I used to describe our kitchen as the smallest kitchen in the whole world, but then I saw a picture in a design magazine of a kitchen entirely contained--sink and all--in a closet maybe 30 inches wide, and I had to amend my claim to second smallest.
Just how small is the Second Smallest Kitchen in the Whole World? Let's see: I've had cubes with more counter space. In terms of storage space, my kitchen has exactly 13 cabinets; four of them are all of 9" wide. One is only 6" wide! One of the three decent-sized, double-door cabinets is under the sink. The rest of the double-door cabinets are truncated in height to accommodate the microwave, the sink light, or the refrigerator.
When you have the Second Smallest Kitchen in the Whole World, you have no choice but to be brutal when it comes to editing your belongings. Before we moved to our place, I gave away perhaps 20 huge boxes of appliances, dishes, cutlery, and glasses, novelty items and baking supplies, many of which I actually used but decided I could live without. I've found that we haven't missed anything much, and the result is that after some initial tweaking, we've had very little additional culling to do since. Because there's room enough for the supplies we have, things stay pretty much under control. There's even (a little) room for a few more things, should we find something that really strikes us.
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the lack of space in your own kitchen, the first step is to assess what you have and consider what you really use and need. You might be surprised by the sheer volume of stuff you'd do better by doing without.
Here's my list of the things--perhaps some of them surprising--we found we didn't need.
- Toaster: we use the oven’s broiler instead.
- Coffee Maker: it takes up room on the counter, and I find brewed coffee inferior to coffee made with a French Press.
- Electric Popcorn Popper: if we want popcorn, we fry it on the stove top, just like Mom used to do.
- Kitchen Aid: in my opinion, a total waste of space and money. The only thing I’d use a Kitchen Aid for is to knead dough, which I’d just as soon do by hand, anyway.
- George Foreman Grill: everything about this invention grosses me out. No offense, George.
- Hand Mixer: I can beat eggs or whip cream with a whisk, or use use a wooden spoon for batter.
- Large Food Processor with all the attachments: see Hand Mixers and Kitchen Aid, above.
- Electric Can Opener: takes up room, and even it it’s mounted under a cabinet, isn’t it kinda grody?
- Vegetable Peeler: the blades dull, and it’s just as easy to use a small knife.
- Electric Knife: this one isn’t so surprising. What exactly is the point of an electric knife? Does slicing a roast really take that much energy?
- Bagel Slicer: I have a friend who LOVES her bagel slicer. I just don’t get it.
- Pastry Cutter: I use a small food processor for making pastry dough. It's bigger than a pastry cutter, but it has more uses.
- Electric Juicer: I just use a small manual one.
- Electric Frying Pan: another “what exactly is the point of this?” invention.
- Cast Iron Skillet: I don’t get the whole cast-iron thing. Weighs a ton and you’re not supposed to clean it? Ever???
- Electric Crepe Pan: a regular frying pan makes better crepes.
- Food Dehydrator: bought with the intention of making my own trail mix. Never mind that I don't particularly like trail mix, and had no intention of ever eating any.
On its way out: