Set up a Kitchen With Much less Counter Area

At one level, I had nearly 100 cookbooks. I’m positive there have been some I had actually by no means used. However for the final a number of years, I’ve been downsizing my life, so occasionally, I am going via them and donate those I can’t keep in mind utilizing for the reason that final purge.

Again in 2017, I began to observe some minimalist accounts on Instagram to get concepts. May I do that? Am I a minimalist? I wasn’t positive. However simplicity ended up being simply what I wanted. I discovered that shedding litter permits you to deal with the belongings you personal that you simply actually love. It’s like your mind is quieted. You can begin by taking it gradual — a shelf right here, a cupboard or closet there, and every little bit makes an enormous distinction. Earlier than you already know it, you’re having fun with life with much less.

I’m all the way down to round 30 cookbooks now, and so they all match on one shelf. I’ve, in fact, held onto those I exploit essentially the most, in addition to these specializing in cuisines I’ve been studying extra about the previous couple of years, like Madhur Jaffrey’s Fast & Straightforward Indian Cookery and Hsiao-Ching Chou’s Chinese language Soul Meals. Cookbooks by cooking consultants like Ina Garten and Mark Bittman will at all times have a spot on my shelf, too. Nowadays, if I’m intrigued by a brand new cookbook, I attempt to discover it on the neighborhood public library.

Final summer season, my downsizing efforts turned to my kitchen. I had moved from a studio loft residence to a bigger two-bedroom condominium. I really like the wood parquet flooring and pure gentle that pours in most afternoons. Though my new kitchen is roughly the identical measurement as my previous one, it’s configured otherwise so I’ve about 4 toes much less counter house. Although I had galley-style kitchens in my final two residing areas, I additionally had basements to stow home equipment and different bigger objects. Since I now not had additional storage, it was time to consider what I truly wanted in my kitchen, and what I used to be simply hanging onto as a result of it felt simpler.

In the event you’re somebody who likes to cook dinner, coping with a smaller kitchen isn’t so simple as eliminating all the pieces. For me, making a kitchen that felt relaxed and easy was all about being strategic within the preliminary setup. Right here’s what I discovered.

Don’t depend on a kitchen island

After I first moved in, I used to be fairly set on getting some type of kitchen island, small movable or foldable desk as an answer for the dearth of counter house. I wished one thing with a butcher block, however they value greater than I may afford to spend. After a couple of month of looking out on Fb Market with none luck, I made a decision to surrender. Finally, I noticed that not having a bit of furnishings in my small kitchen was truly a win.

As a substitute of making extra counter house by including an island, I made a decision I wanted to deal with clearing off the counter house I had. The tip objective was to have just one cooking equipment on the counter so I had extra room to work.

Toss pointless home equipment, and embrace those that do double responsibility

I inherited a really weak, previous microwave oven on this kitchen and I made a decision to eliminate it to clear off some counter house. In a earlier house, I managed to reside and not using a microwave for 3 years after it died, and whereas that always made me plan forward, it wasn’t inconvenient sufficient to make me purchase a brand new one. My trusty previous slot toaster had served me effectively for almost 10 years, however slightly than hold a poorly functioning equipment that will take up house, I made a decision to switch it with one which does double responsibility: a Cuisinart air fryer/toaster oven combo.

For the longest time, I couldn’t wrap my head across the thought of an air fryer. It felt like TikTok hype. I just like the motion of cooking — the stirring, flipping, roasting — and I fearful it might make me really feel like much less of an actual cook dinner. However I’ve been extraordinarily proud of my buy. It makes cooking some dishes simpler, sooner, and, in just a few instances, higher. It cooks salmon completely, makes broccoli good and crispy, and efficiently reheats leftovers. I now use it a number of occasions per week.

Paring down pots and pans was simpler. My mother, who managed to place dinner on the desk each evening for my 5 older brothers and me, at all times taught me to cook dinner with the fewest pots doable. So, if a macaroni and cheese recipe makes use of three completely different vessels, it’s a no for me. Over time, I’ve discovered that I can use my Dutch ovens for many recipes, so I made a decision to maintain just one 5-quart Dutch oven, which inserts properly in my cupboard. I exploit it to make inventory or a giant pot of soup, brown meat, and cook dinner corn on the cob, amongst different issues.

