While you may not mind a little chaos in your attic or spare closet, an untidy kitchen quickly becomes unbearable. It’s the place where many families spend most of their waking hours cooking, eating, paying bills, doing homework, or playing games. It’s also where guests are most likely to head when you’re entertaining.
Organizing this hub of the house may be a challenge, but if you approach it in stages, include everyone who lives with you in the effort, and follow these tips, it can be a very rewarding activity.
First, declutter. As with closet clean-outs, anything you haven’t used in a year or more is a good candidate for removal unless it has sentimental value or you’re saving it for rare special occasions. Separate your castoffs into trash, recyclables, and useful things to donate, then haul them all out before you have a chance to change your mind. If you won’t be going to a donation drop-off site immediately, put the things you’ll be taking there in the car anyway. Out of sight, out of mind!
Cut the Project Down to Size With Manageable Tasks
Now you’re ready for the main event. Your kitchen organizing project won’t seem overwhelming if you divide it into manageable tasks. Start by developing strategies for separate areas like the counters, cabinets, drawers, refrigerator, and pantry. Then, if you like, you can designate spaces within those places for each household member to arrange things that only they use. If you have a baby or pet, save cabinet or pantry space for their essentials.
Before you roar into action, take a moment to look at your kitchen as a whole to see if it has any problems that need extra attention. For example, if counter space is limited, you might want to bring in a rolling kitchen island or baking cart. When you’re ready to cook or bake, you can use it to bring tools and ingredients closer and add to your workspace. That way, you won’t need to overload the counter and risk something slipping off it to cause a mess or ruin your recipe.
If your kitchen simply isn’t big enough to hold everything you want to keep there, plan to make the best possible use of vertical space by doing things like:
Storing seldom-used items in the space above your cabinets
Installing shelves as high up the wall as needed to hold your essentials
Using hanging baskets to store fruits and vegetables that don’t need refrigeration
Hanging pots and pans from a ceiling rack
Here are some ideas for each area of your kitchen.
Counters:
Keep staples and snacks on the counter in clear, attractive containers, so you’ll always know when you’re running low on something.
Use a lazy Susan for spices and condiments, and label anything that isn’t obvious to avoid mishaps like grabbing cayenne when your recipe calls for paprika.
Make storage devices do double duty. For example, a wine rack with a curved open space at the top can be a paper towel holder, too.
Store kitchen knives and sharpeners in a knife block or space-saving knife roll.
Arrange cutting boards vertically in a rack for convenient access and to keep their surfaces dry.
Cabinets:
Separate items into categories like dinnerware, serving dishes, glassware, and miscellany like vases, decanters, and gravy boats.
Place frequently used foods and containers on lower shelves and seldom-used ones on upper shelves. Add roll-out shelves or vertical dividers as needed.
Mount a spice rack on the front of a cabinet door.
On the inside of a cabinet door, place hooks to hold mugs or towels, or install a pot lid hanger.
Drawers:
These four types of drawer organizers can make your life easier:
One for silverware
One to hold kitchen gadgets of various shapes and sizes
One to tidy up storage containers and lids
One for that messy “everything” drawer that everyone has but no one wants to deal with
Refrigerator:
Store foods that must stay as cold as possible on lower shelves and toward the back, items everyone’s always looking for toward the front, and condiments in the shelves on the door.
Use bins to separate fruits and vegetables in the crisper, especially onions and potatoes that make each other spoil when they get together.
Save counter space with a magnetic paper towel holder you can stick on the side of the refrigerator.
Try sticking other convenient magnetized devices there, like a small whiteboard for notes or a file to hold your favorite recipes.
Pantry:
Store items of the same type – like cereals, pasta, rice, snacks, spices, condiments, oils, and canned goods – together so that you can easily find what you need.
Take dry ingredients out of their packages and store them in airtight containers to keep them fresh.
Use clear, labeled containers to help you keep track of what you have and how much.
Use stackable containers to make the most of shelf space.
Hang hooks or an over-the-door wire rack to hold towels, aprons, or grocery bags.
If you don’t have a walk-in pantry, purchase a stand-alone one that opens for easy access, or install a shelving unit to hold items you often find yourself hunting for.
Now, celebrate your success with a pizza party for the awesome organizing team! If you need help organizing your kitchen or any other space in your home, contact us at Creative Organizing Solutions we bring order to your home, office and life.
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