Kitchen Gadgets Worthy of Your Space

Living in cool, fun places or even a college apartment brings joy and opportunity and sometimes a big price tag and a small square footage. Ahem - living just a few miles outside of Washington, D.C. Space is not freely flowing over here guys - anyone else experienced this?! A smaller place can mean really downsizing things - especially in the kitchen. But that doesn't necessarily mean having to "give up" things. It just means you're forced to carefully choose the items you keep around.

Trying to cram too much into your kitchen can be overwhelming and deter you from wanting to hang out in there- much less cook a meal. Not just in small homes- this is equally occurring in homes of all sizes. Growing the stuff you have to fill the space you live in isn't always the best option. Especially if you're someone like me who rests in the look of minimalism and a low-maintenance home. Personally, I think blank space is good for the soul.

The funny thing about the kitchens is that our kitchens are often overflowing with gadgets that supposedly make cooking and life easier. In reality, the fact that they all take up so much space prevents us from wanting to cook at all. Who wants to dig around in cabinets and drawers, risk things tumbling and falling on your head?! No thanks. I'd rather get Chipotle.

I like to keep my kitchen equipment to a minimum. I don't even want silverware I don't absolutely need. But I do keep a few treasures around - big and small- that really do make my life easier and are sooo worth the space they take up.

Click the pictures to shop!

Nepresso Machine

We have the Vertuo machine and love it! We love having a variety of frothy, rich coffee beverages on hand and the best part is the pods are recyclable. You collect them and either ship them to the store or drop them off there for yourself to make sure they're being recycled properly. The original machine makes espresso drinks and offers a huge variety of flavored espresso. The Vertuo offers less variety in espresso but allow you to make drip coffee as well. Definitely worth it! I love the design of this machine to save even more space!

Coffee Bean Grinder

Grinding your own coffee beans is 100% worth the time and effort. We love this machine because it grinds the beans evenly and allows you to choose how coarse or fine you want the coffee depending on the method you're using to prepare your coffee. If you're a fan or French press or pour over, I highly recommend getting a grinder to elevate your experience!

Garlic Press

I really don't think it's worth it to mince garlic myself. It's so much easier with this guy! I love this easy to clean & store style!

Nutribullet

This thing is fabulous. Smoothies, duh. But we also use it to froth coffee, mix hot chocolate, make some cocktails wink wink. Easier to clean and store than a standard blender.

Cheese Grater

Fresh parm on everyyyything. It also doubles as a zester if you want it to!

Lemon Juicer

Again, so much easier than squeezing by hand and it you can use it with any citrus!

Rolling Pin

So simple but I am shocked by the amount of times that we've used this. We make pizza a lot and used to use a cup to roll the dough- not efficient! I love this one from Crate & Barrel.

Kitchen Aid Mini Stand Mixer

Not just for cookies! For all baking, batters, mashed potatoes, etc etc. I use this a lot more than I thought. Even though it's not every day, I'm thankful I have it when I need it because it makes cooking a breeze and it's not really that much to clean. Especially worth it since I have the mini & LOVE it. They have so many fun colors but I have the matte black.