I’ve been trying, for a while now, to figure out how to post this question, without either appearing like a weirdo and without making my blogger buddies out there run screaming from the computer because it’s such an odd and long-winded question. I haven’t quite figured out how to do either of those yet, so I guess I’ll just dive right in.
I’m curious about how much “stuff” others have in their kitchen cabinets, drawers and pantry. Do other people have as much cookware, bakeware, prep equipment, gadgets, etc as I do? Tim says most people don’t. This question comes about for two basic reasons – 1) I’m wanting to get more dishes (I’ve almost completely decided on Fiestaware, but waffling on color choices) but also keep the everyday dishes I already have (Mikasa French Countryside). Which means some “stuff” has to go to make room for more dishes and mugs. And 2) I’m trying to declutter and clean different areas of the house, and the kitchen is a hard one for me. I really and truly feel like everything in my kitchen is either needed (something I use on a fairly regular basis while cooking and baking), or else, if it’s something I rarely use, it’s stored there because it is kitchen-related and I have no where else to store it for part of the year. Think seasonal stuff, like a roasting pan for cooking a turkey or ham at the holidays.
I do have a lot of stuff. I like to cook and bake. I’m wondering if other people who cook have as much, or more, or less. For example, I have more than one muffin pan. I have a 12 cup muffin tin, a 6 cup muffin tin and a mini-muffin tin. Tim says I should just have one, but I say, sometimes I make a recipe for 12, sometimes I cut muffins or cornbread in half and just cook 6 in my toaster oven, and sometimes I make mini muffins. Those are just for muffins – if I’m baking a cake, I like to have a choice of a round cake pan, an oblong pan (like a 9×13) or a bundt pan. Which leads to another example – I have more than one 9×13 pan. I have metal, because I like metal for bar cookies, brownies, cakes and things like that. I also have a glass one, because I like to make casseroles and stuff like that in a glass or ceramic one. I have mixing bowls, a Dutch oven, a bigger soup pot, various and sundry casserole dishes (I have about 5 different sizes in the Corningware French White, it matches my everyday white dishes and I like Corningware products). I do bake bread, so I have more than one loaf pan, too. The madness never ends, it just keeps going on and on 🙂
To be fair, I think this is pretty practical. Tim works from home full-time, so we have almost all of our meals here. We do eat out a couple of times a week, usually on the weekend. If we eat out one lunch and one dinner a week, that still leaves 19 out of 21 meals a week to prepare, eat and clean up after at home. I love doing it, but I feel like I “need” all of this stuff. Tim says I’m just rationalizing it, and I really could clean out a lot of stuff. Sigh.
I have a lot of items that I wish I could store somewhere else, but I just don’t have room anywhere else. I have several big appliances (bread maker, crockpot, small food processor, etc) that I use, but don’t have anywhere to store except in the kitchen. I have several seasonal items that again, I would store somewhere else, if I had a large laundry room, a basement, a shelving unit in the garage, etc. Things like a roasting pan for cooking a turkey or ham, a really big mixing bowl I only use when I make things to give as gifts at Christmas, and one of those Pyrex portables, a casserole dish that has its own carrying bag, along with the hot and cold packs. I know I could conceivably have more room in my kitchen cabinets for things I use everyday, if I didn’t have to store those there. But I have no where else to put them. Believe me, if I could put them in a spare closet or even under the bed, I would do it, but those areas are full of other things like luggage, stadium seats, out of season clothes, games and puzzles, and goodness only knows what else. I only have 3 closets in this house, and a small coat closet by the front door. No linen closet, no storage in the bathroom (unless you count two cabinets per room, which is not a lot for storing towels, sheets, spare bathroom paper, toiletries, etc).
OK, I could go on and on. I’d mostly like to know, if you were able to weed through all of the previous paragraphs, if you have most of that “stuff” in your kitchen. Do you have….
1) mixing bowls
2) more than one cookie sheet or muffin tin
3) cake pans, pie plates, loaf pans, pizza pans and other various and sundry bakeware items
4) more than one kind or size of casserole dish (I have lots, different sizes and styles, metal, glass, ceramic)
5) out of season or rarely used items in your kitchen
6) small appliances (food processor, hand mixer, crockpot, breadmaker, george foreman or other grill, etc)
7) rubbermaid, tupperware or other storage items
8) how many sets of everyday dishes and glasses
9) any other information you would want to tell me to make me feel like I’m not alone in this dilemma 😀
Any and all feedback, answers, responses are invited and very welcomed! Just please don’t leave me a comment that I’m weird for asking this, or weird for having this much “stuff”!
