Meet your new college kitchen!
Get acquainted with your new college kitchen and learn clever ways to set up your kitchen on a budget!
Starting out in a new environment, especially for the first time can be scary and difficult to know where to start. I hope that this article eases fears and gets you excited to start in your very own kitchen!
First you are going to need to know what is available to you. What is your living situation: Do you have your very own fully furnished apartment with a built-in kitchen? Are you sharing a house with several roommates? Or are you dorm-ing it on campus? Each location has its own strengths and benefits but first and foremost knowing your environment allows you to assess how you can best utilize a kitchen.
Exploring the possibilities…
Beginning with an apartment kitchen, it seems the most straightforward; you get to call a small, cozy kitchen space your home. It might not have all the bells and whistles of a home kitchen but soon enough you’ll master the art of cooking in tight spaces. Many apartments come equipped with an oven, stovetop, refrigerator, and freezer. These are the basics of a classic kitchen set-up and will allow you to cook most types of dishes. Although this space does not usually come with appliances or kitchen supplies, you can set up a well established kitchen with minimal supplies and money.
Next up is a shared house kitchen. This can often be one of the most cost efficient ways of building a kitchen as you are able to share with housemates and divide up the cost of kitchen appliances and supplies. However it can come with some drawbacks, like finding space for your personal groceries or having too many cooks in the kitchen. This kitchen is often the most commonly thought of kitchen with the same features as the apartment kitchen just sized up. Setting up your kitchen in a shared house can be wonderfully rewarding after collaborating with your housemates.
Lastly, setting up a kitchen in the dorms might be seen as impossible–but I assure this is not the case! Oftentimes dorm kitchens can be the most cost effective because you don’t have to pay for existing kitchen appliances in your building or gas and electricity. When moving into the dorms, make sure to familiarize yourself with allowed items. Certain dorm halls have restrictions on kitchen knives, microwaves, coffee pots, etc. But before you go off and buy kitchen appliances consider taking a tour of your dorm hall as many have kitchenettes in the common area which can include refrigerators, stovetops, ovens, microwaves, and even electric kettles. Dorms can also be a great way to meet people also interested in cooking who might share different kitchen appliances.
Adding the final touches…
With each kitchen, scoping out your proposed area is the first step while the second step is to add in needed supplies to fill out your kitchen space. First you need to ask yourself some basic questions such as “Can I bring some kitchen supplies from home or do I need to purchase a new set of supplies?”, “Do I have roommates and how will they fit into my kitchen space?”, and “What are the most necessary items I need to cook successfully?”. These questions should help guide you on what you want to cook in your kitchen and what supplies you need in order to achieve these goals. Many of the types of kitchens listed allow you to share resources within your community and set up your college kitchen without spending money on fancy new kitchen gadgets.
I hope that familiarizing you with your new kitchen allows you to envision the possibilities of cooking in a new space and inspires you to utilize the resources available to you to the fullest extent. Setting up a kitchen in a new space does not have to be costly or time consuming and can be a great way to make friends with people who also want to cook. Happy Cooking :)