Ideas for kitchen downsizing.

[perditax]

I currently live in a place with a ridiculously large kitchen. As such, I have a lot of kitchen stuff. I don't mean "unitaskers" like quesadilla grills or anything, but the standard counter hogs, such a stand mixer, food processor, waffle iron, coffee and tea makers, electric kettle, a sous vide setup, foodsaver, coffee grinder, knife sharpener, etc etc. I have a baker's rack and a restaurant style wire rack with hooks that lets me keep this all in check. (Plus the baking sheets, cutting boards, casseroles, etc.)

I'm moving to a new place that I absolutely adore, but losing at least half the kitchen space. I'm going to have to give up some of this stuff, but I'm curious what other people do to deal with this. New construction in this area seems to include smaller and smaller kitchens in apartments, townhouses, condos and houses, I assume because people are cooking less. (Yes there are exceptions, and no we weren't able to get one of these exceptions.)

What have you done to simplify your kitchen arsenal? I think I could lose the food processor as I mostly only use it for shredding cheese in bulk for things like Mac and cheese and fondue, but otherwise I'm a bit stumped.

I'm also going to have one of those glass-top electric stoves, which will be a new experience for me, would also welcome any tips.

 

[low-key]

A Frig, Microwave and a street that has lots of fast foods on it, and your set

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I love to cook, but we don't have as much kitchen space as we'd like. What we do is store the least used items in another room which DOES have more space available in a piece of freestanding furniture. (An old microwave cart with shelves and a bonus cabinet!) Then we haul stuff back and forth as necessary. I like to think of it as bonus exercise opportunity...

It's not an ideal situation, but it's the best I can do without paring down my favorite pans and accessories.

 

[wenrob]

Will you have a garage? All my houses have had garages right off the kitchen so I commandeer a shelf or two out there for stuff that doesn't get used frequently but gets used so easily reachable. If it were me, I'd set the baker's rack up in the garage. I'm a kitchen gadget junkie though.

 

[perditax]

I love to cook, but we don't have as much kitchen space as we'd like. What we do is store the least used items in another room which DOES have more space available in a piece of freestanding furniture. (An old microwave cart with shelves and a bonus cabinet!) Then we haul stuff back and forth as necessary. I like to think of it as bonus exercise opportunity...

It's not an ideal situation, but it's the best I can do without paring down my favorite pans and accessories.

Thanks. We're going to have some amount of storage nearby (a very short walk and one elevator floor down--it's an interior apartment building, if that's the right way to put it), like five minutes max to grab something. I'll definitely have to store my baker's rack there at minimum, and possibly stuff I only use in winter like the big Dutch oven. I'm hoping I can also eliminate some stuff too, in the spirit of decluttering, but I'm pretty stumped as to what. I keep looking at stuff and thinking "nope, I've used that in the last year ... used that ... used that"...

Oh jeez, and just remembered I have a little aerogarden for herbs. This is definitely going to be a challenge.

(Going from a large eat-in kitchen with bay windows that we didn't use to eat in, because we also had an enormous dining room. I have to stress again that I LOVE our new place, just have to adjust.)

 

[Westcoastwild]

What do you actually enjoy cooking?

I'm in a place with a tiny kitchen right now. I mean, last time I was in a kitchen store, a clerk tried to sell me on a tiny coffee maker. I mean, it was tiny, the little pixie nespresso and she seriously thought I was kidding when I said I'd love to, but I just don't have the counter space, and the cupboards are like, built for a dollhouse. I didn't even know they sold prefab cupboards that are this shallow!


