Best practical tips for a minimalist kitchen

I share the best practical tips for a minimalist kitchen that you could start right now.

What is in a minimalist kitchen?

Only keeping the appliances, tableware, bakeware, cookware, and anything else you use to prepare food in the kitchen, that you use most of the time.

And remove all of the unused and duplicate items from the kitchen.

Common misconceptions about a minimalist kitchen.

A minimalist kitchen is going to look weird.

If you took a tour of our current kitchen, I don’t think it looks weird. Other than the awkward avocado green countertops, that have been here since the 1970s. I think our kitchen looks simple, clutter-free, and easy to use.

clutter free kitchen countertops for a more simple to clean and manage kitchen

But if you are worried you can always add stuff back in as you go. I personally love a more simplified kitchen versus a busy, clutter-filled kitchen.

A minimalist kitchen is difficult to cook in.

Ever since reducing the total amount of unnecessary kitchen items, I am cooking and baking now more than ever.

Cooking and baking have become more enjoyable. I don’t have a bunch of stuff to move aside to get a hold of what I need.

Practical tips for a minimalist kitchen.

1. Declutter regularly.

The first tip is to make sure that you regularly declutter your kitchen from time to time. Keep the decluttering session short, maybe 5 minutes. You would be surprised at what can get accomplished in 5 minutes of decluttering.

Even three years into this journey, items still creep up into our kitchen from time to time. Every season I will do a quick declutter of our kitchen.

2. Remove duplicate utensils

open utensil draw with removed duplicates for a more minimalist kitchen

This second is to remove all duplicate utensils from the kitchen. This does two things.

1. Allows you to have more free space in your kitchen.

2. Prevents you from having too many dishes to clean up.

Before this minimalism journey, we had four different types and sized spatulas. If I was a professional baker or chef, I might need all of those. But I am a stay-at-home mom cook who only uses maybe one or two at any given time.

I decluttered the duplicates and kept only two: a large spatula and a small spatula.

Removing all the duplicate utensils allows you to have space in your cabinets to keep items off the counters.

3. Time-will-Tell bin for a minimalist kitchen

open bin with extra items from the kitchen

If you think while decluttering, what if I need this item back? Then use a “Time Will Tell” bin. It truly is magical.

As you are decluttering, place those “what-if “decluttered items in a Time-Will-Tell bin. This works really well with kitchen utensils. After a period of time, I say a month or so, if you don’t miss or need those items, donate them.

I like to keep our Time-Will-Tell bin in our garage for a while. This helps ease the stress and worry of, what if I need or miss an item. This will help you on your journey to a more simple, easy-to-manage kitchen.

4. Reduce small appliances

small immersion blender for a more minimal kitchen

Do you have a lot of small appliances that only get used periodically? If yes, then I recommend decluttering some of those smaller appliances.

For example, at one point we had the following: blender, immersion blender, and food processor.

I never used the food processor, too difficult to clean. I only used the blender once or twice a year. But I did use the immersion blender at least twice a week.

I decluttered the food processor and blender. My kitchen is so much easier to manage because I don’t have all of those extra appliances that rarely get used.

If you are someone who uses your blender all the time, then keep it. But if you rarely use it then donate it.

Only keeping the small appliance that you use and love on a regular basis helps you with a minimalist kitchen.

5. Clutter free counters

The next tip is about reducing the clutter that lives on top of the counters. Kitchens can become messy and fast.

The less you have out on the counters, then the easier they are to clean. Plus, visually your kitchen will look more put together.

Check out How to Reduce Visual Clutter for a Calm Home for ideas about visual clutter.

For a time I had so many small appliances out on the counter. I thought, “I use these appliances all the time. I need to have them out.” But in reality, most of those items were used either once or twice a day.

cluttered kitchen before adopting a minimalist kitchen

The picture above is of a previous home we lived in. The kitchen wasn’t “messy” but it was super cluttered. We had so many small appliances on the counters.

We had so many items inside the cabinets for “just in case.”

If I were to live in this kitchen again, I would only keep the microwave on the counter. Everything else, the coffee maker, toaster, standing mixer, and utensils, would have found a place inside the cabinets.

Once you declutter, you should have more space to store the counter clutter away. Then the counters will be clutter-free.

6. Do the dishes daily

wash and drying dishes for a minimalist kitchen

The last tip is to wash the dishes every day. I totally get it if you don’t like washing the dishes. My husband and I would allow our dishes to stack up several days at a time. I hated washing the dishes every day.

But I realized something important since starting this minimalist journey.

If I have a sink full of dishes then my kitchen is more likely to stress me out. Cooking becomes more challenging and less fun.

Get into the habit of washing (either in the dishwasher or hand washing) the dishes every day. This will help you have a minimalist kitchen.

Are you still feeling overwhelmed with decluttering for a minimalist kitchen?

I have a FREE guide to help you out. It goes through all of the questions I ask myself when decluttering the kitchen. All you need to do is sign up with your email.

Then wam bam! You get a printable of 10 decluttering questions to ask in your email.

Practical tips for a minimalist kitchen conclusion

Decluttering is hard. You are often confronted by past decisions. Feelings of regret, what if, and indecision can be hard to break through. But you can do this!

Your peace of mind and an easy-to-maintain kitchen are worth more than all of the extra stuff in your kitchen.

Look at decluttering as a muscle. The more you work at decluttering the stronger your “decluttering” muscles will become. I believe in you and YOU CAN DO THIS!