Sorry about the excruciatingly long blog post, and have a great day! 
1) mixing bowls….I have the glass corning ware ones…but mom bought me the old bright colored ones at an antique store for Christmas last year…the ones that are red, blue, green orange and yellow…milk white on the inside….do you know what I’m talking about? I love them…..
2) more than one cookie sheet or muffin tin..I have a stone….and one baking tray….muffin pans….only one mini one…we dont make muffins unless they are mini ones.
3) cake pans, pie plates, loaf pans, pizza pans and other various and sundry bakeware items…..I have 2 pie plates…one is plain and the other is pretty….cake pans…3 1 metal and 2 glass.no loaf pans..as I buy disposable ones….I do have a meatloaf pan though
4) more than one kind or size of casserole dish (I have lots, different sizes and styles, metal, glass, ceramic)..too many to name…I’m the queen of casseroles.
5) out of season or rarely used items in your kitchen..I have the big mixer….blender….fry daddy, these all stay in the Utility room though and I have all the pretty plates you take places..
6) small appliances (food processor, hand mixer, crockpot, breadmaker, george foreman or other grill, etc) Just answered it above..sorry. all my big items stay in the Utility room.
7) rubbermaid, tupperware or other storage items…although I hate tupperware..I do have it..rubbermaid..preferable.
8) how many sets of everyday dishes and glasses…one set a peice…but am looking at buying some more….I need glasses esp for when guest come.
9) any other information you would want to tell me to make me feel like I’m not alone in this dilemma 😀 You are not alone….I have too much but like it that way.
Stacy – You’re not alone!
I have just about everything you mentioned except for a food processor. I have about 8 baking sheets, 6 mixing bowls of various sizes, cake pans, 2 Bundt pans, 3 muffin pans, loaf pans, pie plates. I have a bunch of casserole dishes (French White), pasta bowls, soup bowls, 4 meat platters, gravy boat. I have one set of dishes (12 plates, cereal bowls, salad plates, and mugs), about 30+ glasses and a few extra mugs.
I have a full set of cookware, a KitchenAid mixer, hand mixer, blender, waffle iron, stovetop grill, 2 crockpots, and kitchen scale. I have way too much Gladware (the cheap version of Tupperware).
But somehow, I’ve managed to store all of it in the kitchen. I’m lucky in that I have a pantry, so no food is stored in the kitchen cabinets, making more room for “stuff.”
I use most everything that I have at some time or another. Some things are used on an almost daily basis, others not as often. I can’t part with any of the things – you just never know when you might need something.
I wish I could give you some advice on how to store all the stuff. I’m just lucky to have enough cabinets – in my last house I didn’t have as much room.
You are not alone! I have so many things that I use for a specific recipe or meal, but I feel that they are useful for that specific recipe. That doesn’t make for very practical storage, but I can’t part with it. I can’t even count how many glass pyrex type dishes I have. They are taking over the house. 🙂
Me too! I have tons of glass pyrex dishes, mixing bowls, etc. I have a few sets of everyday dishes and then some in the china cabinet that aren’t used enough. I also keep paper plates on hand and the kids use those mostly, maybe not environmentally friendly… but friendly to my clean up of their constant eating! I keep tons of cookie sheets and pans too. As far as small appliances YES! crock pots (3!!!), toaster, coffee pot, hand mixer, immersion blender, small and large food processors, waffle maker, sandwich press, coffee grinder, juicer, and several from infomercials I cannot name! Too many!
I think most women have that much stuff. We got most of ours when we got married.
1. I have 2 big Pampered Chef mixing bowls, one small one, and one metal bowl that goes with my mixer.
2. I have the same muffin pans you do except I have 2 twleve cups because you have to make 24 cupcakes!! I have several stones that search as cookie sheets.
3.I have at least six 9×13 pans (wedding presents – metal; and glass) and I use them all. I have at least 2 pizza pans and various other size pans for making cakes — round, loaf. I would love to have a bundt pan, but I don’t.