But I make it work. I have a magnet bar for my knives, great knives, smaller cutting boards (to work with smaller counters), a few really great (expensive) pans, a coffee press, a stove top kettle. My cookbooks live in the living room. My waffle iron lives in a high cupboard because I do actually use it. My food processor sadly lives in storage, but honestly I do most stuff with my knives anyway. It would be a lot harder if I was an avid baker; I would miss my stand mixer a lot more. And I have no idea where I would store baking pans. But I've never really mastered bread making and I haven't got much of sweet tooth. You probably don't want to hear this but chances are if you downsized and got rid of a lot of your space hogs, you probably would not miss them all that much. Even with downsizing I've found that I reach for my favorites over and over again. I found that I'm just much better about making smarter choices on what to buy- and that often I'll find a new toy that will replace 2-3 tools that I can get rid of.

Think less of what you have used in the last year and more of what you use EVERY week. Then put everything else in storage and see what you pull out over the next year. Something like a giant roasting pan or a pressure cooker- you may decide you need it more than you thought, or you may decide it isn't worth the effort of pulling out of storage, and you'll make do.

I don't recommend getting rid of your microwave though. I do miss that beastie.

 

[thepicklebee]

Well consider how much you really use things and if you can do without. Die instance, do you make tea daily or could you boil water on the stove etc.

Take a look at the cabinet space you have in the new place. Allocate what I'll hold food, plates, glasses, baking dishes etc. Consider getting a pull out pot organizing rack for the cabinets to make the cabinet you store your pots and pans in more user friendly and able to able to hold more efficiently.

Other storage areas we have used for kitchen product storage were a bookcase in the laundry room, elfa storage in an extra hall closet, and even an ottoman in our living room. Ahh military life.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Are there places you could put some of this stuff, outside the kitchen? Our house has a wet bar in the family room--we don't drink much, so we turned it into a coffee bar. It holds the Keurig and supplies, plus fixings for tea, hot cocoa, etc. You could do something similar on a sideboard in the dining room--have a few feet of space for your electric kettle, coffee and tea makers, coffee grinder, maybe a mug tree and some spoons.

I assume you're a serious cook--not many people own a sous vide machine--but if some of your items don't get everyday use, could they be stored somewhere? In the kitchen, near the kitchen? I would put seasonal items in the further-away storage (Christmas baking items, for example).

I would probably try putting everything in the far-away storage to start with, and then see how much you actually use each item. After 6 months, you'll know what you really need to have closer in (like the food saver, maybe?).

 

[Gracie09]

You seem to have a lot of repetition of items. A tea pot and an electric kettle. Why do you need both? You can boil water in the electric kettle for tea. You have a stand mixer - invest in attachments. Kitchen aid has a to. For a food processor, grinders, knife sharpeners even. And how often do you really use things like the waffle iron?

 

[MIGrandma]

I have a fairly large kitchen with lots of cabinets/drawers. There is a large bar/counter area that separates the kitchen from the dining room, and I had been keeping my bread maker on the end of the counter but finally moved it to a shelf in the pantry. And just last week I went through cabinets and any dishes/pots and pans I hadn't used in the last couple of years or so either got given away or sent to Goodwill. I took all my good china out of the top cabinets, washed everything (hadn't used the set in years so it was a bit dusty) and packed it all away in a clear tote. I have slow cookers that I rarely use and those are stored in the pantry as well. If you don't have a pantry, can you use a closet in another room for some of the appliances that you don't use very often but don't want to part with? Or use plastic storage totes for under-the-bed and put some things in those?

 

[Poohforyou]

Our kitchen has lots of cabinets but not a ton of counter space. As a result, I only have out the things I use on a daily basis. Right now, that consists of the keurig and nutri bullet. Everything else is in a cabinet or drawer. I even put the toaster in a cabinet because it's rarely used.

 

[Dancind]

We remodeled and have more counter space, so there are things that we don't use sitting out. Like the juicer DH had to have, and the Nespresso I no longer use. And the Kitchen aid mixer I really only use in the summer to make ice cream. And then there's the vitamix and food processor (redundant much?) in the appliance garage, used maybe once a month or less. We are moving in a year or so and will need to downsize too. The biggest barrier will be my gadget happy husband. He was checking out the variable speed Vitamix at Costco.

