If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I’m looking to gain serenity in my day-to-day life.

I’m looking to simplify things in order to save time and stress. So I naturally found my way to minimalism, towards which I’m leaning more and more.

In addition to having given me a passion for sorting (and the effects of that sorting!), minimalism allows me to ask myself questions about consumption and the objects I wish to have in my home.

OBJECTIVE: SIMPLE AND FUNCTIONAL
My goal is to minimize my possessions in order to :

• Gain in space
• Gain serenity
• Save time on tidying

The kitchen is typically a place overflowing with useless utensils. Practical gadgets we use twice a year, things we don’t know how to use or keep “in case we feel like doing something sophisticated”.

The aim of a minimalist kitchen is to be functional, with the bare essentials. A bit like renting a small vacation home. You have the bare essentials, and that simplifies a lot of things.

It’s also important to remember that what’s essential for one person isn’t necessarily essential for another. Everyone has their own way of cooking, too!

KEEP ONLY THE ESSENTIALS
The “norm” of what is ideal to keep varies from household to household, depending of course on the number of people living under your roof, but also on your habits (cooking, entertaining…).

1 – REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF CROCKERY
Is it really essential to have a set for 12 people in the home when there are 4 of us every day? In reality, the fewer dishes and utensils you have, the easier it is to tidy up, the more natural it is to wash up as you go along… and above all, when all the dishes are clean, the easier it is to store them.

There’s no point in having 36 mugs, for example (even though it’s so easy to collect them, because a mug is cool!) I’ve gradually learned to part with the mugs that had the least sentimental value, or simply didn’t bring me any joy (yes, some mugs do bring me joy).

The same goes for cutlery: let’s only keep the ones we like, there’s no need for too much of it, unless you’re a very frequent host.

2 – REDUCE THE NUMBER OF APPLIANCES
We can also go through the utensils we never use (or use very little), like that hand-cranked apple peeler, those different-sized cookie cutters we have no use for, that mini-crepe maker we only use once a year…

You can opt for one multi-functional appliance rather than several.
You can choose to do without a kettle (I’m keeping mine because it’s just too pretty…) and heat your water in a covered saucepan, which is just as quick.
You can even choose to do without your microwave and fall back on pots, pans and the oven.

All this to say that we can choose our kitchen utensils carefully, so that it’s not too cluttered, and have fewer and better things, for a better quality of life too.

3 – CHOOSE QUALITY EQUIPMENT
This also means choosing quality equipment. Obviously, it’s a bigger budget, so you can’t change everything overnight, but for me, the approach is there.

My coffee maker
It’s clearly a matter of taste, but I’ve swapped my electric filter coffee maker for a piston coffee maker. I find it much more practical, as it’s not electric, and much more ecological, as there are no filters (even though I’d switched to linen filters to avoid disposables).

And to top it all off, I really appreciate this kind of “slow” coffee, which you take the time to make. It suits me perfectly!

My cooking pot
I was finally able to change my pot, which I’d found at a flea market for a couple of bucks, into a kind of aluminum that doesn’t give you confidence. Every time I used it, I’d think, “I’m going to get cancer from this.”
Anyway, at last, a stainless steel version, heavier of course, but of much better quality.

My colander
This is a basic one, and yet I’ve never been satisfied with my colanders! I’ve tried many different models and they always ended up getting damaged or cracked. So I switched to the traditional colander (the one I had at my parents’ house!), which is unbreakable (and pretty).

4 – FIND ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC
Moving towards a minimalist kitchen also means doing away (little by little, or all at once if your budget allows) with plastic (bad for your health and for the planet) in favor of glass, bamboo, stainless steel… I’ve already replaced my plastic tupperware with glass tupperware, stopped buying straws a long time ago and bought a nice stainless steel straw for my son instead…and I’m thinking of replacing the two plastic children’s plates I have (I have two, they’re pretty but already so damaged) with bamboo plates.

My kitchen may never be 100% minimalist, let alone 100% zero waste, but every little gesture counts. Not only is it a gesture for the planet, it’s also a gesture for our well-being. Taking it one step at a time, as soon as you feel like it, is the best way to create lasting change.