4. I have 2 or 3 same size casserole dishes plus every possible size in corning ware you could imagine.
5. I have several Christmas platters (all presents since our wedding was in December), and I use them all. I do have certain pots and pans and pottery itemsI don’t use very much.
6. We have a few small appliances like a Kitchenaid mixer, hand-held mixer, hand-held chopper, Pampered Chef slicer, 2 unique pizza bakers, a toaster oven, blender, smoothie maker, huge crock pot, tiny crock pot. I don’t have a food processor though.
7. The bulk of our storage is from old butter and sour cream containers. I do have a set of As-Seen-On-TV spinning storage containers and a few rubbermaid items.
8. We have one set of ceramic plates we use when our few plastic ones are dirty. All our cups/glasses are mix and match.
9. I have all kinds of utensils and fun Pampered Chef kitchen stuff. Again, most of our stuff was bought for us, but we use the bulk of it.
I’m glad to know everyone else has all that stuff too! How could we do without any of it?!! We couldn’t.
1. have several mixing bowls but none of them match or are a set.
2. more than one cookie sheet or muffin tin? duh, no way can you have one! I have at least one 12 one, several mini ones and did have the 6 size one for the reason you mentioned and if I don’t have it still, I need to go buy another one! I have those 2 big cookie sheets I bought when I was with you plus my old airbake ones! (I have a hard time throwing out old stuff when I get new ones)
3. I have at least 3 cake pans, 2 corning ware pie plates, several loaf pans for making sour dough bread b/c it makes multiple loaves, one pizza stone and probably some other baking things
4. casseroles, um yeah! multiple sizes and some I have 2 of like 2 9×13 pyrex ones. One thing I don’t really have is a metal 9×13, have been doign ok without it so maybe I can still pass on it for now
5. yes some rarely used things! but when you need them once or twice a year, you need them!
6. food processor, yes
hand mixer, yes
crockpot, yes
foreman, yes
blender, yes
bread machine, not yet!
7. plastic storage things, yes….rubbermaid, a little leftover tupperware and one of those turntable things with 3 sizes of little plastic containers on it.
8. I only have 1 set of every day dishes and glasses…..china & crystal is in a hutch in the dining room. I’d like new dishes but will probably get rid of the stuff I have if I do that.
9. you aren’t alone! yay!
I probably need to clean out my cabinets in my laundry room so I could store things that I don’t use as much in there, maybe you could do that? You do have that nice big pantry too and it’s very organized…..maybe you could cut down on some of the stuff in it to make room for a few of your other things? Or have you looked at any other organizing items for it instead of what’s in there now?
Fun post!
Gosh, you are so weird for asking this.
KIDDING! 😀
In my opinion, you don’t have too much. You may have (or want) more than you have the storage room for, but I don’t think any of those things are too much, especially for someone who loves to cook as you do. I would have all that stuff, too, if I had any room at all to store it. Our kitchen storage is reeeeeeally tight, so I have to keep it pared down, and even then I have to be very creative with where things end up being stored.
1) mixing bowls
Yep, have a metal set that was my grandmother’s.
2) more than one cookie sheet or muffin tin
two cookie sheets, one (12) muffin tin
3) cake pans, pie plates, loaf pans, pizza pans and other various and sundry bakeware items
two round cake pans, one 9×13 metal pan, one 9×13 glass dish (I also prefer metal for some things, glass for others), 8×8 pan/dish in both metal and glass, one bundt pan, one pizza pan
4) more than one kind or size of casserole dish (I have lots, different sizes and styles, metal, glass, ceramic)
the 9×13 & 8×8 glass ones
5) out of season or rarely used items in your kitchen
nope, these have to be sacrificed.
6) small appliances (food processor, hand mixer, crockpot, breadmaker, george foreman or other grill, etc)
crockpot, electric griddle, mixer, rice cooker. Had a grill but had to sacrifice it.
7) rubbermaid, tupperware or other storage items
lots of these
8) how many sets of everyday dishes and glasses
just one, but G has a lot of his own plastic dishes & cups
9) any other information you would want to tell me to make me feel like I’m not alone in this dilemma 😀
you are not alone!
Add A Comment