If your disorganized kitchen has you pulling your hair out at dinnertime every evening, don’t worry! There are some easy ways to streamline things so that you can find what you need when you need it. Read on for some quick tips to streamline your kitchen!
Zones
- Start thinking like a kindergarten teacher. Their classes are organized into “zones” and for good reason. Ever peek in on your youngster’s class and wonder how, with 25 kids, it can go from chaos to clean in a matter of minutes? It’s because everyone knows where everything is supposed to go. The building blocks go in the “building block zone”, painting stuff goes in the “art zone”, dress-up clothes go in the “dress-up zone”. Yes, it’s elementary my dear Watson and it works, and what works for those kids can work for you too! We’re going to create zones in your kitchen cabinets, keeping like items with like items, and close to where they will be used. Baking stuff (if you bake a lot) in a cabinet by the oven, for example. If your kids do their homework in the kitchen, then their homework stuff is grouped together in a bin by the table. See? Simple.
Tips
- So how many recipe books do you have crammed in your kitchen? More than 20? If you’re like most women, it’s right around that many. Here’s a tip: Recipe books do not have to stay in the kitchen. Gasp! It’s true though. The only recipe book that needs to be there is the one you’re currently using to cook with. The rest can, believe it or not, reside on the bookshelf with their other page-bound friends. You’ve now freed up two or three shelves. Nice job.
- Don’t knock drawer dividers until you’ve tried ’em. These babies can keep your utensils from becoming a tangled mess in your drawers. They’re worth the $10 you’ll pay for them at any major chain. Buy some.
Classify
- Group your foods together in your pantry so you can find what you need easier. If you have kids that help you put the groceries away, investing in a label maker can help keep things organized. Put all the breakfast stuff on one shelf, snack foods can go in a bin lower down so your kids can reach them, pasta stuff together, canned vegetables in a group, beans, you get the picture.
- The kitchen is the heart of many people’s homes. Not only used for just cooking but homework is done here, stories shared over coffee, bill paying in the evening…it’s truly a multi-functional room. Make sure your kitchen reflects everything you do in there. Whenever friends come over to drink coffee with you while your kids play, well make sure it’s welcoming and inviting in there. If your kids do their homework there every afternoon, make sure they have the tools they need. If you do your bill-paying there, set up a space for your stamps, checkbook, envelopes, etc. in a drawer so you can find what you need. Celebrate the many faces of your kitchen!
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