EVERYTHING I OWN in our MINIMALIST KITCHEN | EXTREME? MINIMALIST KITCHEN HOME TOUR | MINIMALISM

I'm going to do the extreme minimalist or simply minimalist kitchen tour today. And we're going to go really in depth about the choices I've made and why. Obviously, as I always have to say, we all have different lifestyles. So what we might choose to keep in our kitchen may be very, very different because obviously we may all eat different things and lead different lives. So we're going to go in, I'm going to show you from various angles. But first, I'm also going to show you a little change. Let's go inside. The change. So I actually wanted to talk about this one on camera before we sort of come around and look through everything because this is a decision that I have made because I got rid of the coffee machine last week, which is why I chose to do it that way around after all. Because I think now that there is no other coffee paraphernalia, it can really stand that without looking cluttered. And I think it's a really nice way to visually show one of my interests and hobbies, which is ceramics. It's useful items. I use them all. You know, you can even use cups and things for having your yogurt in, having dips in and things. So I personally think they're a real minimalist item, but brings that tiny little bit of warmth and colour to an otherwise now very bare kitchen counter. As you're about to see, the Monstera in the corner is the only thing on the counter top, and I will discuss why as we go around. So let's begin. So first of all, right off the bat, Charlie is still here, hence his little corner. We are in a couple of weeks going to do a video about minimalism with pets, and I will obviously film that while he's still here. But for now, let's go inside. And it is going to be detailed this so that people understand my reasoning, because often I get second guessed and questioned a lot about my decisions. So let's begin with the first obvious thing. Why do I have a Monstera on the side when otherwise I want nothing on the side? Because there is simply nowhere to put it anymore. It can literally not live on there because it gets in the way of our blinds, which I'll also talk about a little bit towards the end of this video. But first of all, let's go right in. So the coffee machine space has now been cleared, and I have to say I am loving it. And if anything, it frees up that little bit more space on here. So I actually think we're even more likely to use the stools these days, which we'll also get to in a second. I'm really enjoying just still having a plant up there. All my walls need repainting, by the way, guys, after decorating, because after they... Sorry, after the home improvements, because after they fitted that window, the dust just got everywhere on our walls. So it does need replacing. Obviously, we have new blinds. We'll come back to that shortly. And the Monstera is living there because that is simply the only place it can live. We have our bamboo magnetic utensils bar. We keep them because we literally use them every day. I decided a cleaver was actually more utilitarian, shall we say, than a bread knife because obviously you can chop everything with it, including bread, whereas a bread tends only to do bread. So that's what we've got in there. The cupboards have now been completely cleared from the top, of which I will insert a video right now. So this is me from a few days ago, and I am here to say that in the process of reorganizing my kitchen, I learned that obviously when we declutter more, we just begin to lose all need for storage boxes. Now, I've kept these just in our little alcove for a while, kind of in a semi declutter pile, whilst I really think about whether I want to reorganize anything into them. And the truth is I've actually been able to declutter so much recently through really thinking about what we actually really want at the moment, that I just don't think we require these anymore because we've been getting rid of more. And again, for the age old reason that I always say, in that both my partner and I do sometimes feel overwhelmed living in this very small space. And a lot of you often say it's not that small, but it is 32 square meters, which is actually within the tiny home and micro apartment community quantified as being a micro apartment. And you know, it all used to be sort of one big room, this room where it was our landlord that put in dividing walls. So to kind of make it more like a little apartment rather than a micro apartment, but it's 32 square feet, but it's actually really, if you take away the fact that we have about four meters for our hallway and we have all these wasted alcove spaces that are a little bit too small to fit things in, we just managed to fit our desk over there. The vestibule doorway area takes space, the bare window takes space and it makes it too awkward to actually put things in. Then it's kind of more like even a 22 square meter apartment because about 10 meters is wasted. So we have dealt with that by just consistently decluttering more and more and realizing that the only way you can really, really live in a tiny space, tiny home or micro apartment is by just practically getting rid of everything that you own. And when you do that, there becomes less and less of a need for storage containers. I actually love these bamboo storage containers, but they're just not needed anymore. So why keep them if they are empty? They previously had the hammock in when not in use and then my partner's folders. My partner's now decided to just keep his folders flat in his suitcase. So our suitcases now have become our own personal storage containers for all the things like that. So we don't now need these. And why waste the space within our suitcases? So these are going guys. So that can make our kitchen look even more clutter free as these were previously on the top of the kitchen cabinets, which was really our only storage space within our whole home because there are no wardrobes, shelves, cabinets and things. There's only the kitchen cabinets. We literally can only either store stuff on top of the kitchen cabinets within the kitchen cabinets if we don't fill the kitchen cabinets up with kitchen stuff or on the tiny bit of space we have on the top of our water boiler cupboard in the corner of our bedroom. And then obviously we keep all our clothes under our bed. So that is our only storage space because we are also limited for access with large furniture. So that being said, let me show you the newly decluttered kitchen and how clutter free and extremely minimal it