5 kitchen must-haves to keep track of while moving

My family moved last month. Purging, packing and then unpacking my kitchen was painful but ultimately very satisfying. I tossed chipped mugs, warped baking pans, mostly empty bags of stale grains. I pared down the wooden-spoon collection and finally bid farewell to a steamer basket I haven’t used . . . ever! Many spice jars are now empty, clean and ready to be replenished, and all of the scraps of shredded coconut, chocolate chips and nuts went into an epic batch of cookies. So now it feels like my kitchen is a lean, efficient cooking machine.

But, while I was moving I found out that I can’t live even one day without these five things:

1. Kosher salt 2. Cast iron frying pan 3. Heatproof spatula 4. Corkscrew 5. Kitchen scissors

See our 10 favourite kitchen essentials here.

What’s lost? Frankly I don’t miss it: the dough hook for my stand mixer. I almost always knead breads by hand; feeling the dough is the best way to know if it’s ready.

The last thing I packed? Also the first thing I unpacked: my salad spinner. I heart salad.

What I wrapped extra-preciously so it wouldn’t break? My late aunt’s martini glasses. I also heart martinis, never more so than after a stressy move day!