It can sound ridiculous that your kitchen also suffers from the problem of clutter. But if you look around and check patiently, you are bound to come across a couple of things you never used in your life. Or, it can be surprising that something was lying so frivolously in your cabinet, and it didn’t strike you. Whether you call it a habit or mistake, the thing is those unwanted items wasted your kitchen space. Somewhere, it also hampered your ability to be more efficient with your kitchen storage and organization. But as they say, it’s never too late. So, whether you are renovating your kitchen or doing a quick touchup, you will want to revisit all the items.
It can be a great decision if you can do that. However, how do you start with this? For this, you can figure out the must-have kitchen tools and appliances of all sizes and shapes. And the rest of the others will become dispensable for you. So, here is a small checklist of a few of them for a hint.
A Collection of Pots and Pans
Usually, people want to color coordinate everything to create a cohesive look in their cooking zone. But buying a set of cookware to ensure this can be overkill. You have multiple brands and offerings today. It would be best if you focused on variety to cover different cooking needs. Make sure you don’t pick anything low quality, though. Please get solid pans and pots. Anything with thin metal bodies will warp and dent soon. At the same time, it cannot cook your food correctly. Best induction cooktop reviews for you kitchen.
However, a good pan with a sturdy base and configuration can handle any temperature and provide your ingredients equal warmth. So, you have to pay attention to this. Besides, you can choose various sizes by your meal preparation requirements. For example, an 8-quart pot with a lid can be handy for making pasta, steamed vegetables, soups, and stews. On the other hand, it won’t be easy to manage an eight-liter utensil full of liquid without a proper handle. So, be careful about your choice. Are you worried about cleaning it? When you have a spacious sink and a trendy faucet to design with, there cannot be room for stress. These fixtures can make your job easy.
That aside, you can keep a 4-liter saucepan with a lid for similar tasks as the 8-quart one. It is just that you can cook less quantity of food in this. A two-quart saucepan with a cover can help you make rice, sauce, etc. You can resort to this to heat any leftover or canned food too. Some people love sauteed meats and veggies. For stir-frying, a non-stick skillet of about twelve inches with deep bottoms and rounded corners can be the right appliance. If you even have a smaller size skillet, don’t discard it. You can use it for eggs, omelets, and grilled sandwiches.
Turners, Mixers, and More
While modular kitchens let you organize them inside the cabinets, you can keep them within easy reach by storing them all in a large, wide-mouth container. It should fit in the countertop space. As per the choice of materials and shapes, experts suggest home cooks could lean on wooden cooking tools rather than metal or non-stick-based. The main reason for this can be the risk of damage to the surface. However, since you get excellent wooden spoon varieties for an affordable price in the market, you can have a couple of them.
If you prepare hot and cold liquids, you would need a slotted spoon for stirring and mixing. It can be plastic, wood, or stainless-steel material. For soup and stew, you can have a standard ladle with a half to one cup capacity. Rubber spatulas help you with turning and tossing; hence, it is an essential item. You also have to add a whisk for sauces and dressings. Tongs is another cooking tool that can save your fingers from facing the brunt of the fire or ice when you have to lift something.
Cutting and Chopping Tools
A good knife can go a long way in reducing your meal preparation time. Otherwise, you can struggle to cut fruits, veggies, meats, and others desirably. On the other hand, it can consume a lot of time and affect your fingers and muscles. Plus, you cannot discount the possibility of injuries. To avoid all the inconveniences, you need to invest in high-quality stainless-steel knives with proper grip and butts. Sharpness and blade design are other crucial considerations. Generally, a kitchen cannot be complete without a chef’s knife of about 8 to 10 inches, a paring knife of 4 to 6 inches, a knife with serrated or zig-zag blade edges for tomatoes and bread slicing, etc.
Since there has to be a strong base for cutting and chopping different veg and non-veg food items, you would want to add a cutting board. Some sink brands offer this tool for free. So, if you bought a new plumbing fixture, don’t miss checking on this. Besides, can opener, vegetable opener, grater, and kitchen shears are also important.
You can create a list of everything you have or don’t have in the kitchen like this. Then, if you have some extra items, you can discard them through a proper channel. For example, you can donate them to a thrift store. Or, consider throwing them in the trash if these have deteriorated. When you do this exercise, your kitchen will suddenly start looking spacious and decluttered. You may not immediately realize, but a sense of peace can also set in as soon as the ambiance becomes light and neat.
Reviewing all the stuff can seem to be a daunting task. But you can motivate yourself by saying that it just a one-time thing unless you get back to the old habits. Plus, it can reduce a lot of kitchen cleaning pressure from your mind because you don’t allow too many unnecessary things to stay there.