May/June 2007
Fort Wayne Woman Magazine
Organize Your Kitchen for Easy Living
Are your kitchen counters cluttered with items that you don't have room to put away? Do you find it difficult to cook because you can never find what you need inside your cupboards? You might be in need of a kitchen reorganization! Spending some time on this project will add efficiency and simplicity to your day-to-day living.
Start by Taking Stock
If you are short on storage space or your cabinets are overflowing even in a larger kitchen, start by opening up all the doors and drawers. Take a look with fresh eyes at what the contents are. Sift through each one, pulling out items as you go. Immediately toss the items you have not used in ages. Pull out the broken dishes and the food that has been sitting at the back of the pantry for far too long.
Prime Real Estate is for Everyday Items
To create even more space, store seldom-used items somewhere else. Do you have large serving platters taking up space that are only used for special occasions? What about the turkey roaster, chocolate fountain, or bread machine? Consider setting up overflow shelving in the basement or pass them on to someone else if you don't use them at all anymore!
Take a Minute to Make a Plan
Continue pulling everything out as you go and group in categories on the countertops and table (use the floor if you have to - hopefully it's clean!). You'll have things for cooking and baking, everyday dishes, and food storage, to name a few. Take a look at your kitchen layout and determine where it would make sense for these categories to be located, based on the areas you use them. Put your cooking and baking things nearest your food prep area. You may put some things back exactly as you had them, because they've worked well there. Change it up if something has not been working for you.
Choose the Right Accessories
When you are deciding on a home for everything, there are many products that can make storage more convenient. A hanging stemware rack for wine glasses can make use of that space beneath a cabinet. Pull-out drawers that are secured inside deep cabinets can make items at the back easier to reach. Drawer dividers for daily utensils and large cooking utensils keep things orderly. Double space inside your cabinets by installing hooks for mugs or buy stand-alone shelves to add another row of bowls or plates. The lazy Susan is still a very useful tool to keep everything on a shelf in full-view with just a little spin. Also use small containers for grouping small packets of sauces, mixes, and another for drink mixes.
Tips for Organizing Your Recipe Collection
If you are like many women, you have a large collection of recipes cut out of magazines and newspapers, and maybe even some printed off the internet. The recipe box that works perfect for 4 by 6 index cards just doesn't work for these big pages. If your recipes are in a big stack, try one of these ideas to organize them - and make it easier to find the perfect recipe for every occasion.
Make your very own cookbook with all your favorites.
Set up a 3-ring binder with clear page protectors and some index tab dividers. Label the tabs for appetizers, desserts, etc. and slip the recipes into the clear sheets under the corresponding tab. No three-hole punching required, and no stained recipes when ingredients are splashed on them. For really pretty binders, check out the colors at www.Russelandhazel.com.
Accordian-Style File Holder
If you want to get those recipes organized but the binder idea is a bit too much for you, try separating them into broad categories, and then place each category in it's own tabbed section of an accordian-style file holder. You can purchase the accordion file dividers with 7, 13, or more tabs, depending on how specific you want your categories and how many recipes you have.