store them, I can also easily fool myself into thinking something is okay to keep just because it has a use or could have a use or is pretty.
I like to cook and to have people over, but don’t do it too frequently. I have a very small and not well-designed kitchen, in need of an upgrade. I will be renovating sometime in the next year to increase both its functionality and connection to the rest of the house. I’ve been fascinated by the progression of my thinking from “how can I knock down walls to get the luxury kitchen I ‘should’ have for a home in my particular zip code” and “how am I going to fit enough storage into this space and take down walls to make it connected to the areas where people hang out” to “what do I actually use while I’m in this space,” “how much storage do I really need?” and “what’s more important: a lovely experience of being connected to the people in the other room or the cabinet to store the muffin tins and bunt cake pans that I’ve used exactly once in 20 years!”
When you add up the expense of renovating a space to accommodate storing all those specialty items, it’s huge. People around me insist that I “must” have a kitchen of certain proportions, yet I don’t think they’ve ever stopped to consider the financial tradeoffs. Do those seldom used contraptions really merit the extra 20K that would go to tricking out the kitchen with every fancy storage innovation necessary to accommodate them? In the meantime, things like my dream vacation to Africa seem like unrealistic fantasies and donating money to a worthy charity seems like something I can do “when I have enough…” It’s amazing how much upper middle class people like me will spend without ever considering whether it buys any real enjoyment or makes any real contribution.
So, on second though, I have neighbors who love to bake, will be delighted to take all those pans, and will happily lend them back if I ever decide to go for a second round of muffin making! Here’s to a minimalist renovation that focusses on real life functionality and creating connection among those who share living space with me.
I have been parring down my kitchen & pantry for 2 months on weekends. I found cans with 2004 use-by dates. How embarrassing. I gave away the micro wave & when the toaster-oven quit, last week I decided to get a regular toaster instead. wow – counter space! ditched the 20-year old utensils & got easy grip ones for my arthritic hands. they do take a bit more space in the drawer so I only kept a can opener, chef’s knife, peeler, spoonatula, & whisk. I keep my cornered wooden spoon that is both a flipper & spoon on a hook on the stove.
Pans: 10″ skillet, 3-quart Dutch oven the lid fits both the DO & skillet, 10″ pie plate with holes used as a steamer which fits both the skillet & DO, a small sauce pan, and a pizza pan which also serves as baking sheet. that’s it. I kept a loaf-pan but haven’t determined yet if I need it. Also kept 2 mixing bowls, a measuring cup, and mesh colander.
I have so much free counter space now, that I got a small rice cooker. although it’s under the counter, it and the toaster only take up 10 inches. that’s less than the old toaster oven by itself! I only have 4′ countertop. I am really curious about using the rice cooker bcs it is so versatile. can’t wait to have time to play.