is. So now you know where all the containers went. We literally got rid of them all. We were sick of storing anything. We didn't want tubs of stuff in various situations. So this is all we've got. We've got the other stool. It is still for sale, but I'm actually considering keeping it after all now that we've got more space on this counter. My partner's air fryer. It's the one thing that he has more or less demanded that he wants and he wants to keep. And yeah, let's just say I don't ever use that, but he does and it's now up there in that corner for when he wants it to free up a little bit of space in the cupboards. So shall we begin with what I've done with the cupboards? Also, a little disclaimer, the kitchen's very old, guys. There are a few marks on it. It's not a brand spanking new kitchen. There's nothing that can be done about that because it's not our property. So under here now is majoritively empty and we just keep a few electrical items in there. Our smoothie slash juicer, which we do make soups with as well. Our tin opener because my partner is left-handed and finds it incredibly difficult to use tin openers. And then we have our kettle, which I'm actually considering getting rid of. And I think that's it for under there. So let's come back up. This cupboard, nearly empty because we are having a bit of a lifestyle change. Or I should say my partner is because he's decided he doesn't want to eat as much processed food, which meant a big clear out of a lot of our condiments. A lot of them were nearly empty, a bit like the Sriracha bottle. So it wasn't really a difficult task. But now we find that when we're eating nearly fresh stuff, nearly all fresh stuff, we don't really need actually much cupboard space. So we've got a few key cooking ingredients up there because I like quite a lot of Asian cuisines. We've got rice vinegar, soy, whole peanut butter, which actually is just peanuts, no sugar or anything. Also, and rice noodles, seaweed and rice papers. And as you can see, some tuna and some peanuts. That's all that's in there. Our veg hammock. Then in here, this is our only sort of crockery, really, apart from what you're about to see in the other cupboard. So this glassware is majoritively my partner's. He has a mixing bowl, which he actually likes eating out of sometimes. I do occasionally use it to make us scones. Inside is the pan that I thought I was going to declutter because the handle kept breaking off. That is also stained, guys, and really hard to get off because of the hard water. But I decided to actually keep it after all, as because the handle does actually keep breaking off, despite me gluing it, it kind of makes it all fit inside each other. And it is a little bit handy to heat things up in. You know, it is a milk pan, so it's ideal for making coffees and even heating water. And then my partner's lunchbox. He keeps the tops of that just next to his air fryer and his stein, which he really likes having a beer from. Then we have our pans, which again are burnt on. I did try a little tip that somebody told me about using oven cleaner on the bottom. It worked for the stainless steel bit, but not on the actual ceramic because I think that that seems to be, it seems to be sort of charred and physically burnt. Then we have our little stainless steel Tupperware, which doubles as a pan. We also have the other two behind there, because obviously we have one each. And then we have four brown jars. One of them is in the fridge with leftovers in, but we tend to use one to keep sugar in and two for drinking out of, one each. The sugar is really just for when we have guests who like sugar in their tea or coffee. It doesn't really get used for anything, but quite a lot of people in the UK do like sugar in their tea. Then in this end cupboard, this is a little bit of a new situation. So I mentioned last week that we are probably using cafetière now instead of the coffee machine at the point of this video. And we have salt, pepper and mustard pot. And in our little containers, we did decide to just keep flour because we do make sometimes our own pizza dough and oats, granola. This usually has rice in it, but it's empty. And my partner is a little bit of a sucker for a biscuit. So that is one of the process things that he's still keeping, you know, a little bit of everything in moderation, including moderation. Then up on the top now we have fresh tea leaves and behind it, fresh ground coffee that we're sourcing locally. An outside tea and coffee mug and also a thermal bottle each. And these are the new things guys. So after nearly a month, I can't remember if I've told you this or not. So sorry if I'm repeating myself. After a month of just living with our chopping boards, we did decide to get one bowl back each. It is completely flat on the bottom. So we can also use it as a plate. We also decided to do a one-in-one out for our proper drinking glasses and get these instead. Because to be honest, with the hard water in this property, let me just get all of it. Let me just get all of it better for you all. With the hard water in this property, cleaning glass is just an absolute nightmare. So these are for cold drinks. They could also be used for warm drinks, but I just enjoy having a handle with a warm drink. Then down here is just Charlie's cupboard while he's visiting. That's going to be in the Minimum with Peps video. So we'll cover that then. So this video isn't too long. And in this one, this is our bin. All our recycling is in there. We keep two little trays in there that we eat from and a dustpan and our bin. I think you all just heard Charlie barking then. And then we have our cleaning stuff behind the bin, a few spices. And on here, this is where we keep our platters, which we do actually eat from quite often if we make pizza or a charcuterie board. And finally, the one and only drawer in our entire property, which has our knives and forks, chopsticks. They came free with the chopsticks. They're like little chopstick rests. My partner absolutely loves pandas. So he likes keeping them. We have a ladle and a spatula. And for some reason, we've ended up with an extra ladle. And I think that is because my partner prefers one with a rubber end. For some reason, he finds it easier to flip eggs with that and also make crepes. So that's it. Oh, and these may be considered unnecessary to some people. They definitely are unnecessary when we have knives already. But because we absolutely love having scones and a charcuterie board, it's just a little luxury item that kind of, you know, improves our experience when we make