Make do with what I have (kitchen talk) - entry drafted on 3rd Jul #lateposting#

Having extra cabinets doesn't solve the problem. Well, that's my mentality now that I'm confined to small space.

A short conversation between mom and me came up as she saw me taking all the small kitchen appliances (airfryer, 1 pathetic corningware, steamer metal rack) out just to take out / put back the cutie slow cooker for her to boil pig's stomach soup for hubby. "So little space you have here." 

Me : Yah, no choice. Small space so need to have less but (perhaps) important items in the house.

Mom : You go and make another cabinet. Somewhere in your yard area, go and look for a space. Make a cabinet so you can put the items. 

Infact, she's not the first to suggest to me this. Brother suggested once too when he came to the house for a visit after we've moved in. Sure! I still have space in the yard. I still have empty cabinet spaces in the house, some small space in the kitchen cabinet. And I'm still so tempted to DECLUTTER the things at home.

My reply to her after that was that if we're given more space in the house, we will buy more things to clutter the house and that's the last thing I'd like to deal with. I'd rather have little space so that I can keep everything to the minimum. Everything, my style (click here). My frying pan is used for cooking all sorts of meat and vegetables and fish (mom complains that it's so difficult to fry fish in it), as opposed to the coloured-coded chopping board set to cut up different food items. I feel that's where contamination will likely to occur first with raw food instead of the frying pan. The frying pan also doubles up as a steamer. I remember when we first moved in our current house, she asked me to get a wok (she asked me to get a wok even when I was living in Punggol). I had no storage space and I hate to see things outside on the stove. Anyway, I'm happy with the minimal items I have. 

Small appliances  

1) Slow cooker : - Initially I had wanted to get rid of that cutie small slow cooker once I got the Tefal rice cooker which has multi-functions like claypot, slow cooker, porridge and many more. I can brew chinese herbs in the rice cooker but then... if I'm only brewing for 2 person, the rice cooker will be too big for the use. So I kept it until the day I go 'tao-hong' and decide to throw away items.

2) Toaster : - I don't have a toaster at home. I'll use my agar-ra-tion to toast bread using the convection oven. So far, it hasn't disappoint me though I have days when I'm multi-tasking and it took me a little longer time to get the bread out of the oven resulting a charred toast. 

3) Microwave Oven : - I had no intention of getting one as we had no space on the kitchen top. We can also heat up food over the fire or toaster. BUT the man had to come back with one one day, putting it on top of the fridge. Really ridiculous for me to bring the organ stool to the kitchen to step on it coz I can't bloody reach it!! We hardly use it too!  

4) Blender/ Juicer / KitchenAid : - With better technology, there's a magic cooker - Thermomix. Well, it does sound too good to be true for a person who can't cook for nuts. I can cook wholesome meals from scratch. This machine can help you cut, grind, steam, knead, blend juices. Basically I can get rid of my palm-size blender; the bulky KitchenAid after I pay a hefty price tag on the Thermomix. Technically, yes I can save the space of the palm-size blender which takes up no significant space in that pathetic cabinet BUT the Thermomix needs to be outside where the current KitchenAid is as it's bulky. Hell no way am I throwing away the heirloom to my kids!! It's one item which I love coz' I love to bake. And then I start thinking about the disadvantages of having Thermomix in my family. The girls are super fussy over their food. Even if I buy rainbow coloured veggies and whatever nots, they'll scrap it away. The man? He doesn't eat my cooking. Ha! For the girls, I prefer to cook their food while they're in school. I'm not the 100% have the time to prepare food for them while they make their way home from school themselves and have their food piping hot ready in time the moment they step into the house. So Thermomix must act as a food warmer which I'm not sure whether it is capable. Time being, I shall be happy with the stuffs I have at home.          

My opinion is “the more space you have; the more you will buy. So I’d rather have little space so that I can really keep everything to the minimum.  Wah.....mom cannot do Marie Kondo for sure.

Note : I've cleared one side of the kitchen top (where the sink is). It used to be laden with a multi-level shelf to put vitamins and bread spread. I've since removed them and put them in the cabinet and the whole space is bigger and I'm so happy!