Oh, how I wish there were a manual for first-time on-your-owners. There probably is, but since you're here, I'll save you the trouble of looking for it. Here's the basics of what I wish I had known when creating my wedding registry/using wedding gift cards/agreeing to take other peoples' castoffs.
I'll do this two ways. One, for those who have never set up their own kitchen or are registering for a wedding, things like that. The other, for those who have established kitchens they wish to streamline.
You might want to read through both lists to see if any ideas apply to you.
For the new (or new-ish) homemaker:
1. Do NOT register for or purchase everything you think is cool or beautiful or you might possibly someday use. Preferably, try living with just what you already have kitchen-wise. Use your old college dishes and ask for giftcards to the stores you'd like to purchase from.
2. Think in terms of, what is the least I could get by with? Personally, I came to the marriage with TWO sets of china from my grandmother. I was also given a set of dishes (for which I did not register) at a shower. There was never any need to purchase more dishes than that.
3. Think about what kind of foods you like to eat or, more accurately, cook. Are you a gourmet chef? We have friends who love to cook new and exciting things, so for them, cooking really doubles as entertainment. They spend way more on groceries than we do and have way more gadgets. But they fully utilize all of that.
4. Place things in "zones". Dishes near the dishwasher for easy cleanup, pots and pans near the stove, etc. Of course keep all like things together.
That basically sums it up. Live with it before adding.
For the established homemaker:
Try to imagine you're moving into an RV for the next year to travel the world like you've always dreamed. And now...
1. Pull EVERYTHING out of your kitchen cabinets and drawers. Don't leave one single thing in them. Put it all on your dining table so you can really see how much you have. You may have to work in shifts to accomplish this - all upper cabinets, then go back and repeat the steps with lower cabinets, for example.
2. Sort by type. All dishes together, all cookware together, all trash in the trashcan.
3. How much of each do you really need? Really? If you are a family of three and never entertain, or only ever entertain up to 10 people, guess how many sets of silverware you need. No more than 10. Do this with every. single. category.
4. What do you rarely use that you could get by without? I hated seeing our microwave sitting out on the counter, so I decided to temporarily remove it (to the basement) to see if we could live without it. That was five years ago.
5. Seriously, go do the last two steps again, thoroughly. When you're done, begin putting things back into zones. Like items together.
6. Make sure you have room in your cabinets for things you used to keep on the counter. Clear counters are such a breath of fresh air. We keep out our dish soap, small compost bin (mainly to remind us to use it), utensil crock, and knife block. A bowl of fresh fruit usually lives either on the counter or kitchen table. Just try clearing off EVERYTHING and then only adding back what you find you reach for multiple times throughout each day.
7. Keep your counters and sink wiped down. Periodically you'll want to try the 100% clear counters trick, to ensure you haven't let too much creep back into sight.
Remember, it is both ok and desirable to use your best every day. I love using my china, even if it means we have to hand wash the dishes. Jake broke a plate a few months ago and felt so bad, but I assured him that my hardworking sharecropping great grandmother who probably saved up for over a year to purchase that set from her local grocery store - she would have been sickened to think of them just sitting around collecting dust. One getting broken means it was being loved.
Do you have any other ideas on how to set up a kitchen? Are you a kitchen minimalist or kitchen maximalist?
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