Question
Cynthia Dudak
Would you have any suggestions on kitchen use, set up, use? I've had to move to a smaller apartment & kitchen with little space: preparing and storing: refrigerator also smaller.
Answer
You know, in terms of kitchen setup, um, try to eliminate redundancy. Okay? So, uh, you know, if you've got, um, seven different knives for the kitchen, for kitchen work, but you really only need two or three, then get rid of a few of them, okay? And so, um, uh, think about redundancy also in, uh, larger equipment. Okay? I'll give you an example, uh, here at home. Um, uh, for a long time, we've had, you know, these stove top espresso makers. And then off the side here, this larger electric plugin, uh, coffee brewer. And, um, I had been using the electric, uh, drip coffee maker for a really long time, uh, really just out of habit. Um, and while I would be, I would be looking at the stove top espresso maker is sitting off to the side here every morning at the same time, I finally got the point where I unplugged this electric coffee maker, cleaned it up, put it in a box, and took it down to goodwill. And, uh, so now, um, I, that, I freed up that space on the counter, and I'm just using the, uh, the stove top espresso maker. It takes a little bit longer to make in the morning, uh, just a few minutes, though, not a lot. Um, but it's a nice routine, uh, for me. And, um, you know, be it is part of that, uh, that morning ritual, you know, around coffee or whatever it is. Uh, in this case, it's coffee. Um, but I got rid of some of that redundancy, okay? And, um, you know, think about, uh, is the, you know, the numbers of service, uh, wear, uh, as well. So if you're in a smaller place, or you know, you live by yourself or maybe, um, the, the, the, the kids have moved out, and so it's just two of you at home, and you, you know, you no longer need that, um, uh, 10 or 12 piece, uh, um, table setting, maybe you can whittle that down to four, four plates, four bowls, for example. Um, consider those sort of changes as well. And if it's a, if it's a full set that you have, um, and you don't wanna break, uh, not, not break it, but, but, um, break the set, you know, to, to whittle it down to four pieces. Uh, just give the whole thing away and replace it, you know, with, uh, a, a smaller set that, uh, you're more comfortable with. So, things like that. Okay. Uh, we're a small refrigerator, that's perfect. Um, you know, I think that means we need to structure our day and our week in a, in a way, um, where clearly we're shopping more frequently, uh, which means that we need to make the mental change, right? Because 90% of life is mental, 10% is what we do about it. And so, if we start to structure our day in our week in a, in a way that is maybe, um, you know, uh, more focused on, on food and food prep, uh, then, you know, we see ourself going to the grocery store every other day, maybe different grocery stores to get different ingredients, um, in order to accommodate the small refrigerator. Okay? And, um, so again, uh, try it out. Uh, these sorts of changes can be, uh, taken in small steps. There's no need, uh, to, to make, uh, revolutionary changes over a weekend. Um, take it step by step and, uh, think and feel how you adapt to the change, okay? And, and enjoy the process. Thank you.
