How to Do Your First Kitchen Setup: Essential Steps for Beginners

Challenges & Solutions to the First Kitchen Setup

Limited Kitchen Safety Knowledge

I’ve got to put this out front & center because the longer you’re in a space, the more likely you’ll encounter risky setups, sharper tools & just sketchy execution when practicing a new technique. And this can lead to potential accidents or injuries.

You don’t need to fear being in the kitchen though.
I mean, you already know this but you can encounter danger in every scenario of life. It just goes that way. And although many beginners may feel unsure about basic kitchen safety practices, you just need to know what to look out for ahead of time.

Here’s the Solution. Take the time to learn basic kitchen safety practices, like proper knife handling, safe food storage & fire safety. I don’t think any of us ever intend to burn down the house (or apartment), but if you don’t know what causes a grease fire then…yeah.
And more so, if you don’t know what can put out a grease fire, then…You know?

Shoutout to my husband, the EMT for teaching me things like this I hadn’t known before & putting a small fire extinguisher in our kitchen.
Love you, Husbo!

You could watch online tutorials to familiarize yourself with essential kitchen safety techniques before taking something on. Like this video I really enjoyed from Joshua Weissman on knife skills.

And if you’re feeling it & can cash flow it, think about enrolling in a beginner’s cooking class. I’m usually a fan of OTJ experience, but my husband & I did enjoy an Italian cooking class together on our first anniversary. And I’ll never forgot the way we learn to eat artichokes or to make our own pasta!

Lack of Organization & Planning

The challenge here is more of what happens without proper organization or planning. Without them, you might struggle to cook from scratch. Or to cook at home period. Let alone cook balanced meals. And discovering how to meal plan is great, but as a beginner you might struggle to manage your grocery shopping effectively.

Here’s the Solution. And you’ll hear me toot this horn all over this website: start meal planning for the week ahead. If you’re bold, eager, a little more settled into your kitchen or whatever you choose to call it – start meal planning for the next 4-6 weeks. I’ve even seen yearly plans circulating the internet. (It’s not what you think though. All marketing copy honestly. Simply plan a month worth of meals & rotate through for a year. Periodically you’d add in a seasonal favorite where it makes sense. Like cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving instead of apple pie in July.)

Creating a simple menu & grocery list will save you time & money. My best tips on just how this sort of magical thing happens can be found in my free e-course, launching this month, actually. But if you designate specific days for meal prep & grocery shopping you can streamline this kitchen routine & be sure you have everything you need.

Limited Cooking Skills & Food Diversity

You cannot be afraid to get in the kitchen, try something, maybe mess it up & then have to eat burnt toast. You just can’t. If you have that fear, we’ll work through it. But you can’t let it linger because fear will keep you stuck in the ground right where you stand & you’ll be bulldozed by it too. So scrape off the burnt from the toast like my mom used to do & keep it moving. Try again tomorrow is all I gotta say.

The challenge for a lot of beginners going through their first kitchen setup is that feeling of overwhelm.

Then gradually expand your skills as you gain confidence. Although this certainly would lead to some really good eating, wait to explore other cuisines until you’ve built up some momentum. The more you get inspired & unafraid to try different cuisines or flavors, the better. You’ll learn what you enjoy cooking & eating. And that will help you think about the longer term act of food preservation.

Address these challenges by implementing a few simple solutions up front. Then you can be on your way to setting up a functional & enjoyable kitchen that supports you like a breeze.

Essential Kitchen Tools/Skills in Your First Kitchen Setup

Familiarize Yourself with Common Kitchen Tools & Utensils.

When you fill out your first kitchen, there’s a few practical tools you’ll need. These kitchen utensils & gadgets will become extensions of yourself over time. I recommend starting to use them frequently enough to build a muscle-memory connection with each one.

Then again, these tools are quite basic & nearly every kitchen has them. But if you don’t or don’t know where Ma keeps hers, you’ll find them all over thrift stores & everywhere else too.

I’m talking about things like knives, cutting boards, pots, pans, spatulas & measuring cups. For a more comprehensive list (though still not the entire thing you could/should have) I laid out the 20 most essential kitchen tools you’ll need.

Take the time to learn how to use each one properly & how to care for them to avoid accidents. It’ll also extend their lifespan.

Practice Proper Knife Skills & Techniques

Knife skills are fundamental to cooking, so it makes sense you have one or two good ones in your first kitchen setup. But they can also be intimidating for beginners. Start by learning the proper grip and cutting techniques to safely handle knives.

Besides what I mentioned earlier in the post, practice practice, practice. You might try chopping a million carrots or cabbages. Mincing a ton of garlic or slicing through 20 pounds of onions. However you choose, focus improving your proficiency & this will boost your confidence in the kitchen too.

Knives are used everywhere all the time so having a food processor or a high powered blender isn’t the answer. Especially if the blades don’t reach low enough to actually chop the food. When you practice though, record yourself from different angles so you can get a look at what you’re doing well & what you need to improve. The further along you go, you can even use those clips as milestones!

Understand & Practice Basic Cooking Methods

Probably one of the best things you can do for yourself when it comes down to the hands-on, actual cooking part of being in the kitchen, is this. Get comfortable & familiar with fundamental cooking methods such as boiling, sautéing, baking, roasting, and grilling.

Practice these techniques with simple recipes like Shepherd’s Pie to gain hands-on experience. From there, you’ll develop a solid foundation of cooking skills even as a beginner.

Be mindful of where you’ve been in your kitchen & what you’ve handled so you can reduce cross-contamination.

And be conscious of hot surfaces! You can keep a couple trivets around if you like. (The trivets are those pot & utensil holders items our mothers & grandmothers always kept around the store. We had a Pillsbury dough boy one while I was growing up!)

