I’m so incredibly thrilled to be sharing my Checklist for A Capsule Kitchen with you today! This is something that has been birthed over the past month or so, after researching for my Pantry Organization and Essentials. I loved the idea so much, I decided to extend it to the entire kitchen.
After the months of winter hibernation, I found our pantry in dire need of a good cleaning and paring down.We had 5-year-old canned peaches, about 6 jars of my husband’s back-up salsa (he buys multiple jars all.the.time. “just in case”), and a plethora of other expired, mouse-eaten (YUCK), and forgotten items. Part of my motivation to organize and beautify my pantry was the mice. So disgusting, I know, but an unfortunate reality in a 100-year-old home.Glass storage containersare not only gorgeous and less wasteful (especially if you’re already buying bulk pantry items), but they also help keep the mice out of flax seeds and oats (and literally everything else). It’s a win-win!
Like my old wardrobe, I realized I was using 20% of my kitchen 80% of the time.After loving my capsule pantry, I decided to apply it to my entire kitchen, to create A Capsule Kitchen. To develop a list of items and ingredients, the essentials, if you will, of a minimalist kitchen. Totake this opportunity to bring order to my chaotic kitchen. Categorized and formatted beautifully, this free checklist is now available to the world! 🙂
Have you ever found yourself asking these questions:
- How do Isimplify my life and especially my time spent in the kitchen?
- How do I streamline my kitchen experience?
- How do I fill my life with order?
- How do I purge and keep only what brings me joy and I actually need?
- How do I actually use what I have?
- How to I make the best of my tiny kitchen space?
- How do I live with less waste?
If you’ve been asking any of these questions, this CAPSULE KITCHEN CHECKLIST was created with you in mind. I want to help streamline your kitchen experience. I want to help you build an arsenal of Capsule Kitchen Recipes (most of my recipes fall under this category; more on this coming sooooon!) that work with your budget, your schedule, your life. I want to help you be prepared in the kitchen. To help you entertain spontaneously, to spend more time being intentional.
I want to help you as you curate the essentials for your prepared minimalist kitchen.
The checklist includes the following sections:
- Capsule Pantry: oils, vinegars, sauces; baking; dry goods; canned & prepared
- Capsule Refrigerator: dairy; freezer; produce; condiments & extras
- Capsule Tabletop: linen; placesetting; serving ware; decor
- Capsule Tools: stovetop, oven; utensils; appliances, gadgets; baking
- Capsule Extras: spices; on the counter; bar; cleaning
My hope is to write in-depth posts on each of these main sections and their subsections! I could talk about a properly stocked kitchen for hour. No, for days. Maybe I should have A Capsule Kitchen workshop!?
This guide is meant to be a starting point. To guide you in your endeavors to build your Capsule Kitchen. Not everyone’s kitchen, eating, cooking, baking habits/needs are identical. So take this guide as what it is, a guide. Start here, and make it your own. You might hate coconut oil. If you don’t eat gluten, replace the items with gluten with your GF must-haves. If you need your toaster oven or microwave, add it to the list. If you don’t use a salad spinner, cross it off the list!
If you need a little inspiration and motivation to actually tackle your kitchen and apply these principles, join the next #ACapsuleKitchenChallenge. Over the course of 7 days, we will tackle our cupboards, pantry, refrigerator, etc., stock up at the farmer’s market and our local grocers, and then meal plan together, using our newly created, efficient Capsule Kitchens. 100s have said yes to this challenge, yes to beautiful, simple kitchens. You can join us here!
I so enjoyed speaking with friends and family and internet pals as I compiled this Capsule Kitchen Checklist, and I hope you find joy as you apply this philosophy to your kitchen.And I hope you never again have to make a last-minute, unplanned, arduous trip to the grocery store.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel like I do need to make one confession: these are not the only items we currently have in our kitchen. As a blogger, recipe developer, and a content creator, I have props. Lots of props. So, I have a few shelves and a small cupboard dedicated solely to my props. Besides those, the items you will find in our kitchen for our daily use will fall on the pages of this checklist.
