We’re focusing on the kitchen for the next little bit. Partly because we have to due to Stephen’s celiac diagnosis. And partly because I’m sick to death of being in the bedroom. After living in the bedroom almost exclusively for six weeks, I’m about to come unglued.
This is gonna be me if I have to spend any more time in there:
First things first: Since Stephen has celiac we have to make our house a Gluten Free zone. This means eliminating all wood items from the kitchen, such as cutting boards, etc. We are being extra cautious and eliminating items that were likely exposed to gluten and we aren’t absolutely sure we can get rid of any hidden little gluten particles.
As we think of items we need, we will go out to the sunroom to retrieve them (for example, I still can’t find my tupperware) or purchase them new if we know we can’t use our old ones.
These will be donated:
I have had that tea strainer since probably I got married and have never used it. Adios, tea strainer.
All of the baking related items have to go, too. Now, there are two super cute ice cube trays I bought about 6 years ago to make heart shaped ice cubes for the kids’ drinks. The tags are still on there, so it’s clear how many times they’ve been used.
Buh-bye.
A container of rubber twist ties, still unopened, as well as cutting boards and a pizza stone. Heart shaped cookie cutters? Never used them.
I’m sensing a theme here.
All of the items leaving us from this grouping are either Gluten-related or never used. Makes the decision to eliminate them easier. The items we didn’t use won’t get replaced, obviously.
I will definitely be getting a cutting board, but I don’t need five. I already have a set of stainless steel measuring spoons and a nice set of measuring cups that I will keep. I will probably replace my hand mixer, but not until I see if I actually miss it.
Sounds like you got a lot of work to do in the kitchen. I’ve been working my the kitchen and have gotten rid of a lot of things we don’t use or need anymore! It’s a pain to move all the things you don’t need or use.
Good luck!!
Thanks! Yes, we have a lot of work to do in the kitchen, but it’s ok. At least it’s a change of scenery. 🙂
When I went through my kitchen the hand mixer went. I rarely ever baked, even when I had a stove, and the few things the mixer could have been used for I was too lazy to pull it out (it was in the back of a drawer because I didn’t need it all the time) I would use a whisk instead. Of course I enjoy using hand tools and other appliances that are non electric. There is something about seeing things take shape in a slower approach and I enjoy feeling my body work instead of a machine.
I do bake quite a bit, but I am going to see if I can get by without a hand mixer. I do not have a stand mixer, so that isn’t an issue. I do have a bread machine I’ve been advised to not use again. But I’d love to learn to hand make bread, so that should prove interesting.
Kandice, I thought bread was hard, I wanted to make my own bread for my children and bought a bread maker, I hated the hole in the middle and after 2 power outages during a bake cycle I gave up and decided to learn to make my own. It was so easy! I began to make all kinds of breads and bagels. Give it a try you will be surprised at how easy it is.
It took me two tries to finally get my kitchen pared down. The first time I held on to a lot of cooking dreams, but the second time–eight months later–I had a better understanding of minimalism/ simplicity/ what I really use, which made it much easier to let go of all the fluff.
Has Stephen noticed a change yet with going GF? It’s kind of amazing how changing your diet can improve the world…
Yes. He’s now been eating GF for about a month and feeling like a different person. Much better, more energy, etc. As for the paring down the kitchen, I did a major purge a little over a year ago, so this is actually round two. Which is frightening, really.
It’s completely crazy how much you can accumulate in the kitchen. And also, knowing I’m not the only one who took two tries makes me feel better. 🙂
Glad to hear Stephen is feeling better! It’s no fun feeling icky all the time.
Overhauling a kitchen like that is costly and unnecessary to remove gluten. At most give everything a good scrub and you r fine. If u choose to, fine, but its not medically necessary and most families with a diagnosis don’t have extra money to just replace everything.
I’m not overhauling the entire kitchen. I’m downsizing, to be sure. I’m replacing the items I’ve been advised to replace from a celiac perspective (wooden spoons and cutting boards, hand mixers, etc.). Otherwise, I’m not replacing the utensils, plates, cookware, etc. Decluttering, sure. Replacing, no.
As a fellow celiac I do agree with R – however, I would recommend a stand mixer if you are going to bake bread. Making gf bread is more like making a cake. I have never mastered it myself, despite numerous attempts, although I am very successful with all other gf baking. Try and find a good gf bakery near you, if you can or, if you can’t, I would recommend Udi’s. But then, I live in a very rural area of Canada where we have limited options. Fortunately we do get Udi’s and have a local baker who makes amazing gf bread. It is expensive but we celiacs have to give up enough without having to give up decent bread as well!
Yeah, we aren’t replacing everything. Primarily the wood things and the hand mixer. The multiple baking items we were able to eliminate out of caution because we have stainless steel versions already and I’d rather keep those over the plastic. I don’t know why I think I can get the stainless cleaner than the plastic. Just my weird issue. And the plastic cutting boards we used to cut cooked meat (marinated in gluten containing sauces) as well as produce and I can’t see being able to get those completely clean. Plus, the $5 to get a new cutting board isn’t a huge financial issue for us so I will purchase that.
But, I do appreciate the alternative viewpoints. I’m bad about replacing things, clearly, when I could use what I already have. But, in the instances with the cutting board, wooden spoon and hand mixer, I feel more comfortable replacing them.
And thanks for the suggestion about finding a GF bakery. The Udi’s is okay and Stephen doesn’t mind it. But it’s not just Stephen. We’re eliminating all wheat/rye/barley in the house. We’ll be getting the kids tested for celiac, too.