How to Downsize the Kitchen: An Achievable List of Necessities to Keep

Because I’m substantially downsizing, I decided to come up with what the basic “necessities” might be for each of my living areas. This week, we’re focusing on the kitchen.

Instead of focusing on what to declutter, I’ve been thinking in terms of what I absolutely “need” to keep.  I donated the rest.

Here are my top tips for downsizing kitchen stuff.

How To Downsize Kitchen

Downsizing your kitchen can feel like a breath of fresh air once you’re done. Here are some friendly tips to make it easy and stress-free:

1. Declutter Duplicate Items

Start by gathering all your kitchen gadgets, utensils, and tools. Do you really need four spatulas or three whisks? Keep your favorites, and donate or recycle the extras. Focus on keeping versatile items that can serve multiple purposes.

2. Streamline Your Appliances

Take a look at your small appliances. If you have gadgets you rarely use (looking at you, bread maker), consider donating or selling them. Ask yourself if you can get by with fewer appliances, like using a blender instead of a separate smoothie maker.

3. Minimize the Dishware

If you have a collection of mismatched plates, cups, and bowls, it’s time to simplify. Keep a set that serves your needs (and maybe a couple extras for guests), and let go of the rest. This will also make your cupboards look cleaner and more organized!

4. Tackle the Pantry

Go through your pantry and toss anything expired. For items you bought but never used, donate them if they’re still good. Then, try to keep your stock minimal and fresh, buying only what you actually use regularly.

5. One-in, One-out Rule

Moving forward, practice the “one-in, one-out” rule. If you bring in a new kitchen gadget or dish, let go of something similar. This helps keep your kitchen clutter-free over time.

6. Use Multi-Functional Kitchen Tools

Opt for multi-functional items like a chef’s knife that can handle most cutting tasks or a cast iron skillet that works for a variety of cooking methods. These tools help you cook just as effectively without needing a ton of extras.

7. Organize Thoughtfully & Utilize Storage Space

Once you’ve decluttered, organize what’s left in a way that’s functional. Store frequently used items within easy reach, and keep less-used items in harder-to-reach spots (or consider getting rid of them altogether).

8. Be Realistic About Entertaining

If you love hosting, you might feel like you need tons of extra dishware and gadgets. But if entertaining only happens once or twice a year, it may be more practical to borrow or rent what you need instead of storing it year-round.

9. Clear Counter Space

My favorite benefit of a decluttered kitchen is easily keeping the counters clear. You might store a few appliances on the counter, or you can have a spot in the cabinets and drawers for everything to live.

The slow cooker, coffee maker, garlic press, rice cooker, immersion blender, and even your kitchen towels can live out of sight to give your kitchen a feeling of peace and tranquility. 

10. Remember it’s YOUR kitchen.

If you want a minimalist kitchen without the straight-lined, bare-boned look, that’s totally achievable! It’s just about minimizing your belongings down to what you really love and use. You can strive for an aesthetic and still be minimal, even in a small kitchen.

By simplifying your kitchen, you’ll make cooking and cleaning a breeze, and the space will feel more open and enjoyable. Plus, it’s easier to maintain over time!

Here’s a list of what I kept post-downsizing my kitchen.

I have similar lists for what I’ll need in my small living room, bedroom, office area, bathroom, and closet/utility/storage area. (I’ll share those in upcoming posts.)

I’ll be in a 544 sq ft studio apartment (plus a very cool little enclosed front porch). The kitchen will include a full-sized sink and sink base cabinet, a dishwasher, an upper and lower corner cabinet, one 30” base cabinet, and one upper / one lower 15” cabinet. I’ll have a table with four chairs. 

Everything I mention below will fit into these spaces as I don’t really have other storage space for kitchen supplies.

I’ll have a microwave and an apartment-sized fridge. No range/oven.The list doesn’t include consumables (food, paper products, dish soap, etc.).  

Food Prep and Storage

• Cutting boards – one for meat – one for everything else
• Knives – chef, bread, utility, paring, steak
• Vegetable peeler
• Kitchen shears
• Grater
• Citrus juicer
• Mixer – manual, mine is the OXO Good Grips Egg Beater. It takes up so much less space than an electric mixer and does what I need it to do.
• Bowls – 2 glass. These will double as serving bowls – glass instead of metal because they’re more versatile (microwavable and oven-safe)
• Rubber/silicone spatula 
• Can/bottle opener
• Corkscrew
• Water filter pitcher – I use the Britta Elite, and some like others. A “gold standard” filter is Berkey or reverse osmosis. The need will vary based on the safety of your water supply.
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Food storage containers – 4 glass with lids and 4 silicone (I use Stasher Bags, there are other brands)
• Colander
• Ice cube trays
• Blender (or food processor)

Cooking

• Combo toaster oven/air fryer – mine is the Our Place Wonder Oven – it’s compact and multifunctional 
• Countertop 2-burner plugin cooktop
• Crock Pot 
• Skillets – one cast iron – one stainless steel with lid
• Saucepans with lids – 1 qt and 3 qt
• Soup pot/dutch oven/stock pot with lid – mine is 5 qt and enough for my needs.
• Metal spatula/turner
• Tongs
• Wooden / bamboo stirring spoon
• Coffee pot
• Tea kettle
• Oven/baking – pie pan and shield – loaf pan – 9×13 pan – Pyrex casserole dish and lid
• Oven mit/pot holders

Table Service

• Plates – 4 dinner and 4 lunch. I like Corelle as they take up less room and aren’t as breakable as others
• Bowls – 4 soup/salad, also Corelle 
• Glasses – 4 short, 4 taller and 2 silicone (non-breakable)
• Napkins – 8 (I use cloth)
• Placemats – 4
• Spoons/Forks/Knives – 8 of each
• Salt & pepper mills
• Vinegar and oil cruets
• Travel coffee flask/thermos
• Travel water bottle

Cleaning

• Trash can
• Recycling can
• Compost can
• Dish drainer or mat
• Dish cloths and towels
• Cleaning cloths (I use instead of paper towels) – about 10

Some of these items are individualized to me. Obviously, if you don’t drink coffee, you don’t need a coffee pot, and if you use paper napkins, you don’t need cloth ones. 

But you can look through the list and come up with your own essentials, so you know exactly what you can pare down to. And if you need an action plan for coming up with your own personalized list – here’s an article outlining the action plan.

Minimalist Kitchen Ideas

Natural textures

Natural textures give an organic feel to a minimalist kitchen, if you like that look.

Materials like linen, wood, and stoneware. Glass jars for pantry items, storage baskets, wooden spoons, and a big wooden cutting board for storage will also go well with this aesthetic.

Functional decor

To cut back on the amount of stuff in your kitchen, especially a smaller space, consider using your practical items as decor, such as hanging racks for herbs, oat jars, large pantry vegetables, copper pots and pans, ceramics or wooden cooking utensils.

Open shelving

I’m including open shelving not as a suggestion or a warning, but just a Heads Up.

Open shelving instead of traditional cabinets can be beautiful in an extremely minimalist kitchen, with quality pieces and intentional styling. If your cabinets only hold cute mixing bowls and some Mason jars, go forth.

BUT, if you’re on the less extreme side of minimalism, or if you opt for less aesthetic items, open shelving can become clunky and awful to look at.

So do it or don’t. Good tip, I know.

Simple, quality tools

Avoid single use gadgets! Using multi-functional cooking equipment can make all the difference for a minimalist kitchen.

Opt for high quality, sturdy, long-lasting, multi-functional, and maybe attractive-looking pieces to stock your kitchen with. It saves space and time.

“But those are super expensive–“

No, no, I’m hearing you. Here are some of my ideas on this, if you’re working with a budget:

• You don’t have to buy them all at once. Take your time looking for good pieces to replace and upgrade your current tools.
• Try eBay! You can buy brand new items for a fraction that they go for retail.
• Flea markets, antique shops, and thrift stores can offer incredible deals, but they will take a bit more time and work to find. If shopping isn’t your bag, go eBay.

Clear containers for storage

One underestimated form of clutter is labels. A barrage of tiny words and symbols can be “loud” in a minimalist kitchen. Using clear containers for kitchen storage makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, and cuts back on visual clutter.

This also applies to bathrooms. I remove the stickers from my shower supplies and my shelf looks SO much better that way.

Emphasize natural light

If you have windows in your kitchen, emphasize that natural light by using minimal window fixings and avoiding blocking the window with furniture.

Putting items like mirrors, anything made of chrome, glass, or other metals around your kitchen will reflect the light back and enhance the natural effect.

The Minimalist Kitchen

I hope this has inspired you to take another whack at clearing out your kitchen cabinets or store your appliances out of sight and off the counter!

What are your minimal kitchen necessities? Let me know in the comments!