Does your kitchen bring you joy?  Is the lack of space the issue?  In this episode I chat more about making better use of the space we have, the gadgets we probably don’t need and I set us all a challenge to help improve our kitchen space,  Plus I have some great tips from an expert on organising your kitchen and creating a space that fosters joy and efficiency in meal prep. 

 If you have a question or tips to share you can send them through to 

notpastaagain@hotmail.com

Connect through my social channels 

The facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/letsthermomix/

Following me on Instagram my_food_for_thought_

Find out about me and how I work as a Thermomix advisor myfoodforthought.co.uk

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview

01:36 The Importance of the Kitchen

02:50 Personal Reflections on Kitchen Design

06:16 Embracing the Kitchen You Have

10:13 Decluttering for a Functional Kitchen

10:13 The Thermomix: A Game Changer

12:46 The Role of Thermomix in Small Spaces

15:00 Final Thoughts on Kitchen Efficiency

Good morning. It's Sam from Not Pasta Again. And here we are recording episode 12. And I am absolutely delighted that I've got this far down in this journey and that lots of you are listening, sending me messages and everything is still resonating with what we are talking about.

I really hope that you have all listened to episode 11 with Cheryl, the parenting guru, my friend. She's a sleep specialist and she just provided so many gems in the conversation that we had. We spoke for I think around 40 to 45 minutes and we are definitely going to be getting her back on because she was just so insightful with regards to what we can do as parents or meal providers to really enable our children to

I guess introduce and embrace food as much as we would like them to. I think my most favorite outtake from talking to Cheryl was the no thank you bowl. And I seriously wish I had had that when my children were small, because to have a place for them to just remove some food from their plate that was upsetting them so that they might enjoy the rest of the meal, I just thought that was genius.

So it would be amazing if after you've listened, you could get back to me, give me some thoughts on what you took out of it. And like I said, we'll definitely be getting Cheryl back in on the show. So today's episode, it's a little bit different. Maybe you'll call it an interlude, but it's not necessarily about the specific frustrations of cooking or shopping for food or putting food on the table. But I do think it is incredibly relevant for lots of us.

and I'm going to be talking about the kitchen today. And why am I talking about the kitchen? Because it's a room that we spend so much time in as a parent, as that meal provider. For me, it has very much become the hub. It is the place where I spend the most time on any given day.

you may have seen in the Facebook group, Let's Thermomix that I asked a question to understand how you feel about your kitchen. I'm looking to really get to the bottom of whether you love it or whether you don't. And interestingly, some of you were telling me how much you did love it and others were obviously telling me that you don't like it. Interestingly for me, those of you who do love your kitchen have had that brilliant opportunity to actually redesign it from scratch

and make it your very own. Whilst some of you were also sharing that you rented and that therefore the, I guess, influence that you had on your kitchen space was a lot less. So there were frustrations and hopefully during the course of this chat, we'll get to grips with some of those things and how we can maybe overcome them so that our kitchen is a space that we want to be in. Before I get stuck into some more detail though,

If you love the show, if you're listening to it, I would absolutely love for you to get in touch, share it, maybe tell a friend all about it so that the reach is growing and lots more people have the opportunity to be a part of this community whereby we're trying to really flourish in our kitchens rather than flounder. When I think of my kitchen, and I think that's the best place to start, I honestly have mixed feelings about it.

Okay. So as a researcher, I would always ask people very generically what they liked or what they don't like about different things. Hence the question I asked you guys in my Facebook group. And when I sit here in my kitchen, as I record this episode, so much of it I love because I have had the opportunity to redesign my kitchen and I was able to bring things into this space that made it a much more enjoyable place to be. Some of that would be, I love the colour.

I love that I have got a beautiful pendant light that hangs over my much loved breakfast bar. It gives me space. The light gives me greater light. That might sound a little bit silly, but this room, my kitchen is a very dark room and I didn't really enjoy being in it because it just felt really gloomy. And actually, because I spend so much time in it, I just wanted it to feel a lot lighter in that regard.

I love the fact that I have got drawers rather than cupboards. The drawers just afford me to be able to put more stuff into my cupboards. And as you know from previous episodes, I am a little bit of a hoarder when it comes to things being in my kitchen space.

Other things that I absolutely love about my kitchen are the fact that I have a bin that is in a cupboard. That might sound really silly, but it used to drive me insane having my bin just sitting in the kitchen. It always got knocked over. it was just something that frustrated me because it created additional mess and clutter in my mind. So those are some of the things that I love about my kitchen space, but it doesn't mean that I've got my dream kitchen.

