Organizing Your Kitchen
The kitchen is often considered to be the centerpiece of a home. It tends to be where we spend the most time, from entertaining to cooking to family night. Because we use it for so many practical applications, it is crucial that your kitchen is organized. Meal prep and entertaining are so much easier when you can find what you need when you need it. But before you begin organizing your kitchen, take a look at the tips below. They will give you some insight into the organization process, so that you can determine where to begin and how to organize efficiently.
Only Keep What You Use
I recommend starting the organization process by sorting through the items that you currently have. Keep only what you use on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in areas of the kitchen that are easy to reach. Items that you use less frequently, such as a Thanksgiving turkey platter, should be stored in places that are harder to reach or in another room.
Once you have sorted your items, it will be much easier to identify items to eliminate. Make your decisions based on how long you have had it and when you last used it. Some of you may have items that you bought on a whim and thought you would use, but you never have. If you have not used it in a year or more, it is time to donate and let someone else enjoy the item. If you have older kids, you can also donate plastic plates and cups that they used as toddlers. Look for broken, chipped, and mismatched dinnerware and drinkware, too, and be sure to throw it out.
You can also remove food storage containers from restaurants, containers that do not have a lid or bottom, containers with stains, and ones with poorly fitting lids. Once you are left with only good containers, decide how many you really use during the week. If you have 30 to 40 and only use 3, it is safe to assume that you can throw away the rest. For those of you who enjoy entertaining, you may want to keep a few extras for guests to take leftovers home. However, extra containers should be kept separate from the ones that you use on a regular basis.
Group Similar Items
Even if you plan to keep some items, be sure to take everything out of each cabinet and drawer, so that you can group like items. When I am helping a client organize their kitchen, I often find similar items in multiple places. You just might find that you have 15 wooden spoons taking up unnecessary space in your kitchen!
Use drawer organizers to keep similar items together in drawers. This will make it easy for other members of your household to see where things go and put them back where they belong. There are a variety of organizer options in different materials, such as bamboo, plastic, or mesh. Choose what will make you happy when you open your drawers!
You should also consider the practicality of your storage location. For example, it makes the most sense to store cooking spices in a cabinet or drawer near the stove, as this is where they will be used most often. Baking spices should be stored with other baking supplies, such as flour and sugar, but you might consider storing them on a shelf next to your cooking spices, if you have space.
Make the Most of Your Space
In addition to decluttering and grouping similar items, you can utilize smart storage solutions to help you maximize the space in your kitchen. Extra shelves work great for organizing smaller items, such as spices, in cabinets. This will make it easy to spread out your spices, so that you can see each one clearly while you are cooking. If you have a small storage space, consider using a turntable instead.
Pull-out shelving is a useful solution for the bottom of your cabinets. Many times, items in the back of your cabinets are forgotten and never used because no one wants to get on their knees to dig around for it. Having a pull-out shelf makes it easy and convenient to store and find items at the bottom of the cabinet. There are even do-it-yourself options for those who want to save some time and money.
Some of you may also have deep cabinets, where items tend to get lost in the back. This is the perfect place to store items that you rarely use, such as large pots and pans. You can stack pots and pans to keep them organized. If you have room to store the coordinating lids in the same cabinet, a lid organizer will help you keep them under control and out of the way.
These tips will help you create a clean and clutter-free environment in the heart of your home. You will find that cooking and meal prep are much faster, too, when you don’t have to spend hours searching for the supplies and utensils that you need. However, I know that organizing your kitchen does take time. If you are short on time, reach out to us for professional support!