those things for ourselves and to have together or in company. So let's go back to the other angle. So I said at the beginning, I was going to talk about these blinds at the end. And I am because I think they deserve quite a big mention. They are one of the most sustainable curtain solutions that are also minimalist that I have ever come across. Obviously, you can see where I previously got them. They are from a company called Smart Wings. And they are completely solar powered with panels that fit on the window. You can pick the perfect size to fit your windows, but also even down to the materials. So let's have a closer look at them. So for the previous ones that I have in my living room, they are actually jute, bamboo, and a cream linen. But for the kitchen, I wanted to go with a darker color, believe it or not, which is not like me, because I wanted to bring in the tiny little bit of black and gray that we do have in here, because we have a gray floor and we have this black countertop with gray marbling. I didn't choose my countertop. That's a whole other story. I would have wood personally. But because I do have this, I wanted to bring in the gray. So from Smart Wings, I asked for a bamboo jute and gray linen into oven. What is great about how these actually function as well is they can be voice activated. You can use things like Alexa or you can simply use a remote. I simply love that, that they can just go down and up at the drop of a button. It also kind of makes it look a little bit more minimal. Instead of where we previously had like a string and a big thing there, it's sort of all hidden and encased. Even the top is encased inside this little valance flap that sort of hides it all. Definitely makes it more minimal. And you can actually stop that anywhere you want. You can make it going down. Obviously, I normally move my Monstera a little bit further forward. And it can go all the way down and it is actually fully lined and backed. But you can pick whether you want it to be complete blackout or only 20% blackout or 30% blackout. I personally wanted 100% blackout because since we had bigger windows put in, in our living room, there was that tiny little bit of extra light coming in around there because obviously the windows have now been made bigger since we previously got the other blinds. So we thought by having a blackout in here, it would definitely make the overall space darker and it has and it's great. It's great for if you want complete darkness, i.e. if you have a projector like myself and it definitely works better in the darkness. But also if you are somebody that struggles to sleep because you wake up as soon as the sun rises. I mean the sun now in the UK is rising at sort of 5am. So great and great for people that live in countries where it is bright now all the times of the year like in Norway and places like that. It is truly great. I love it. I love that it's solar powered. I love that it's sustainably made. Even the frame is made from wood. There is basically all natural materials involved. So that's the blinds. Let's give you my other final thoughts about this kitchen tour and I will link details to do with those blinds down in the description. So I hope that you've all enjoyed this little kitchen tour today and what I find quite interesting about kitchens more than anything else is it's one of the areas that I personally find the most difficult and I believe that that is because I was brought up with a lot of influences to do with catering and cuisine. A lot of people in our family are sort of head chefs and things and really having the correct etiquette for things. So for instance over the years it's been very hard for me to get out of the mindset of having correct glasses for correct things. But now what I also think about is whether the environment you're in suits that and after years of thinking that we needed four of everything and realising that we never have guests round for dinner parties ever it meant we could get rid of our dining table. I mean can you imagine how much space a dining table would take up in this small property? I mean that room is sort of 3.5 by 3 metres this is 2 metres by 2 metres. We would really have no space for it. So that's why now we either choose to sit here sometimes on the floor at the coffee table in there or sometimes even with the little trays. And when we have guests we simply use the serving platter and those little knives that you saw. People can just sort of help themselves and have sort of a charcuterie board or sometimes we simply have sushi and finger foods like that. There are lots of ways that you can still be social without needing all these extra things. I think now I've got to a place where I am finally after lots of experimenting happy with what I have and after making countless mistakes about getting glasses getting rid of glasses I kept convincing myself that if I got wider glasses they'd be easier to clean with our hard water. It is honestly a nuisance even after you've rinsed the glasses out with the water because there's that much calcium buildup you have to scrub it for ages and then completely dry it. It's a lot guys. It's a lot to keep up with but yet I know that I like having a glass out of a vessel that has no handle and a coffee or tea out of a cup or mug with a handle. It's the one last thing that I realise that I enjoy and that I try to balance the extreme minimalist within me with the mindfulness aspect as well and I think that that is a happy medium. I don't have all the different fancy glasses for every situation but I do have something for cold drinks and something for warm drinks albeit not glasses anymore really because they are an absolute nuisance and if I really felt I needed to use a glass for something we have our jars which anything you didn't see in the cupboard they're in the fridge because that is now because we're mainly eating fresh stuff where we keep all our stuff and believe me it is packed to the brim in there in our little mini undercounter fridge freezer. Maybe I could do an entire tour of that one day as a standalone video. Let me know if you would be interested in that perhaps leave me a little tick emoji for fridge tour because in general I don't know if that's a bit boring for you all but it is stuffed to the brim in our fridge so it would definitely be a video all of its own trying to get all that out and show you all because it's stacked like that. It's definitely not minimalist in that fridge. So hope you all enjoyed this little tour and I will see you all in the next one possibly minimalism with cats.