I think what I would absolutely adore is something that's similar to what I had when I lived in Australia. They really opened my eyes into how space and light and open plan living really is so, so brilliant. So in my kitchen in Australia, I had a double sink. I haven't got the space for that. I don't know why. I absolutely love that. I had no white goods in my kitchen either.

and I don't have a utility room here, and I would love to take the fridge, the freezer, the washing machine, even the dishwasher out of here. So this became just a space that was really truly about preparing food. I also had a really big communal table, which opened up into a lounge area, and then there were doors out onto the outside space or the patio.

So that whole notion of bringing the outside in, but also creating a very communal space was really integral to that house I had in Australia. I've almost achieved it with this space that I've got now, but the British kitchens just don't seem to enable you to do that very easily. I would need to extend. I would need to add a bit more space onto the back of my house to really allow that.

bigger communal space and that outside coming in.

So whilst I don't necessarily have a kitchen that I would want 100 % the way I would want it, I think there's something that we need to think about here in the sense that there's always that sort of mindset of the grass is always greener. You always want something that you potentially don't have. If I could have my way, yeah, of course, my kitchen would be bigger. It most definitely would be tidier. And would it be fancier? Potentially, but I think what I have learned is that

I need to embrace and live with what I have got because there's no point focusing on what I don't have because actually let's just make the best of what we do have. And I think when I read some of your comments, it was quite clear that there were consistent themes about what you would all like in your kitchen that you didn't have. And it often related to more space. It felt crowded.

tops would get cluttered because you didn't have enough cupboard space or the cupboards in themselves were designed so that they weren't really very useful. That's why drawers were often things that you mentioned that you would like to have in your kitchen. Breakfast bars, they also got a huge mention just having that ability to sit around a space in the kitchen whilst food was being made by somebody, not always you, I like that, that the husbands were often involved with making that food as well.

but just to a space that would afford people wanting to be in that space with you as well. So what I think we need to do, like I said, is just always focus on what we have got and how we can make that a little bit better than what we're sort of visualising in our heads. So I think I would start by saying decluttering your kitchen is essential. A decluttered kitchen or surfaces that aren't full of stuff.

make you want to be in any space, don't they? You I think about any room in my house and the tidier it is, the nicer it is to be in. And the same thing goes for the kitchen. So I am a queen of getting rid of things that I definitely don't need. And I think I need to introduce my Thermomix at this point because...

What that has done for me, having something like this in my kitchen, a piece of kit that does so much for me, it has afforded me the chance and the ability to remove so many things that were surplus to my kitchen that were in my cupboards, not necessarily being taken out of my cupboards and being used either. So I'm talking about being able to rid myself of frying pans, sauce pans, slow cookers.

I don't know, Vitamixers, you name it. All of those gadgets that we accumulate, that we keep, that we potentially use a few times and then put in a cupboard and forget about, they're the things I've now got rid of, which means that I don't have as much stuff cluttering my mind when it comes to being in this space. So I challenge you now, why don't you have a look around your kitchen and think about one thing, maybe more, if you can be ruthless.

One thing that you can get rid of that you don't really need. Have you used it? Think about the last time you used it. You know, does it bring you joy in your kitchen? If it doesn't, why have you still got it? And I know that I can open a cupboard in the corner. I've just pointed at it. If you're watching this on YouTube, there are still things in there. A couple of saucepans that I don't really need because I just don't use them anymore. So after this, I too will declutter.

get rid of a couple of things. And in the Facebook group, I'll post a little picture of the things that I'm getting rid of. And if you could do that as well, that would be amazing. So yeah, think about what you don't need, get rid of it, and then just have things in your kitchen that enable you and allow you to be happier in that space.

There you have it. I've introduced my Thermomix into the conversation and I'm just going to touch on a few more points because it is going to take centre stage in the discussion that I have about my kitchen and how it has made this space a lot easier to be in and it has made it a lot more workable because like I just referenced, I have been able to get rid of so many things that were just redundant now that I've got this Thermomix in my life.

I would add to that list things like a garlic press. I don't have to chop garlic anymore. I don't need that little gadget I had. I think it was from Pampered Chef that chopped my vegetables really small because the Thermomix will do that for me. I don't need a whisk because it will actually whisk and blend and make sauces for me without any lumps really easily. No stirring either. I don't need wooden spoons. I just need lots of plastic spatulas because that's all I can use in the...

bowl of the Thermomix because I need to protect the blades. I also got rid of my KitchenAid which actually used to live in a really really annoying and awkward space above my oven where I could barely reach it so I therefore never got it out. So baking in this house pre Thermomix was pretty much non-existent. Now because the Thermomix is on my kitchen top we bake a lot.

