The kitchen is one area of my house that I don’t feel is particularly minimal. But minimalism isn’t meant to define our spaces, minimalism is a way of evaluating the items in our homes so our home can function for us the way we need it to.
In our case, we have a big family and we eat real food.
We have six children, the older three are out on their own but the two that live nearby come over at least once a week to share a meal with us.
On a daily basis, we have just five of us now, but my kids eat a LOT.
I enjoy baking bread, experimenting with pastry, yeasted bread and traditional sourdough.
So as we take an in-depth look inside our kitchen cupboards and drawers, know that these items were picked out with intention, based on how we live and what is important to our family.
General look around the kitchen
The “messy” counter
You can see in the image below that we have things on the counter. We tend to leave our supplements out, but I am working on an organization system so they will be more out of the way.
Regardless, that counter tends to be the messy one through the day as we leave cups and water bottles there to use throughout the day.
First, let’s check out these cupboards here:
Top: Cake pans, pie pans. Middle: Ramakins, tea pot, loose medicinal teas. Bottom: 8 bowls, 10 salad plates, 8 large platesTop: blender top, gallon jars for raw milk. Middle: Blender base & accessories, suction cup grater. Bottom: glassware.Coffee/Tea drawer: Coffee beans, containers for tea, coffee grinder, extra mugs/travel mug, flavored loose leaf teas. Left: air Fryer is stored in bottom cupboard. Right: is what is behind the air fryer. (Lids for mixing bowls, dutch oven, 4 loaf pans, three 9×13 pans, ice cube trays.Misc. cupboard: Potatoes, paper towels, large lidded fryer, waffle iron, cleaning rags, essential oil diffusers.
The main work area
I try to keep these counters clear through the day as they are my main work areas.
But let’s look inside the cupboards around the main sink.
My main work areas“Junk Drawer” (Utility drawer near the back door): scissors, tape, pens, markers, garage door opener & key.Baking: 3 aluminum baking sheets, 3 stone baking sheets, 4 cooling racksUnder main sink.
Right: Dish soap, (affiliate link) Dropps dishwasher detergent (Use code NM25 for 25% off for new customers), containder of infrequently-used utensils.
Drawer to the right of dishwasher: Measuring cups, measuring spoons, wooden block glued in place as seperator, immersion blender.Most frequently used pots & pans: one 4-quart, two 2-quart. We don’t have a microwave in the kitchen, so most of our reheating is done with the small pots.Trunk: the idea was to have a window seat, but it is not strong enough. This trunk came from my great-uncle and was used to travel.Inside trunk: dog food, and baking supplies. I was storing bird seed here as well, but a commenter on YouTube let me know that birdseed can have bugs that could get into my baking supplies.
Corner cupboard
Top: serving dishes (3) Middle: space for extra jars, mortar & pestle. Bottom: popcorn, extra jars, devotional books: My Utmost for His Highest, Truth For Life, Talking With Your Kids About Jesus.Misc. drawer: chargers, cat brush, manuals for recently purchased appliances (will be tossed as soon as I’m comfortable with the appliance) stamps, checkbook, essential oils.Top L-R: electric knife, cake decorating kit, bundt pan. Bottom L-R: Juicer, Bosch Universal Plus bread mixer.
The Hutch
Just to the left of the hutch is our laundry closet with stackable washer & dryer
Top shelf L – R: 4 stainless steel mixing bowls, various sizes, 2 large stock pots.
Utensil darwer: a small basket for “short” items, then the longer utensils on the right. Jars in the back: salt, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, sugar.Food storage drawer: 2 thermas, plastic silverware to go with them, approximately 10 containers, various sizes.Top drawer, right of stove: “flat” utensils, oven mitts, crepe tool.Spice drawer. Most used spices toward the front.Parchment paper, tin foil, ziplock bags, resuable straws.
Art & things
I enjoy painting, so most of the artwork is mine. The red/orange painting says “Eat”A flower painted on repurposed wood.Another one of my paintings above the bathroom door.The birds above the sink were a gift: each color representing a child. And yes, I have a Dala horse, my mother is Swedish.
Hi there! Iām Rachel Jones, and I founded Nourishing Minimalism in 2012 at the beginning of my minimalist journey after I'd been doing a yearly decluttering challenge for 4 years and started to see a change in my home. If you're looking for encouragement in your journey, please join our FREE Facebook Group: Nourishing Minimalism Facebook Group
This looks beautiful and serene š I absolutely love the birds and plants behind the sink.
And I loved this post!
Minimalism is different for everyone. It’s not about having nothing or depriving ourselves. It’s about deciding carefully and intentionally about what we acquire.
It’s also about environmental stewardship. Endless consumption of stuff we don’t need harms the environment every step of the way.
Ok now how do you do about the same thing in a kitchen half that sized? ugh nice to have that large closet. What do you do if you dont have that and no island and half the floor space? I have a 8x 8 eating area but have to have a walk through in the middle of it to get to the washer dryer. I hate the layout of my house. Never pick a floor plan by closing your eyes and just picking one.
This looks beautiful and serene š I absolutely love the birds and plants behind the sink.
And I loved this post!
Minimalism is different for everyone. It’s not about having nothing or depriving ourselves. It’s about deciding carefully and intentionally about what we acquire.
It’s also about environmental stewardship. Endless consumption of stuff we don’t need harms the environment every step of the way.
Ok now how do you do about the same thing in a kitchen half that sized? ugh nice to have that large closet. What do you do if you dont have that and no island and half the floor space? I have a 8x 8 eating area but have to have a walk through in the middle of it to get to the washer dryer. I hate the layout of my house. Never pick a floor plan by closing your eyes and just picking one.