Purging in the kitchen

We have more kitchen junk than some restaurants. We have so much that it is stored in the kitchen, laundry room, dining room buffet and in my bedroom closet. I finally decided that we need to get rid of some of it... but what? We use everything that we own.

I am going to spend tomorrow purging my kitchen, so I am talking myself in to getting rid of some things via telling you I am getting rid of them. If I say it out loud, in public, I will have to follow through, right?

So I have a plan. Normally when I declutter, I look at it, decide if I need it and if not, out it goes. For some reason, with kitchen stuff, I am apprehensive. Soooo... I am going to pack away everything that I think I won't need and see if I use it over the next few weeks. If not, out it goes. Things that are used regularly will get prime placement and things that are seasonally or rarely used (roaster, stock pot, etc) will be put on a shelf in my walk-in closet/pantry (more on that later.)

First, some things that will go to the grave with me -
1) Cutting boards - I have 6 but I am only keeping three. My giant wooden one, a plastic restaurant grade for meat and a small one for small jobs.

2) Good quality knife - Again, I have too many. A clever, 3 (!!) 12" Chef, 6" and 5" santoku, a santoku style paring knife, 2 other paring knives, a serrated bread... you get the idea. I am going to keep my 6" santoku, a 12" chef, 2 paring and a bread knife. Everything else is either going to the thrift store or into storage to replace the knives we have.

3) My mandoline

4) Cast iron pans - I have a 12" skillet, 9" skillet and 6qt dutch oven. All bought at either the thrift store or yard sales, pampered and loved.

5) Crockpot - I grew up in a house where the crockpot was used regularly, so I never knew that they weren't "in" anymore. Now that they are popular again, I can call my self a trailblazer.

6) Sheet trays (cookie sheets) and silicone liners - 1/2 sheet tray, restaurant quality. I used cheap (75¢ on clearance) too small trays for years, so you can imagine how giddy I was when Marty brought them home.

7) KitchenAid

8) Toaster, coffee pot, salad spinner and all that other crap the family would kill me if I got rid of.

9) A few baking items - My Pyrex set (9 x 13", 8 x 8" and loaf pan), muffin tins, cooling racks.

10) Mixing bowls - I currently have 8 (I know, I know) in various sizes. I am keeping 3.

11) Pizza stones - Have two Pampered Chef stones and 1 rack. The rack and first stone I paid full price for but the second one I got at the thrift store for $3. We make pizza almost weekly, so they are well used.

I have a blender, hand held blender, food processor, yogurt maker, ice cream maker, a crock full of tools, a drawer full of tools, a steamer, a nut chopper... so much stuff.

Some already on their way out-
I have already decided that the waffle iron and steamer can go out. We never make waffles any more (because I can't make them as fast as they eat them) and the only thing we use the steamer for is rice. I can make rice in a pan, or even in the crockpot if I want to just dump it in and forget about it. I am on the fence about the Hand held blender (wanted it forever, but only use it to make whipped cream) and blender (always thought you needed one, but really only use it to make smoothies - which we rarely do now.) I think I might keep the blender and ditch the stick blender.

Some things I am on the fence about -
The food processor - I love it. It is a Cuisinart ($8 at a yard sale) but is missing the thing to hold the blades up, so right now, the only thing I can use is the S blade. As a result, I use it only to make pizza dough (Tightwad Gazette recipe.) If I had the piece, I would probably use it more often... but I can't find the darn piece for sale anywhere. Ok... after all of that, I looked on the Cuisinart website and they have it for $10.50. I can't get their website to place my order, so I will call them tomorrow.

Everything else is fair game. I will update tomorrow with what stays, what goes, and what gets packed away to be brought back as needed.

I first heard about this method in Confessions of an Organized Homemaker: The Secrets of Uncluttering Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life but from what I understand, Alton Brown's book Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen talks about the same method. I have requested the book through ILL, so in 2020 when it gets here, I will let you know.

Picture by H is for Home via Flickr