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Kitchen Organizing 101:
a recipe for organizational success
by Martha Matthews
There is no doubt that the hub of the home is the kitchen. It is the
place we gather to spend time with family and friends. Many of us do our
main entertaining in an open floor plan that has a kitchen/family-room
combination. As a result, the kitchen has become the most difficult room
in the house to keep clean. Our usual organizational challenges of
overflowing cabinets and exploding junk drawers are compounded by mail,
toys, clothes and all sorts of clutter. If your kitchen could use a
little help getting organized, try this recipe for organizational
success.
1. Know Your Objectives
Start by creating an organizational plan. Establish stations within your
kitchen just like a restaurant does: prep area, cooking, baking and
cleaning. Organize your kitchen into these four quadrants by keeping
related items together in the same area.
Break the job down into sections. Try to finish one section per day.
Don't let the size of the job overwhelm you. Take it one small step at a
time. Before you know it you will have finished. As the saying goes,
"How do you eat an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time."
2. Inexpensive Storage Solutions
Your storage solutions don't have to be expensive. Check the dollar
stores for plastic bins, baskets and containers. Check stores that carry
overstocks, closeouts and slightly dented items for great deals on
storage racks and freestanding units.
Find creative ways to reuse items you already own. Try this inexpensive
storage solution for spice bottles: cover the bottom half of a shoebox
with the same contact paper you used on your shelves. Fill the box with
your spices and set it inside your cabinet for easy "pull-out
retrieval". If you are short on cabinet space but have plenty of wall
space, try using an old bureau to store canned goods, towels or extra
dishes and cookware.
Don't forget to "nest" items inside one another. For example pots of
graduating sizes can sometimes be fit one inside the other.
3. Toss out the Clutter
Get rid of what is old or that you don't use. Toss expired herbs, yeast
and baking powder. If you can't remember the last time you used some of
your cooking gadgets, why not send them off to a new home where they
will be appreciated. Make a vow to not bring in any more small
appliances, gadgets or knick knacks. Clear off the counters and decide
what really needs to be out. If an item has no use in the kitchen it
needs to be put somewhere else. Bag or box the items to be dumped,
donated or given to a friend.
4. Clean It
Clean out one cabinet at a time. Wipe down the shelves. Clear and wipe
down countertops. If you have tile, now is a good time to clean the
grout with a degreasing solution. Replace tattered dishtowels. Replace
torn or worn shelf paper. Clean out the inside and outside of the
refrigerator. Clean the oven. Don't forget to clean the top of the range
and the knobs. Dust the ceiling fan. Dust the top of your cabinets and
refrigerator.
5. Home Sweet Home
Every item needs its own home. When items have a designated place they
tend to get put away. If they don't have a home then they tend to get
lost.
Utilize bins and baskets wherever possible to keep "like things"
together and at easily accessible.
Go vertical. The important concept here is that any time you use
vertical space it will free up horizontal space. Utilize the empty
vertical wall space in a nearby closet by installing shelves that can be
used to store canned goods. Install hanging broom and mop holders.
Employ hooks, pegboards, and Lazy Susans. If your counter space is at a
premium, see if you can mount some of your small appliances under a
cabinet.
6. Efficiency in design
Organize your kitchen for maximum efficiency. Place items near each
other if they will be used together. For example: if your coffee maker
sits on the counter, store the coffee cups, cream and sugar in the
cabinet above it.
7. Never Let Clutter Back In
Once you have spent all that time organizing your kitchen, you'll want
to make sure that the clutter stays out. Set some time aside once a
month to check for clutter buildup. Also spend a few minutes each night
putting away anything that doesn't belong in the kitchen. Nip that
clutter in the bud before it takes root.
If you hadn't already noticed, the first letter of each rule spells out
the word kitchen. It's a handy little way for you to remember each rule.
Happy organizing!
About the author
Martha Matthews, Executive Director of
Christian-Homemaking.com, a web site with resources devoted to helping
Christian Homemakers Manage their home. She also has a popular free
monthly newsletter for Christian Homemakers called The Christian
Homemaking Newsletter. To subscribe visit www.christian-homemaking.com/newsletter.html
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