Yes, I'm talking about the Thermomix and a lot of people are often put off by it because they look at it and they think, well, I don't have space for that. What I want you to think about is all those things that I've just referenced and more probably, you don't need them. And actually what your Thermomix is going to do is it's going to free up space in your kitchen because it's just going to be the one thing that you can use to do absolutely everything. The only two things that a Thermomix doesn't do is bake.

and roast. So I use my air fryer or I use my oven for those situations. But for everything else that I do in my kitchen, the Thermomix is my go-to piece of equipment. So think of it in that way. You know, it's about decluttering your kitchen because you can get rid of so many things. And at the same time, I have to say it does declutter your mind. It just simplifies everything. And again, just being in a space that is cleaner, neater, tidier.

using one piece of equipment, it makes the kitchen a much better place to be, in my humble opinion. So I would say it's not about finding space for a Thermomix, it's very much about thinking about the space it's going to free up.

I started to plan this episode, I got in touch with a lovely lady I met through a networking group and she is actually an organising queen. This is what she does, it's her profession. She is a professional declutterer and I know that she has worked wonders with so many of her clients and I wanted to ask her if she would share with us a few thoughts on decluttering which I guess would be helpful for all of us in relation to the kitchen.

So what you're gonna listen to now is Pauline's thoughts, that is my friend, but it's not voiced by Pauline, it's voiced by someone else for us today.

I work with people in their own homes and help them to become more organised. This often does entail what we would probably think of as a good sort out. The kitchen is probably one of the most important areas in a home. So much happens in there and so often it is at the beginning or an end of a day. I was blown away when I saw Sam demonstrate the Thermomix. It is the niftiest piece of kit and perfect for small spaces. I immediately thought of a client who I had supported to downsize her home.

She had moved into a small house following a divorce and was in the process of buying a one-bedroom apartment. It was a little dated, so she was having a new bathroom and kitchen put in. The kitchen is tiny. I wish that she'd been able to see and get used to using a Thermomix beforehand, because I wonder if she may have been bold enough not to have bought a hob. You can have all the attachments in a drawer and probably not need the heaps of gadgets that we end up with and rarely use. I love the fact that there are so many recipes available.

No space needs to be taken up in a kitchen with well-thumbed and quite frankly often pretty unattractive looking cookery books, which you also need space to prop up while using. The cookadoo feature that orders your shopping also means that we can have a limited amount of ingredients in stock. Let's face it, we'll probably know what we have in the cupboards if we only have a couple to fill. Nothing will linger at the back forgotten about and unused for months or longer. So if you are on your first home, a retirement home or a huge home with a small kitchen,

They were built like that back in the day. This piece of kit is a great fit for a small space. Perhaps your happy place is your static van, escaping the rat race. A Thermomix is the answer.

I think that's brilliant what Pauline has just shared with us. And I completely agree with absolutely everything that she has said. And I think it does reflect some of the points that I made earlier. I think two things stand out for me that I haven't referenced before listening to Pauline there is that cookadoo and the lack of need for cookery books. Once you have cookadoo and a Thermomix in your world, this is massive. And I hadn't thought about it because I haven't used a cookery book in five years. That's how long.

I've now had my Thermomix. I find it so much simpler and tidier and easier because the recipe is loaded up onto the front of the screen. I don't have to find space in my kitchen to put the cookery book to leaf through it. Where am I up up to? Oh, what have I got to add next? Instead it's all on the screen on the Thermomix. Every stage is just spelt out for you. Um, you press next and you're told what to do next. So that's a really good point that Pauline makes that

that requirement for cookery books is diminished when you've got a Thermomix in your world. And let's be honest, they do gather dust. Well, they did in my kitchen anyway. I also think she makes a really good point with regards to caravans and small spaces and the Thermomix being relevant in that world as well. We do a lot of shows at motorhome shows where lots of the owners...

look to have a Thermomix in that space because it means that cooking is easier when they're traveling and they're also ensuring that they're eating well as well. So great points Pauline and I just want to say thank you so much for sharing all of that insight with us today.

So that's it for today's episode. A little bit of an interlude in the sense that we've not been talking about food per se or fussy children and those difficulties that we might have in the kitchen. And I hope it's been a little bit insightful and I hope it can help you think about your kitchen in a different way if it isn't a space that is as ideal as you would like it to be. I think what I would say to you, as I said at the beginning, just focus on what you have got and make it work for you.

I've set the challenge. Let's get a thread going in our Facebook group about the things that we no longer need and that we can get rid of. Because I think little changes can actually have a massive impact and will really help you feel that the space and the place of your kitchen is a place to be.

So until next time, let's keep flourishing and not floundering with food.