Many months ago I read about
The 100 Thing Challenge and a couple that had whittled their possessions down to 100 items. That included clothes, shoes, dishes, decor items... all of it. The author of The Challenge emphasizes that his movement is not about counting or getting rid of things, but is a freedom from consumerism.
Amen to that.
I think about that couple with 100 possessions often, and it's usually when I'm in my kitchen. Isn't that weird? But then I realized why: my kitchen is chock full of items that I never use but I felt that I needed "just in case." Or perhaps they are items that I received as wedding gifts years ago, or items that I actually registered for based on people's advice that "you can never have too many potato peelers."
Yes, you can. I have one potato peeler, and it's one too many.
This photo is of my kitchen "staged" and stripped bare for a realtor Open House. Thank you, HGTV, for making me obsess over things like that.
Once the photo shoot was over, I remembered how much I used to love a minimalist existence. When I was a freshman in college I had so few possessions and positively NO money to spend, but it was the happiest time of my life. Now years have passed and my kitchen is full of knick-knacks and whats-its that I barely touch, to my dismay.
In honor of The 100 Things Challenge, here is my own list of
20 things in my kitchen that I should get rid of:
1. Potato peeler. Use a knife.
2. Set of 4 flip-flop themed votive holders that do not match anything and are creepy, not whimsical.
3. Williams Sonoma pie crust shape-cutting kit. WS is a purveyor of beautiful, useful goods...and gimmicky, overpriced gadgetry.
4. A butter cutter. See #3.
5. The world's most enormous stainless mixing bowl. I suppose I thought I could end world hunger one giant batch of pancakes at a time.
6. A mini-strainer. Need to strain 1/2 cup of olives? Just call me!
7. A large ceramic rooster. It serves no purpose. It was cute, but then I stopped "seeing" it after I got used to having it. Now it's just something to dust.
8. A whisk attachment for my hand mixer. I used it once and the wires immediately tangled. Did I throw it away? Nope. Untangled it and cautiously stored it in my pantry. For 6 years.
9. A knife handle polishing oil and cloth. Polishing a knife makes me feel like the Barber of Seville.
10. Two sets of steak knives: a "fancy" set and an "everyday fancy" set
11. Four Japanese knives, identical. I'm saving them for when I become a sushi chef.
12. A knife sharpening iron. Who wants to hear metal scraping against metal? Take it to a sharpening shop!!
13. Two promotional insulated lunch bags.
14. A corkscrew. I don't drink wine.
15. 6 teacups and saucers. I guess I thought I'd start having tea parties once I became someone's wife.
16. Four giant silver serving bowls with various filigree, ornamentation, and metal work. I don't use them because a) they will not fit in my sink and b) even if they did, I have no patience for hand-washing filigree.
17. A set of gaudy champagne glasses from our wedding. They were gaudy then, too, but we had to have something. Why didn't I just rent?
18. Little tiny enamel birthday candle holders in the shape of shoes and purses. I don't make my own birthday cakes, and I've never put these on a cake for someone else because I was afraid they would get lost. Cue Alanis Morrisette singing "Ironic."
19. A Tupperware ChopNPrep. I have a mini food processor, but something about a Tupperware party makes you feel that you've just got to have a gadget devoted solely to the preparation of homemade salsa.
20. At least a dozen cookbooks. If I had realized that this Internet thing was going to catch on, I would have reminded myself that recipes are just a few clicks away.
There you have it. A list of 20 things. And there are more. So many more.
While I pack up for a garage sale, tell me: what useless things do you have lying around in your kitchen?
