Minimizing Monday: Simplifying The Kitchen
July 21st, 2008 | By Kendra
Well, we’re at it again! And this time we’re working on the kitchen. If you missed last week’s post on Minimizing Our Closets, make sure you check it out for more de-cluttering inspiration!
I thought the kitchen would be a good next challenge because so many of us have cabinets and drawers overflowing with containers and various thing-a-ma-jiggers that we honestly haven’t used in a long time, if ever. I don’t have a very big kitchen, and I don’t have that much stuff… at least I didn’t think I did, but after a few purging sessions I surprised myself with how much unnecessary stuff I had just sitting around, taking up space.
So, if you are ready to take control of your kitchen cabinets, think Less is More! Less stuff, more room and less time wasted searching for the lid to that one specific container. It’s a good idea to start in one particular area of the kitchen, like a cabinet or drawer, and go through one section at a time. That way each part gets a thorough purging, and you aren’t distracted or overwhelmed. And you may need to do this over several days. It took me two days to completely go through everything, just cause I don’t have time to pull everything out and go through it all with two little ones running around!
When you are ready to tackle your kitchen, you need to have the mindset Do I really need this?. Ask yourself if you are able to function without that particular thing. For instance, I had an egg yolk separator. Seemed like a useful tool. How often have I used it? Once, maybe twice in the past 5 years that it has sat in my drawer! It has been just as easy for me to separate the egg yolk using the shell itself than digging through my drawer to find this “convenient” little helper. And the apple slicer thingy, I always forget I even have one! A knife does just as good of a job at cutting my apples, and it’s multi functional! So, this should be your thinking if you are ready to simplify.
Here’s how to know when to toss it:
- If you haven’t used it in the past year
- If you have more than one (and you don’t consistently use both), or an overabundance
- If there is another tool that works the same purpose
- If you can function without it
- If you don’t think you will use it any more
Things you really don’t need (this may be tough for some of you!):
- more than one plate/cup per family member; spares for company can be kept, but placed out of immediate reach
- a bread maker; you can do the same thing with your hands
- a toaster and a toaster oven; if you have a toaster oven, toss the toaster!
- 20 sippy cups or bottles! Pick three or four good ones to keep, or even less if you can.
- too much silverware; you only need so many spoons and forks!
- tons of plastic storage containers; try to limit them to 5 or 6 (this is my weakness!).
- an overabundance of kid’s plates and bowls; one per kid is enough.
- disposables (plates, cups, forks/spoons, bibs, sippy cups…)
- a billion cookie cutters and/or candy molds
These are the things that I’ve had to get rid of from my own kitchen, so I speak from experience! And I’ve begun reevaluating what I had on my wish list for kitchen appliances as well. I really wanted a bread maker, a yogurt maker, and a KitchenAid Mixer (you know, the super expensive ones!), but I’ve come to realized that I don’t need any of those things. Maybe you will be inspired to rethink what you think you need in your kitchen as well! So, after all of my cleaning here is what I am parting with:
It may not look like it, but after counting it all this came out to be over 100 items gone from my kitchen (and that’s not even counting the silverware)!! All just a bunch of stuff taking up space.
When my husband came home and opened the kitchen cabinet, and then the silverware drawer, he couldn’t believe the difference!
Mission accomplished.
Feeling inspired? Even if you are taking baby steps, we’d love to hear what you are doing to live with less. Let’s encourage each other to be free from all of these things that complicate our lives! To join us in “Minimizing Monday”, simply write a post on your blog about how you have minimized your kitchen (or any other tips, advice or ways that you are minimizing in general) and come back here to leave your link below. We’d love to hear from you!
Says:
This one will definitely be tougher for me than the clothing. But I am still eager to give it a shot. I have been looking forward to the new assignment all week. I didn’t take pics, but I did get through my kids’ clothes this weekend and even my husband went through his. We had boxes of stuff to pass along!
btw, not to add to your cleared out kitchen, but if you want to make your own yogurt, I have heard many who use a fishtank heater to do the job. Much cheaper and takes up less space. Just google how to do it and you might be surprised.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:13 amSays:
I can agree with you wholeheartedly,(almost) , about a year ago, I dicided I just had to have tons of tupperware, I ordered off ebay. not six months later I was donating almost all of it to a thrift store where I lived, because I dicided I really prefer the ziplock and rubbermaid types I can buy at walmart. (alot cheaper too!) however, I am bread and dough dumb!! I need my bread machine, and I always need extra silverware. Mine dissappears!!
July 21st, 2008 at 8:20 amSays:
OMG!!! You answered the question I have been asking people this past weekend. We are moving to another state in 2 weeks and we are decluttering as we pack. I love the concept of a bread maker and have one, but have not used it in a long time! I was asking people if my toaster oven could do the same thing so I dont have to waste the energy heating up the regular oven (and the room)during the summer. Thank you for giving me the answer!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:32 amSays:
I spend so much time in the kitchen, I love to have lots of gadgets & cookbooks. Thanks for the inspiration to really sit down and think about what we really need.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:18 pmSays:
I’m looking forward to tackling the kitchen this week!
I would love to hear suggestions for ways to encourage husbands to get on board with minimizing. My husband has a really hard time letting go of perfectly good things/clothes, even if he hasn’t used/worn them in years (and admittedly, so have I for many years – so we have a lot of stuff!). I don’t want to just go and get rid of things behind his back. Anyone have any suggestions or things that have worked for them in this area?
July 21st, 2008 at 2:39 pmSays:
Tiffany-
I have the same problem with my husband! Not really with the kitchen stuff, he couldn’t care less about that, but when I did our closet he wanted me to stay completely away from his stuff! He’s really bad about keeping things for sentimental reasons, like his friend gave him that shirt. He had over 60 shirts on his side! I give him a hard time about it too. What I did was when he was in bed I started pulling out his shirts from the closet one at a time and asking him if he really needed that item. After he actually looked at what was in his closet, he was able to part with 20 shirts! Then a couple of days ago, when he was gone, I went through his clothes again and took out the stuff that I haven’t seen him wear in a long time. I didn’t get rid of them, but I packed them up in a box and put them in our storage shed. If he asks for one of those shirts I will get it for him, but I’m betting he won’t even notice that they are gone! And, maybe after a while I can show him what was missing and prove to him that he doesn’t need them anymore. So, that’s my plan. So far, so good!
July 21st, 2008 at 2:50 pmSays:
Well I am forced to skip the kitchen this week because I need to get my new den organized and well . . . turn it into a den, and today is my only day!
July 21st, 2008 at 5:47 pmSays:
This is very inspiring. My hubby traditionally does the dishes at our house and now he was injured so I had to take it on along with my regular duties. Oh how they pile up! I am going to go through the cabinets and cut back on how much of each item we have in there….it really is ridiculous!
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:29 pm