Kitchens tend to become cluttered very quickly, from overflowing pantries to drawers filled with hundreds of different gadgets and tools. Some people live in a space with a tiny kitchen, some prefer a minimalistic style in their homes, and others feel like they have too much clutter lingering in their kitchen. Whatever your reason is for wanting a minimal, decluttered kitchen with only the absolute necessities, this article is here to help. Let’s dive right in.

Go-to Cookware Products

● Non-stick pan

A small, non-stick pan is handy, especially for preparing breakfast or lunch, and clean-up is a breeze. These pans aren’t favored by professional chefs, who instead prefer pans that aren’t coated in Teflon, but they are great for the everyday home cook.

● 1.5 or 3-quart sauce pot

Boiling eggs, whipping up sauces, melting chocolate — there’s a diverse range of preparations you can do with a small sauce pot or saucepan.

● Stockpot

You will find the need for a stockpot more often than not, especially if you cook lots of soup, chowder, or broth at home. If you don’t prepare any of the above at all,  you can get away with not having a stockpot.

● Frying or cast iron pan

A single sturdy and reliable frying pan are all you need to prepare delicious meals regularly. Keep one high-quality, aluminum, carbon steel, or cast iron pan of your choice.

● Baking sheet

If you have an oven, then keeping 1-2 baking sheets is sufficient. You can even have just one sheet pan and one casserole dish if you prepare deep-dish recipes often. The best part is that these can be stored directly in your oven. If you don’t have an oven, then you likely don’t need these products at all.

Kitchen Utensil Must-haves

Aside from cookware, kitchen utensils are essential to help produce a diverse range of dishes, but they also produce the most clutter. Narrow it down to the essentials:

● Pair of tongs

Perfect for grabbing, turning, and moving food around on a pan or grill without impaling it with a sharp knife or fork. Keeps your hands away from sizzling oil and hot pans while allowing you to evenly cook ingredients.

● Spatula and flipper

Tongs are great for moving food around, but not as much for flipping things like eggs, patties, or pancakes. A single flipper or spatula will suffice to meet your everyday needs for flipping food on a pan or griddle.

● Colander

Having some sort of device to help clean your vegetables and fruit is necessary, and most people prefer a colander as a perfect fit for the task.

● Mixing bowl

One mixing bowl is entirely enough unless you’re an avid baker. When it’s not in use, you can store your other baking utensils inside it for easy and space-saving storage.

● Measuring cups and spoons

For baking, precise measurements are a necessity. For that reason, you need to keep these handy if you prepare baked goods often.

● Knives

Knives are paramount in the kitchen but contrary to popular belief, you don’t need too many of them. Having a few sharp blades dedicated to specific tasks is better than dozens of random ones. Invest in a good Chef’s knife and butcher knife instead.

● Cutting board

You may be inclined to stock up on cutting boards, both for practical use and for aesthetics, but they can easily clutter up your cupboards. Keep one for fresh produce and a separate one for meat and fish. That’s all you need! Toss out the ones that have a lot of scratch marks from wear and tear.

● Grater and zester

A box grater with anywhere from 4-6 sides can replace all the individual little graters that you have cluttering the drawer. Most also come with a side for zesting, which means you won’t need to get a separate zester either. It’s an all-in-one solution that can save you space.

Tips for a Decluttered Kitchen

Here are a few extra tips to help achieve a minimalist kitchen, equipped with the essentials:

● If you haven’t used a kitchen tool or gadget at least once in the past year, you can probably go without it. Tools dedicated to specific or a very narrow range of tasks in the kitchen can cause your drawers and cabinets to overflow before you know it.

● Invest in fewer but high-quality kitchen products instead of a lot of low-cost ones. You will get so much use out of one product that you won’t need to buy a replacement for years to come! This is especially true for cookware and knives. For kitchen utensils, consider Cuisipro Kitchenware for an array of high-quality products.

● If you have a duplicate of a certain item, consider if only one will suffice and let go of the rest. There are very few items that everyday home cooks need duplicates of in their kitchen. For the most part, cookware and knives are the only items you need several of.

● Don’t forget to declutter and organize your kitchen appliances as well. Store away the appliances you use the least in your cupboards or give them away to someone else if you don’t use them entirely.

● Tupperware, plates, cups, and all things storage or serving galore can fill up your drawers in record time. Go through your drawers every few months and toss out stained Tupperware, containers that have lost their lids, chipped mugs or plates, and anything else that is taking up unnecessary space that could be put to better use.

Handy Checklist of Essentials

To sum up, here is your go-to checklist of kitchen essentials that includes everything we covered above. Keep this at hand’s reach as you declutter your kitchen or go shopping:

1. A non-stick frying pan

2. 1.5 or 3-quart sauce pot

3. Stockpot

4. Baking sheet (optional if you don’t have an oven)

5. Casserole dish (optional if you don’t have an oven)

6. Pair of tongs

7. Spatula and flipper

8. Colander

9. Mixing bowl

10. Measuring cups and spoons

11. Kitchen scissors

12. Knife Set (Chef’s knife, butcher knife, paring knife, bread knife)

13. Cutting boards (separate for meat and produce)

14. Box grater

15. Zester

Happy decluttering and cooking!