Having grown up in a gourmet kitchen store, I have a fabulous collection of kitchen essentials. Unfortunately, I have a mass of non-essentials, too! I need to focus on my kitchen fitness!! Honestly, who really needs six whisks of the same style?
The new year brought a new home with a smaller kitchen and, let me tell you, this kitchenware collector did not adjust well! For a solid month we lived with pans literally stacked on the floor, utensils pouring out of boxes, and a butcher block table so overloaded with stuff I couldn’t even use it! After stubbing my toe on a cast iron skillet for the 27th time, I’d had enough. I painstakingly went through every piece of cookware, bakeware, gadgetry, and appliance and whittled my way down to a manageably fit kitchen.
A few of the more ridiculous things I ousted:
- Five whisks (kept four!)
- Three 8” fry pans. THREE!!
- Two nasty 12” skillets
- Two garlic presses
- A brand new ravioli rolling pin (why??)
- Two identical carrot ribboning tools (why I even had one is beyond me)
A few things I can’t live without:
- Counter-space-hogging espresso machine
- Super quality cookware and knives
- Silicone spatulas (colorful AND functional!)
- My KitchenAid mixer
- Quality cutting boards
- Cake pans (endless uses!)
- Cheese graters (yes, plural – don’t judge.)
And a few things I WON’T live without:
- Vita-Mix blender – Don’t use this enough to justify the hefty price tag, but it’s magic!
- All 22 of my wonderful German knives (seven are steak knives – it’s not that excessive!) –I use about four of them regularly, but they’re all in one block, so getting rid of some won’t save me any space!
- My 23-year-old gigantic Scanpan “witch’s cauldron.” I have used it exactly two times, but it’s the bee’s knees and holds 9.5 quarts of stew AND 23 years worth of family memories.
- Absurd (someone said that!) amounts of cookware. After getting rid of about a dozen pans, I still have a full pot rack (excellent addition to a small kitchen, by the way) and then some.
Clearly I have a hard time letting go of things I might possibly-some-day-in-the-distant-future use (looking at you, pasta machine). Getting rid of some of my unnecessities, however, made me appreciate the value behind the pieces I kept. I can do just as much with a simple set of tongs, spatulas, and bamboo spoons as I could with the multiple boxes of utensils I chucked (donated, don’t worry).
Moral of this story is that investing in quality multi-tasking pieces not only makes sense financially, but will improve your kitchen fitness. Plus you end up with space to keep the occasional frivolous purchase (*cough* individual instant popsicle makers).
You know that feeling when you clean out your closet and it’s like you have a whole new wardrobe with room for new boots? It’s like that. So next time you throw a spatula in frustration because its fat rubber handle won’t fit into your utensil crock, do yourself a favor and get your kitchen fit!
What are your must-haves for the kitchen?
You’ve inspired me! I have 6 crocks crammed full of every kitchen essential and way too many un-essential untensils. I may need prozac to get through this ordeal though! I can’t even bring myself to throw away an old chipped bamboo spoon – despite the fact I have 6 more that are NOT chipped! HELP!!!! I’ve become a gadget hoarder!!!