From cooking to post-dinner cleanup, our kitchens can have us feeling overwhelmed. It’s no secret that our stress is rooted in the fact that this area requires constant upkeep for it to be a functional and livable space (requiring, sometimes, more than one cleaning session a day).
From psychological research, along with our own experiences, what we found is that clutter is often a culprit of anxiety, which can keep us from being productive or feeling at ease. We think it’s time to take after Henry David Thoreau and “simplify, simplify, simplify.”
A key thing to keep in mind as you simplify your kitchen is to abide by minimalist principles. A simple kitchen design starts with decluttered counters, little (if any) décor, and a flush-inset appliance package.
So, without further ado, let us help you attain peace of mind by checking out these 5 ways to simplify your kitchen!
1. Invest in multifunctional kitchen appliances
For our first decluttering tip, we turn to the elements that take up the most space. The real MVPs in the kitchen, our appliances are not up for much negotiation—other than the sheer number of them. To maximize your counterspace, we suggest opting for multifunctional, yet simple, kitchen appliances.
How about a wall oven with a built-in rotisserie? Or instead of having an electric kettle and coffee machine, what about a 2-in-1 espresso maker that can also dole out tea?
Similarly, the Frigidaire Gallery 29.88" Stainless Steel Free Standing Gas Range with Air Fry (FGGH3047VF) prevents kitchen-counter clutter and saves you cabinet space. The days of taking out, uncoiling, plugging, unplugging, and putting away your air fryer are gone (as are the days of mopping up oil splatters). With just the touch of a button, this Frigidaire gas range will have mouthwatering chicken wings out in just minutes.
2. Avoid hoarding spares
Many of us are guilty of keeping a sizable collection of coffee mugs. We even venture to say you also have several dish rags lying about as well as numerous spatulas and possibly an extra set of oven mitts. It’s as if we’re stocking a kitchen for a family of ten when there are only a handful of us. But have we ever asked ourselves why we do this?
Since kitchen items are perceived as useful, we struggle to rid ourselves of them; however, if we took the time to audit our kitchen accessories, cutlery, drinkware, and cooking utensils, odds are, we’ll find ourselves eager to purge several of them.
Not only will downsizing dishware free up cabinet and drawer space for a minimalist aesthetic, but it will enable us to put our dishwashers to work more often instead of letting stacks of plates, bowls, cups, and silverware pile up in our sinks. How’s that for decluttering?
3. Use storage containers!
Speaking of spare items, we’ve probably found ourselves with several iterations of the same ingredient at one time or another, whether it’s two bottles of canola oil, three containers of pink Himalayan salt, or several loaves of sandwich bread. Frankly, this all-too-familiar scenario is a product of not positioning our foods so that we can see what we have.
A simple solution that is just as easy on the eyes is storing foods in clear containers. Unboxing certain grains—including cereal, rice, pasta, and oatmeal—as well as nuts, seeds, and legumes and pouring them into discrete receptacles will save space (goodbye, bulky cardboard!) and allow you to clearly see what you have so that you can avoid shopping for duplicates.
Bagged items like bread and snacks can be arranged in trays while flour and sugars can be poured in large glass jars. For spices, we recommend investing in a rack so that the labels are clearly displayed.
You may choose to go the extra mile by labeling these packaged foods in your pantry and cupboard, and we wouldn’t skip our under-the-sink cleaning products (which we should also streamline as much as possible for the same reasons).
4. Be strategic about cookware and dishware storage
An obvious way to declutter kitchen cabinets and cupboards is organizing them so that they reflect which items you use the most often—and establish a more eye-pleasing configuration in the process. In other words, you can simplify your kitchen by distributing your lesser-used items efficiently.
It comes down to figuring out a balance between accounting for item usage and mass. Special-occasion items can be stored on harder-to-reach shelves while items that you use more often, like your dishes and cups, are within an arm’s reach. That being said, avoid storing heavier items, like a glass serving platter or a ceramic pitcher, toward the top of the case so that you don’t fear them toppling over whenever you reach for them.
5. Hang up cookware and cooking utensils
Lastly, we recommend investing in a pots and pans organizer that you can hang up in your kitchen. We’ll admit, it’s difficult to keep the cookware and bakeware cabinets and drawers from looking untidy, which is why we recommend taking them out of hidden storage spaces altogether.
Where you hang your cookware is up to you—whether you decide to create a focal point above your kitchen island or dangle them next to your range hood.
You could also choose to do the same for your cooking utensils, baking trays, and cutting boards! For smaller utensils and accessories, you can suspend them on the wall next to your cooktop for easy access, and for even smaller items, like measuring spoons and cups, you can hang them on the inside of your cabinet with the baking ingredients.
As you work hard to simplify your kitchen, don’t forget to catch your breath. And when it comes to finding the best kitchen appliances, don’t forget to check out our catalog! Spencer’s TV & Appliance is proud to help you streamline your kitchen operations for comfy living. Call or visit us today!