I never thought I’d have a favourite flipper or spatula or wooden spoon. When I minimized my kitchen the first time, I thought, that the question in this room would be “Does this serve a purpose?” I didn’t think there was room for “Do I love this?” It turns out I was wrong! I clearly had a favourite flipper, spatula, and even a wooden spoon. I had a favourite cheese grater, a favourite lemon juicer, a favourite whisk, and on and on it went. (If you prefer to watch video, scroll to the bottom of this post.)
So many items from my kitchen utensil drawer went out the door. There were no more issues with items getting jammed behind the drawer making it impossible to open. No more digging through looking for my favourite item to use.
For less used and bulkier items I use the drawer under my oven to house a few things like the potato masher. Isn’t that the worst? It always jams the drawer. My soup ladle also got relegated to under the oven, along with my pie lifter.
The kitchen is where we tend to keep a lot of just-in-case items. All they create is clutter because we don’t use them. We always go for our favourites. You won’t miss the ones you kept just-in-case. You’ll appreciate the lack of clutter by far.
Fewer dishes also equals fewer dishes, if you know what I mean!
Today, you’ll need a donation box and possibly a garbage bag, depending on the condition of your large utensils. Go through your utensils one by one and ask yourself the two questions:
- Do I love this?
- Does this serve a purpose?
Be careful with the second question, because it’s easy to find a purpose in kitchen things. So be true to the core meaning of the question. If you have five flippers, sure, they all serve a purpose, but do you need five flippers? I reduced mine to my two favourites. Same went for serving spoons, spatulas, wooden spoons, etc. Reduce your items down to what you realistically need in your kitchen. Take in to consideration what you use daily, what you need if you have company.
If you have certain items that you only use when you entertain, perhaps a separate box for them stored in a different place is more appropriate. I have a set of twelve place settings for my cutlery, but only eight fit in nicely in my cutlery drawer, so the other four settings are in a box in a cupboard elsewhere. I only use them at Christmas time. They serve a purpose, I do love my new cutlery set, but there’s no need for them to be in the kitchen year around.
I’m hoping that, like me, you are pleasantly surprised to find that you do, in fact, have favourites!
I welcome your ideas, thoughts, and questions in the comments below.
Remember you can share your journey with me and others by using hashtag #MarchMicroMinimizing, and tag me on Facebook or Instagram using handle @suzannegouldenILC.
Here’s me talking about minimizing large kitchen utensils!