I additionally weeded via my small kitchen instruments and devices and hung onto the issues I truly use. Goodbye, garlic press and meals mill — I haven’t used you in years. (However I’ll by no means half with my Mad Hungry spurtle, Microplane grater, and bench scraper — they’re all multitaskers.) As soon as I found out what I didn’t want, I dropped it off at my native Goodwill. That felt so good.

Set up all the pieces

When it got here to storing the home equipment and different objects I held onto, I thought-about how I cook dinner and the way typically I exploit them. My meals processor and blender are stowed in a close-by cupboard, purposefully straightforward to get to (entrance and heart, not too excessive, not too low). As a result of I exploit them typically, I wished to have the ability to pull them out on the fly. My stand mixer, which I don’t use steadily, is saved means again within the pantry.

With the assistance of a buddy, I took stock of all my pantry objects, then organized what I saved in clear bins. There’s a bin for the spices I don’t use repeatedly, a bin for fast meals like rice, sauces, and ramen, and one other bin for snacks, nuts, and protein bars. Along with bins, lazy Susans are extraordinarily useful. It’s necessary to see all the pieces simply, particularly if you’re in the midst of a cooking venture. I additionally put in rechargeable lights inside my darker cupboards. Little changes like these make prep and cooking in a cramped house a lot simpler.

In the event you don’t have sufficient storage, put money into a sideboard

After downsizing my wardrobe and making a capsule system, I may match all my garments in my closet. My grandmother’s dresser, which I’ve owned for 1,000,000 years, may then be moved from my bed room to the eating room for use as a sideboard. That’s the place I hold my kitchen towels, dinner napkins, and vases, in addition to smaller kitchen instruments like an immersion blender and hand mixer. I recognize that my grandmother is at all times with me, and now she’s serving to me to be a happier cook dinner.

In order for you an identical piece that may pull double responsibility, I extremely advocate visiting native thrift outlets that promote furnishings. I’ve discovered some nice items at Habitat ReStore and Goodwill. You may also rating wonderful offers on Fb Market and on-line public sale websites like CT Bids. In my quest to be a minimalist, I now solely purchase second-hand furnishings. Whereas it does take longer to seek out than a easy click on on a web site, it’s a lot inexpensive, extra solidly made, will last more, and better of all, gained’t be in a landfill 10 years from now.

Mount what you possibly can

I can not stress how a lot a wall- or ceiling-mounted pot rack will improve your kitchen setup. I’ve three shapes and sizes of saucepans, in addition to my mother’s previous cast-iron skillet (c. 1955), and so they all hold on my pot rack, which got here with the condominium. Eater staffers advocate these Ikea rails for a strong wall-mounted possibility or a pegboard for one thing fully customizable. Grabbing a pot or pan from the rack as an alternative of a cluttered cupboard not solely saves house, but in addition time and persistence. Along with a wall-mounted pot rack, I now have a magnetic knife holder over my range.

My final house wasn’t set as much as permit both of these things, so I’m actually having fun with these house savers. You might additionally use your wall house to hold a spice rack, mesh baggage of onions, potatoes, or garlic, and baskets and bins to carry kitchen instruments. By transferring issues up and fully out of my line of sight, my workspace feels open and arranged.

Now that I’ve shifted issues round, cooking is far more pleasurable. My counter can match my massive wood slicing board, a cookbook (or my cellphone) to observe a recipe, elements, a chef’s knife, and prep bowls. It’s a lot simpler to really feel relaxed, and assured within the kitchen when you will have extra room to maneuver. And, these emotions — greater than any stuff — are actually all you want.

Extra photograph illustration credit: Dutch oven by Amazon; knife strip by Williams Sonoma; mixer by KitchenAid; kitchen counter by Getty Pictures; air fryer by Cuisnart; different pictures by iStock

Amy Langrehr is a meals and way of life author primarily based in Baltimore. She writes on her weblog Allure Metropolis Cook dinner, and for Baltimore Fishbowl, Thrillist, and different publications.
Andrea D’Aquino is an illustrator and creator primarily based in New York Metropolis.