Use oven gloves where they make sense or when in doubt. And keep a pot on the store to cover a recently turned off eye. Just because there’s no fire or visible heat source doesn’t mean something won’t burn you.

Organizing & Planning Your First Kitchen Setup

Efficient organization of your kitchen space is essential if you want to maximize functionality & productivity. No one has time to waste, right? And proper organization & planning is definitely a must do, especially if this is your first kitchen setup. Because from this springs forth so much good stuff! Don’t go in without a plan.

We’ve already covered meal planning, but what’s going on that plan, hmm?

You should start stocking your cabinets/pantry or food storage areas with some essential pantry staples. This includes foods like oils, spices, flour & more. I’ve covered that too. But what makes this valuable & useful is that you’ll organize it effectively. Maybe that means organizing by category & labeling containers for easy ID.

It’s important that you regularly check (& replenish!) your pantry staples to make sure you have enough of everything. The last thing anyone wants is to want/need the food & it’s not there or it’s gone bad.

Related Post: 8 Simple Pantry Staples You Need in a Self-Sufficient Kitchen

And when it comes to organizing, before you can put in you need to declutter. Any unnecessary items or utensils or appliances are just space-suckers. And space is valuable! Especially if your kitchen area is small to start.

Organize your kitchen tools, utensils & cookware into designated storage areas. This could be drawer organizers, cabinet shelving or hanging racks to capitalize on vertical space.

And you should arrange things preferably in an order that makes most sense when you’re cooking. The fewer steps you have to take, the more efficient you can be. I saw a video from the US National Archives of how the modern kitchen was designed in the 1940’s with that flow in mind. Crazy that some of the elements I plan to include in that “forever” kitchen I mentioned earlier!

A Few Simple Cooking Tips

Investing in the right kitchen tools and equipment can significantly enhance your cooking experience and efficiency. You’ll grow into the skills and the space over time. So don’t feel like you need to go out & get everything or setup everything all at once. Start small so that you can start now.

Here’s where I’d recommend prioritizing time & money. These tips will get you the most bang for your buck & help you be more efficient.

Invest in a Few Quality Kitchen Tools and Equipment for your first kitchen setup.

Within the realm of essential kitchen tools, prioritize a few up front. That’d be chef’s knives, cutting boards, pots, pans, and cooking utensils that are durable and versatile. The way you’ll be using these pieces makes it worth taking the time to get the best quality you can afford. Also spend time learning how to care for them too. Because care & good quality will mean you shouldn’t need to replace them anytime soon. So choose kitchen equipment made from high-quality materials that are built to last.

Then finally, consider investing your money into multipurpose appliances like a quality blender, food processor. Items that can handle various cooking tasks effectively. I don’t think it’s necessary to have a stand mixer unless you do a lot of bread-making, baking or other things like that. I still dabble with starting up our cottage bakery now that we’ve moved to a new state & if I do, mine will get more use. But for everyday purposes, a hand-held blender or good ole’ wrist action will get you right!

Practice Meal Prep Techniques to Save Time.

Listen, meal prep is part 2 of meal planning. First make the plan, the menu. Then do as much as you can to prep in advance. This will save you time on the backend, especially on days when you’re just not feeling it. Not feeling cooking, being in the kitchen again or even eating the menu choices you picked out. It happens! So prepping keeps the momentum going because instead of calling in, you’ll be like “Well I really just need to…[insert 5-10min quick task here – open a can of this, steam the broccoli, etc.]”

Meal prep looks like chopping vegetables, marinating meats or pre-cooking grains or proteins in advance to streamline your cooking process. Then once it’s all cooled or prepped, storing it away for its big day.

To help you do this, put aside time either weekly or biweekly/monthly to prep ingredients. You might also kit your meal in advance too. That’s just assembling meal components into a bin, drawer, shelf, whatever so that all you need is just grab & go. If you’ve got chili on the menu that month, you might pool any canned foods with your sweet potatoes or onions & peppers, etc. in the pantry together.

The only thing about meal prepping for longer periods of time is it takes a little longer. We’re talking maybe a couple hours to prep everything for an entire month vs 20-45 min if prepping for just a few days. On the other hand, lighter prepping is quicker, but has to be done more frequently. So you pick what works for you.

Once you have everything prepped, be sure to store it all in airtight containers or reusable bags. Things can go in the refrigerator or freezer & will generally keep their freshness which is a huge convenience.

Experiment with Batch Cooking and Freezing Meals

Another time & dollar saver I just love.

Batch cooking is where you make large(r) quantities of meals (or meal components) in advance then portion them out for the future. And it’s really simple to do. And honestly, I recommend this to everyone even if this isn’t their first kitchen setup.

The next time you make just about anything, double it. Or triple it. And preserve it for later. That part is up to you based on the resources, knowledge, skills & equipment you have. Freezing is most popular & if you go that route, I highly recommend vacuum sealing the food. But you can also dehydrate, can, or freeze dry it.

You can batch meals like casseroles, soups, stews even sauces. Just invest in freezer-safe containers or use Mylar bags for long-term storage.

Label and date your meals for easy identification, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. This is how you always have homemade meals on hand. And these are the meals you can plug into your next menu planning session.

Related Post: How to be Successful in Your Kitchen & Maximize Self-Sufficiency – this is all about the other kitchen routines you should think about implementing.

Conclusion – Ready for your First Kitchen Setup?

Setting up your first kitchen may seem like a daunting task. But break it down into manageable steps. Then focus on key areas like organization, stocking essential ingredients & sourcing your own quality tools.

You can create a functional & efficient cooking space with the right plan. Just remember to embrace the process & celebrate your progress. Pretty soon, you’ll soon be whipping up delicious meals & your first kitchen setup wouldn’t have been so bad after all.

You’ve got this, lovely!