Why I Love My Minimalist Kitchen

You know that feeling you get after a major haircut? When your head feels 10 times lighter? Thats nothing compared to how youll feel when you downsize your kitchen to a minimalist kitchen. Im still reveling in the feeling of the light-headedness it gave me.

I wont bore you with gritty details of why my husband and I had to leave our kitchen that was big enough to be its own apartment and had enough counter space to tease you into collecting every imaginable kitchen gadget.

The point is: I dont miss that kitchen. I love, love my new minimalist kitchen.

Heres why:

It saves me money

Its simple economics: When you have less storage space, you buy less. Seriously. Nuff said.

Its keeping Alzheimers at bay

It forces me to be creative, exercising my mind to seek alternative solutions. Some of my solutions:

Since my countertop space is limited, I didnt want to waste part of it with a dish rack. Instead I made my large strainer a multi-tasker:

Pitchers as vases: Instead of keeping vases and pitchers, I just use pitchers to show off my flowers.

One set of glasses for all beverages: I must have eliminated four shelves of glasses when I downsized. Who really needs a glass for tea, a glass for wine, a glass for margaritas, martinis? I found the new stemless wine glasses fit the bill for all beverage needs. And theyre cheap (99 cents at most discount home stores).

Rubber bands and paper clips: Better than those clips you buy to seal open food bags. Rubber bands are particularly great for tightly closing frozen food bags.

Salad serving bowl: I have two that serve a multitude of uses:

• Salad (duh)

• Fruit

• Popcorn

• Ice

• Bread

• Food cover (turned upside down)

Casserole dish: Countertop storage for potatoes, onions, lemons, limes, which are easy to dump out when you need the dish.

Liquid measuring cups: They work well for syrup, gravy, and sauce. Not fancy, but serviceable.

Im skinnier

Yep. I lost about 15 pounds when I downsized.

Our new fridge is much smaller, so our usual stock of meats, sandwich cutlets, and poultry, plus the healthy green stuff, just wouldnt fit. We consciously decided to go vegetarian, instantly gaining space in the fridge.

Im not saying you need to go vegetarian, but if youre downsizing your kitchen, its the perfect time to take stock of the foods taking up space in your cupboards and fridge. Its been proven: Your kitchen could be making you fat.

I get to eat out more

That may seem counterintuitive to the point about losing weight and saving money. But if youre eating right at home, splurging on a restaurant meal is more affordable, both in terms of budget and waistline. Eating out becomes a fun adventure instead of a fallback meal plan that makes you feel guilty later.

I stress less

When I had the big kitchen, I felt the pressure to entertain BIG with serving platters and bowls, special serving utensils, dipping bowls, etc.

Not anymore. I have a couple of big spoons, one big platter plus the casserole dish, salad bowls, and pitchers mentioned above. Otherwise, all I have is:

• 8 dinner plates

• 8 small plates

• 8 bowls

• 8 coffee cups

• 12 stemless wine glasses

• Silverware for 8 (very inexpensive. I noticed that guests -- in an effort to help with cleanup -- would accidentally throw away silverware. Now, when that happens, investing in a replacement isnt as big a deal.)

Entertaining has become more fun. And guests are surprisingly resilient. Its the company and the hospitality that makes a party. Guests seem to relax more when it appears you arent going above, beyond, and all fancy just for them.

And if I have more than 8 guests? Chinet, of course. Whats less stress than that?

I feel prettier

Theres something about a minimalist kitchen that simply makes me feel better about myself.

Whoever said happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul must have had a minimalist kitchen.