Minimalism in the Kitchen

Monday is a day I focus on minimalism, because it is the start off the week and it focuses my mindset for the week. It doesn’t always take a whole day, sometimes its a morning or even an hour or two. But taking the time to focus purely on developing my minimalist lifestyle helps me to deliver on all my other projects during the rest of the week.

If you ever want to see the most minimalist area of my flat you need look no further than my kitchen. For me it’s one of two locations in the house that requires the most conscious decision making and so keeping it as simple and decision free is key for maintaining my minimalist lifestyle.

Here are some of the few lessons I’ve learn’t in keeping a minimalist kitchen;

Less is more

Do you own fourty mugs, but never have more then five people round? If you opened your pan drawer would you have duplicates?

If the answer to this is yes, it’s time to have a clear out. You don’t need more pans than one of each size you’d use. And you certainly don’t need fifty million types of mugs. Personally, I own two glass tea cups, two mugs and one normal tea cup. In fact, most of my visitors bring their own reusable mugs with them if they are popping round for coffee because I don’t own any coffee! Sometimes I feel bad but hey, it saves me the washing up!

But you don’t need the duplicates and you don’t need more cups than you could ever use in a day. So clear out and be realistic about what you need.

Everything should have a home

Everything in my kitchen has a home. Not only a cupboard, but a specific location on a shelf. This means I know were everything is and where everything should live. But it also means that there is no space for anything else! So it stops the clutter gathering.

This pictures is of my main kitchen cupboard, its organised, so I know exactly where everything is. It also at its fullest in this picture as the glass storage containers are usually in my fridge full of food!

Plan what you eat

Not only does meal planning save you money. It reduces the choices you have to make. Reducing choices is a fundamental principle of minimalism. It also helps you make the most of the few things you may have. I have a set amount of storage containers, so the components of a few days meals cannot exceed the storage requirements I have. Sometimes it does mean I have to think cleverly, but it also means I have a lot less food waste and I eat very well.

I have a weekly planner on the wall where I write my weekly meal plan down, I also have a little bit of a whiteboard next door to add anything that I need from the shops. It keeps me organised and ultimately means I always know what to eat, I make

Always wash up as you go

Not only does it prevent excessive mess, but cleaning up as you go allows you to do more with less. Usually when I start cooking a few days worth of meals I fill up a sink of hot, soapy water and each time I finish with something it is washed and put on the drier. It means if I need to use a pan repeatedly it is always available when I need it. Being available means I don’t need multiples – a lot of these points work in circles, if you hadn’t seen the connections yet.

A lot of minimalist concepts run in circles, that’s why its so easy to keep going once you have started.

Keep things clean

Cleanliness is the key in minimalism. Making minimalist choices should help you be cleaner, because there is less to clean and it is much easier to maintain less belongings. If your living and working space is cleaner you find that you think clearly and develop a better focus. You find a massive changes in your wellbeing if you are living and successfully up keeping a clean home. I have certainly noticed I tend to stay in a better mindset if I can go home to a clean and organised space.

Don’t clutter the countertops

There is certainly an artful way to still have things on your countertops but you certainly don’t need to clutter the countertops to have a instagram worthy kitchen. I keep a few things on my countertops but ultimately I remember what kitchen countertops are for, Cooking. Stick with the functionality of your kitchen, if you’re not cooking your countertops should be clean and empty. So that cooking is easy and you aren’t running out of countertop space when you need it.

My main workspace has my scales and mixer (as I use them so frequently it makes sense) and a rosemary plant. Because it’s edible and adds a little brightness to the space.

Remember to purge

Purging your kitchen space regularly is important. I would suggest doing it at least every six months. Sell or donate things you haven’t used in six months, or things that aren’t really making your life better or worse. A common item that people don’t think to get rid of is a knife block. Why do you need it? My knives live in my cupboard (as my rented kitchen has no drawers) and I have zero issues with that on a long term, let alone daily basis. You’ll be amazed that you can live without an apple corer, toastie maker and juicers. It’s completely possible to survive cutting apples with knives, making toasties in an oven or in a frying pan and completely possible to manually juice things.

This is just a few on the minimalist lessons that I’ve learnt when trying to make the most of my kitchen space and the time I spend in the kitchen. A lot of these are lessons that you can apply to most of the rooms of your house. Do you have any kitchen secrets? Always interested in seeing how other people interpret minimalism and how they use it in their homes.