We’ve hit some kind of tipping point with our house at the moment. It’s just too cluttered. I’ve never been one for minimalism, as much as I’d like to be – I’m too sentimental and I like that our home reflects us and the character of our family. But it’s gone too far. Our home isn’t very big and there’s not much natural storage (we don’t even have an under the stairs cupboard, which leaves me completely stumped as to where to store our vacuum!). Something has got to be done, and I’m starting with the kitchen.
Yeah, it’s a bit of an eye-sore, right? This is pretty much what it looks like most of the time. Maybe not with an empty bottle of wine these days as LPD and I are really on the healthy eating bandwagon at the moment… but still – this is a familiar view. My kitchen (or indeed, my whole house) is nowhere near #Instagoals status.
Chronic Hoarders
In our last flat, our kitchen was tiny. Miniscule. With hardly any storage space. We had to box a lot up and keep only the bare essentials. In hindsight, the best thing to have done then was to chuck away the bits and pieces we didn’t have room for… but no. We kept them. We wrapped them up, stored them in the loft, and it felt like Christmas had come early when we moved into our bigger kitchen and I could finally let my million ceramic dishes and random utensils see the light of day.
I had visions of all the amazing kitchen creations I was going to whizz up now I had all the tools to hand, but I can’t really say I’ve used any of them. I’ve not used my ice cream maker in years. We never get the juicer out. And even though I thought the hand blender would come in useful with a baby around – we did baby led weaning and so it’s not been touched.
My Kitchen Inspiration
In an effort to get myself motivated, I’ve been taking inspiration from some of the beautiful kitchens I’ve been spending time in. We recently spent a weekend with my cousins down near Portsmouth and they both had the most wonderful kitchens! There was just so much to love about them both, but I’ve also been looking to some of my blogging friends’ houses too, which always look so pristine and clutter-free. They’re all giving me a much needed kick up the backside to whip ours into shape and I thought I’d share some of them with you too.
Donna’s Kitchen Extension
Photo Credit: Donna, from What the Redhead Said – used with permission.
Now, there is just so much to love about Donna’s extension kitchen! I love that all the appliances are integrated, giving the kitchen a really sleek, cohesive look. It’s spacious and inviting, and look at all the light coming from the folding doors. Granted, she probably does have much more storage space than us to hide away all her kitchen equipment, but I’ve seen the inside of her cupboards (not a euphemism) and they’re pretty special too. I mean, just LOOK at her larder. It’s a thing of beauty.
Photo Credit: Donna, from What the Redhead Said – used with permission.
Lee and Hilary’s Kitchen
Everytime I see my fellow Johsnon’s Baby Ambassadors Lee and Hilary’s kitchen on their Instagram Stories, I instantly want to be transported to Scotland.
And from what I’ve seen, it seems to look this pristine ALL THE TIME. I am in genuine awe of people who live like this. I used to think nobody did, and everyone else just does massive super clean-up operations when they have guests coming over like we do… but I’ve since realised that being tidy is the norm for most people. And that it is possible. I’m going to have to speak to them both at our next Johnson’s meet up and ask for their tips on how they keep their home so gorgeously clean and tidy. This is seriously what I aspire to.
Anna’s Kitchen
And I can’t talk kitchens without mentioning Anna’s beautiful kitchen too. Imagine coming home to this at the end of the working day? Her blog Blossoming Birds is all kinds of pretty, and a great source for both fashion and interiors inspiration.
It’s that beautiful, that it’s even featured in some interiors magazines. Just stunning.
So What do I Really Need?
Here goes. I’m going to do it. I may not go full on KonMari (if you haven’t read her book, you kind of need to – the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying*), but I am going to massively declutter, get rid of lots of our junk so that our cupboards can start to be used far more usefully and effectively and we can free the surfaces of clutter for good. My question to you lovely people is this: how many baking tins does one need? What’s the minimum number of bowls I can get away with? And what should I do with all the things I want to give away or donate?
I shall report back once it’s completed – and I hope to be able to share some pretty impressive before and after shots.
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