The Instant Pot definitely stays, though.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Is there enough room for a rolling island? If so you could get one with some shelves and drawers. If not I may use some of my closet space to put the bigger items in that or get a cupboard to put in my room and put some stuff in it. I found a cute cabinet for my garage , looks like a milk carton from a swap meet and keep a lot of my cooking stuff out there as there is not a lot of kitchen cupboard for the food if that makes sense. The cupboards in there are geared more for the dishes than food. It is bizzare.

 

[NAB]

On the electric glass top stove...no copper bottom pots. Some pots work better then others too. I had to change out my pots because they wouldn't sit level and the element wouldn't stay on. That is another thing with them. They will cycle on and off , why I don't know...lol Don't get any sugar type stuff spilled on them either or it will pit the top at least that is what the book said but never had a problem yet, usually clean up spills.

I do love it , no more cleaning that under pan. There some cleaners out there that work well , if it is pot boil over you maybe need to get a straight razor blade and scrap it off , don't worry it will not scratch your stove top only if you use a old and broken blade that might chip it.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I've lived with a small galley kitchen for 32 years. Not much counter space but well designed with very tall cabinets so I'm lucky to have good storage as well as a small built in pantry.

The only tjing on my counter is a food processor which I use about twice a year, my nespresso machine and a mixer. Inside my appliance garage which is in a corner space and a brilliant use of space is another coffee mKer, toaster, blender and all my nespresso coffee. Under the stove I keep dog treats and under the sink are cleaning products, dishwasher soap, garbage bags etc. if you get to design a kitchen definitely get the pull out shelves instead of drawers and a spice drawer.

 

[perditax]

What do you actually enjoy cooking?

I'm in a place with a tiny kitchen right now. I mean, last time I was in a kitchen store, a clerk tried to sell me on a tiny coffee maker. I mean, it was tiny, the little pixie nespresso and she seriously thought I was kidding when I said I'd love to, but I just don't have the counter space, and the cupboards are like, built for a dollhouse. I didn't even know they sold prefab cupboards that are this shallow!


But I make it work. I have a magnet bar for my knives, great knives, smaller cutting boards (to work with smaller counters), a few really great (expensive) pans, a coffee press, a stove top kettle. My cookbooks live in the living room. My waffle iron lives in a high cupboard because I do actually use it. My food processor sadly lives in storage, but honestly I do most stuff with my knives anyway. It would be a lot harder if I was an avid baker; I would miss my stand mixer a lot more. And I have no idea where I would store baking pans. But I've never really mastered bread making and I haven't got much of sweet tooth. You probably don't want to hear this but chances are if you downsized and got rid of a lot of your space hogs, you probably would not miss them all that much. Even with downsizing I've found that I reach for my favorites over and over again. I found that I'm just much better about making smarter choices on what to buy- and that often I'll find a new toy that will replace 2-3 tools that I can get rid of.

Think less of what you have used in the last year and more of what you use EVERY week. Then put everything else in storage and see what you pull out over the next year. Something like a giant roasting pan or a pressure cooker- you may decide you need it more than you thought, or you may decide it isn't worth the effort of pulling out of storage, and you'll make do.

I don't recommend getting rid of your microwave though. I do miss that beastie.

1) Dollhouse shelves! Yassss. That's what I call what we have now. They are so small I have to turn normal dinner plates diagonal to get them in, and mounted so high I can only reach the bottom shelf without a stepstool. It's part of why I bought more storage (the wire restaurant-style rack with hooks).

2) You make good points about what I've used in the last week vs last year. There are plenty of holiday only items including yes, the roasting pan.

Other people make good points. Why DO I have a tea pot and an electric kettle? I have one of those automatic tea makers that works from loose tea and can be programmed the night before. I use it every day. I don't remember why we bought the fancy electric kettle--think we needed to use up expiring rewards points on something. Oh wait--the signifcant other went through a French press phase, which he is now over. Sometimes I use it to get water pre-boiling when I'm going to be doing a large pot of pasta or something (we have a truly wretched stove right now--absolutely the cheapest one they buy in bulk for apartments). But that's it. So that can go for sure.

