Is your cooking mojo hiding in an untidy kitchen?

Chances are, your cooking mojo is at least partially hidden under things you don’t need in your kitchen. It’s hard to get motivated to cook a delicious dinner when your kitchen is cluttered and untidy. We’re not here to go all Marie Kondo on you, but trust us, life will be easier (not to mention dinner) if you get rid of these things immediately.

• Salad spinner. No matter how dirty your lettuce is (and let’s face it, when was the last time you picked actual dirt from your leafy greens), you do not need this space-sucking device to clean it. Instead, wash the lettuce, lay it on a clean tea-towel, gather the edges together, place it in a plastic bag (or enjoy the water spray) then twirl it round your head at pace. Lettuce, washed.
• Bread machine. You’re not alone a lot of us got sucked into the bread machine vortex. The promise of freshly baked bread that required nothing more from us than pushing a button was strong but, let’s admit it, that bread was not really that great. Plus it had a weird hole in the bottom and now that machine is just taking up space. Instead, why not track down your local baker there are so many great ones out there right now or try this ridiculously easy no-knead bread that is perfect as is or ripe for flavour-packed variations (rosemary, feta and olive is a favourite).
• Containers that don’t have lids. Get rid of them, you won’t use them (plastic wrap never sticks to those things) and they are just cluttering up your space. Do it now.
• Plastic bags. Yes, in an ideal world you would only ever use recyclable bags when grocery shopping but sometimes that doesn’t happen and, as a result, you have a drawer/cupboard full of scrunched-up plastic bags. Yes, you could use them for something, but you probably won’t, so take them back to the supermarket as many of them have a plastic bag recycling bin. Feel good about yourself.
• Manky chopping boards. Don’t be embarrassed we’ve all got them. Sure, we bring out the nice wooden board to cut a loaf of sourdough when friends are over, but the rest of the time we’re using stained and warped plastic boards to prepare our meals. Not nice. Ditch the dud boards and invest in new ones either timber or plastic depending on your preference. Food prep just got a whole lot nicer.

What’s cluttering up your kitchen? Share your shame with us!