It can be quite easy for the kitchen to descend into chaos after cooking, but clutter should never be permanent. That said, rainy days, busy schedules, and your mental load can make clearing away things as they're used or when they meet their use-by dates a difficult task. As a result, some items become common culprits of everyday clutter build-up.
One thing's for certain, there are particular items you'll rarely see inside minimalist kitchens. For minimalists, life is all about living well with less, so allowing things to lie around and outstay their welcome is out of the question. In fact, some regular day-to-day items never stick around longer than a day. To find out what those are we spoke to professional organizers and minimalist design experts, and here's what they had to say.
1. Broken Kitchen Tools
Besides reducing visual clutter, minimalists won't keep anything that doesn't serve them. And, naturally, broken cookware falls firmly in that category. Lucy Wahl, founder of professional organizing company LMW Edits, stresses a regular audit of your kitchen items in search of broken items, even if you'd still pass them as "usable". This helps to purge and organize your kitchen, helping you stay on top of your stuff.
“It's not just an aesthetic decision. It's a safety decision," she says. “If something is glass or ceramic, if it's broken, it can cut you. If something has a Teflon coating and it's scratched, once it's scratched, that can disintegrate into your food, and we should not be eating Teflon. If there are cracks in wood, like a wooden spatula or spoon, bacteria can build up inside those cracks.” Throwing out these items can make way for fewer tools that work more efficiently, allowing for more space in the kitchen and a more clutter-free countertop.
Price: $24.99
Material: Bamboo
A drawer organizer like this one will help you keep on top of your kitchen utensils, and there's no space for broken or unusable items with this streamlined storage option.
2. Excessive Cups and Dishes
We're all guilty of letting our dishes build-up, whether that's clean or dirty ones, but minimalists will always stay on top of the evergrowing pile and put things away as soon as possible. It might sound obvious, but washing things up as you go and putting them away as soon as they're dry will make for a streamlined kitchen space, and it's one of the best ways to effortlessly reduce visual clutter.
The same goes for growing collections of unnecessary items, too. Do you have 10 mugs for a two-person household, or way too many pans to even fit them in your cabinets? You won't ever see overspilling collections like this in a minimalist's home, and certainly not for more than a day.
Cate St Hill, founder of her eponymous minimalist interior design firm, says that it’s worth looking at what pieces you return to and what pieces collect dust. “I like to look through things every now and again and see, have I used it in the last six months? Did I miss it? Did I think about it?” she says. “If you're being ruthless, put a basket somewhere, and every week take one item from one room and put it in there, which you're eventually going to take to the charity shop.”
Lucy Wahl stresses that making decisions “as soon as it comes in the door” is essential. "Otherwise, it sits on a kitchen counter for a while and becomes part of the furniture," she says.
Price: $54.99
Material: Wood
If your mug collection is growing out of hand, a display rack like this one is a great way to cut down to only what you need. They'll also be easy to access and contribute to your kitchen decor, too.
3. Out of Date Food
Minimalists are organized people, so they certainly won't let hoards of old food rot away at the back of a cabinet. To live like a true minimalist, never let food past its use-by-date hang around for longer than a day (and reconsider how much you're buying, too).
"Commonly throwing away out-of-date food is telling you you're not eating it at the speed that you're buying it," says Lucy, who stresses that the same goes for items nearing their use-by date, too. "You're probably not going to eat it before it truly expires.” Taking note of this can make your grocery trips more effective too.
A great way to stay on top of your food, especially if you decant it into storage containers, is by using a label maker like this one from Amazon. Not only will it make your kitchen storage ideas super organized, but you can write clear use-by dates on them, too, so you'll never miss them.
Price: $32.99
Quantity: 6
Decanting your dry food into uniform jars won't only make your pantry oh-so-satisfying, but it gives you the chance to stay on top of older food (don't forget to restock with older food at the top!)
4. Food Containers
Are you the type to hang onto takeaway containers? Or maybe there's something about a specific brand that makes you retain their tins or packaging as a keepsake. Well, these aren't things you'll find in a minimalist's kitchen. Whilst items like old cookie jars or vintage soup tins can add a nostalgic feel to the kitchen, takeaway packaging may not contribute to the vibe in the same way.
“If you've got enough food storage containers of any type, you don't need more,” says Lucy. Where possible, she recommends recycling or throwing away takeaway containers and cutlery immediately. “So many of my clients even have a giant drawer full of takeout chopsticks."
With these expert tips, your kitchen will be a streamlined space that sparks joy.
Price: $16
Color: Dark Turquoise
If you hate the site of plastic cartons, these decorative ceramic options are a great choice for a fridge. What's more, they're a great alternative to those old containers you decant your leftovers into (just add some foil on top to keep your food fresh).