I'm embarrassed to admit the thread has made me realize I have even more stuff than I listed, including yes, a countertop pressure cooker (frequent use but space hog). The usual round of ninjas and bullet blenders, sigh. The ninja stuff stays in a cupboard, at least.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Westcoastwild]

1) Dollhouse shelves! Yassss. That's what I call what we have now. They are so small I have to turn normal dinner plates diagonal to get them in, and mounted so high I can only reach the bottom shelf without a stepstool. It's part of why I bought more storage (the wire restaurant-style rack with hooks).

2) You make good points about what I've used in the last week vs last year. There are plenty of holiday only items including yes, the roasting pan.

Other people make good points. Why DO I have a tea pot and an electric kettle? I have one of those automatic tea makers that works from loose tea and can be programmed the night before. I use it every day. I don't remember why we bought the fancy electric kettle--think we needed to use up expiring rewards points on something. Oh wait--the signifcant other went through a French press phase, which he is now over. Sometimes I use it to get water pre-boiling when I'm going to be doing a large pot of pasta or something (we have a truly wretched stove right now--absolutely the cheapest one they buy in bulk for apartments). But that's it. So that can go for sure.

I'm embarrassed to admit the thread has made me realize I have even more stuff than I listed, including yes, a countertop pressure cooker (frequent use but space hog). The usual round of ninjas and bullet blenders, sigh. The ninja stuff stays in a cupboard, at least.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Lol. I wish I had the space for extra storage. I have no real closets as well which really is what hurts us more than the kitchen storage. And I love the big windows but that means no wall space

Thanks for the fun post! I thought I was pretty versed on kitchen stuff but actually had to look the sous vide up! What do you love about it? I mean...it cooks stuff evenly, but I'm not seeing the big deal there?

 

[perditax]

Lol. I wish I had the space for extra storage. I have no real closets as well which really is what hurts us more than the kitchen storage. And I love the big windows but that means no wall space

Thanks for the fun post! I thought I was pretty versed on kitchen stuff but actually had to look the sous vide up! What do you love about it? I mean...it cooks stuff evenly, but I'm not seeing the big deal there?

Couple things about the sous vide:

1) it's GREAT if you're a meat eater. You can turn cheap cuts of beef info tender steaks, so it's a money saver.

2) Lately I've been stressed and haven't had much time for complicated cooking. You can reliably turn out perfect poached eggs with a sous vide (13 minutes at 167F, I just lower them down in a wire strainer and set the timer). They're poached right in the shell, then plopped onto a toasted English muffin, bam dinner. There are lots of other cool tricks you can do with it that save either time or money, or turn a cheap piece of meat into something awesome. It's admittedly a bit food-nerdy, but I'm starting to see sous vide circulators in Best Buy so I guess it's going mainstream. (Google "sous vide short ribs")

 

[Westcoastwild]

Couple things about the sous vide:

1) it's GREAT if you're a meat eater. You can turn cheap cuts of beef info tender steaks, so it's a money saver.

2) Lately I've been stressed and haven't had much time for complicated cooking. You can reliably turn out perfect poached eggs with a sous vide (13 minutes at 167F, I just lower them down in a wire strainer and set the timer). They're poached right in the shell, then plopped onto a toasted English muffin, bam dinner. There are lots of other cool tricks you can do with it that save either time or money, or turn a cheap piece of meat into something awesome. It's admittedly a bit food-nerdy, but I'm starting to see sous vide circulators in Best Buy so I guess it's going mainstream. (Google "sous vide short ribs")

Oooh. Well the poached eggs have sold me on it. Maybe when I get my dream kitchen lol.

 

[perditax]

Oooh. Well the poached eggs have sold me on it. Maybe when I get my dream kitchen lol.

Don't feel obliged to read this whole thing, but scroll through the pics.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/sous-vide-101-all-about-eggs.html