A conversational YouTube interview (Heather Aardema with Mira Dessy) about making the kitchen less overwhelming by decluttering, keeping only regularly used tools and ingredients, and reframing cooking as a nourishing, joyful practice. Practical tips cover identifying primary/secondary storage, replacing ragged linens, removing broken or duplicate items, and checking spices for age (color/smell).
Chapters
All right, so let's, let's talk about the kitchen. It often can be a place of overwhelm. Well, not that the kitchen itself is overwhelming, but our thoughts about the kitchen are overwhelming. And so with so many products, the packaging, expired foods, mystery ingredients, what does, what does decluttering look like when we begin in the kitchen or a pantry?
Yeah, I think one of the best places to start is to figure out what's important to you. What are the things that you would use on a regular basis that you always want to make sure you have them and to figure out where you're going to store them. Like you said, there's so many things, not just food things, but kitchen implements and everything else I will share. For example, and there are going to be some people out there who are going to go, what? She's crazy. I love mine. I live with it. I do not have an air fryer. Neither do I. I don't want one. One, it takes up too much counter space. Two, I have yet to find one that I like that has. Is not lined with non stick coating, which is very unhealthy for us. And I gave up looking. And I thought, you know what? I have my instant pot. I have pots and pans. I'm good. I, I have a KitchenAid mixer. I have a food processor. But like, those are the things that I need that I use on a regular basis. It. It's. If you're someone who doesn't use an instant pot, who's not into slow cooking or pressure cooking, well, then don't get one. Just because it's hot and popular doesn't mean you need one, you know? And then the other thing is, when it comes to the food ingredients, to really make decisions about what we're accumulating, I do encourage people to take the time to go through their spice drawer at least once a year and see what's in there. Spices are wonderful. First of all, they're micronutrient powerhouses. They can provide a lot of nutrition for not a lot of volume. They add flavor to our food. They add complexity to a recipe. But if you bought that jar of asafoetida five years ago for a particular dish and you never used it again, first of all, it's probably not good anymore. And secondly, why are you keeping it, like, only use the things that you really are going to go through on a regular basis and that you're going to enjoy using.
Can spices go bad?
Yes, actually, they can. So it's not that they go bad. They're not going to be harmful to you. But they get old. So one good way to tell is to look at the color. A lot of them tend to be stored in clear glass jars. And if they're in the light, you can tell. You can take for example, a fresh jar of oregano and a two year old jar of oregano. And look at them and they're different colors because they've oxidized and the light has bleached them out. You can also smell them. You know, our nose is so powerful and if it doesn't smell as potent, it's not. We've been taught by culture and society that time in the kitchen, like such a chore. What a waste. But you know what? Think about it. If we have the time to spend in there, there is just so much that we can do to nourish our body on different levels by learning to reclaim that. And look, I'm not gonna say that every moment I spend in the kitchen is blissed out and wonderful. There are days when I', oh crap, I forgot to make dinner. Like, what are we doing? Or there are times when it's like, oh my gosh, this is gonna take longer than I thought. We're gonna eat late. You know, I like to try to plan. Sometimes life gets in the way. But really the majority of the time, if our focus is this is something that we get to do, that is a way to show love and nourishment for ourselves and those we love. Like, how amazing is that?
I love that reframe, you know, instead of, oh, I have to cook, I have to cook. I don't want to cook. I love that reframe. Of reminding ourselves, hey, this is, this is something that we get to do. As you said, it's a privilege. It's a privilege to be able to go into the kitchen and to be able to make something and to actually be so present with the experience that it actually, like, here's what I'll say. Every evening I ask my kids over the three best things that happened today or three things that made you feel light. They cook as well. They're making a meal a week. Oh, my gosh. Something that my parents did with me, but we are doing it in a totally different way. And we have a dishwasher that works. My kids will always say if they had made a meal that day, that is always one of the best things, they're proud of it. My younger son knows how to make sushi. It's so fun. He delights in it. And so they like that intentional time in the kitchen. And I'm not just like, see you later, good luck. I'm in there with them. We're chit chatting, we're having fun. It's. It's really a special experience.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It really is. And, you know, I think the other thing that is amazing is when we learn how to do this and learn how to feed ourselves, we are less likely to. It doesn't mean that you're ne. It's never going to happen, but we are less likely to reach for things that are not going to nourish our body. And so we are less likely to create body clutter because we're eating crappy food.
And so what I want to know, mira, I want to know about the hidden clutter culprits that you see in the kitchens that you go into that are working against our health or our health goals.
Well, I will share one of the biggest things that I see, and I still learn how to do this. Like, every now and then, I look at my space and decide if it needs to be rearranged. We're so used to thinking that this cabinet must be for this because it makes most sense to put it there. But does it really? So I have a friend who is a professional organizer, and she taught me about primary, secondary, and tertiary space. So primary is what you use the most. And if you are not using your KitchenAid mixer the most, why is it taking up space on your counter? Put it down below, drag it out when you need it. If you use it all the time, that's where it lives. My Vitamix, for example, lives on my counter because I use it sometimes multiple times a day. So learning how often you use things and where they go. Another huge clutter thing. I don't know why. Once we own something, we have to hang on to it. And I am guilty of this. That's why every January, I have my top 15 declutter tips for January for everybody's kitchen. Because we have things like ratty kitchen towels. I'm sorry. You deserve new kitchen towels. If they're that bad. You just do. And they're not that expensive. Old oven mitts that don't work anymore, Broken lids. You can buy a new lid. Yes, that lid matched that pot. But so I have. For example, I have a crock pot that my mother got for me when I went to college. And trust me, College was over 40 years ago. I still have it, it still works great. But the lid broke when I called Rival, the maker of the crock pot to get a new lid. They were like, that is so old, we don't even have that model number on record anymore. So I found a different lid that worked. Is it the perfect lid that looked exactly like the old one? No. But guess what? It works. It fits. That's all that matters. So getting rid of broken things and then the other is going through because we tend to duplicate. And maybe it's not every year. Maybe it's every two years or every three years. And all of a sudden, you discover you've got four potato peelers. I don't happen to think anybody needs more than 2 and 2 only because chances are, if you're lucky, somebody will come and help you peel potatoes. But, I mean, you don't need four. If you have multiples of a lot of different things, that creates clutter. And chances are, no matter how many you have, you have a favorite. So use that.
Yeah, you're getting. Use your favorite anyway. And so the other is just taking up space. You mentioned the towels and. Come on. Or that. Yeah, just all the different towels. And we deserve new ones every year. And if anybody's thinking like, oh, that sounds wasteful. Listen, those towels can become rags, and you can use them somewhere else in your house or with a different purpose. It doesn't mean just tossing them out. It just means.
Right. Not using them in the kitchen. Right.
Exactly. And, yeah, like, have things that make you feel light. And I think just like, sometimes getting a new workout outfit makes me feel like I'm. I'm working out even better or even stronger. Having things in your kitchen, the kitchen towels, the washcloths and so forth. Have ones that you like. You'll want to be in there more if you like what you see.
Absolutely. The other thing is, it takes up space, you know, so you've got a drawer that when you open it, things come popping out. And then you have to spend time putting it all back together. Like, just figure out what fits and do that.
