Today I’m serving up the best I know of kitchen organization.
Marie Kondo says there are 3 main categories in a kitchen=
Food- I covered most of this category in, “Boosting Environmental Food Appeal”, but I will expand on food storage next.
Cooking Tools- Emmert Wolf said, “A man is only as good as his tools”.
Implements for Eating- Clean your plate and you can have a cookie.
I have been working on our kitchen for more than 2 years. In fact, I have organized and re-done nearly everything (just shy of doing an actual remodel) kitchen related. We purchased “new” used appliances, added drawers, childproofed, put in a new faucet, added a water filter, replaced the garbage disposal, changed our pantry setup (at least four times), adjusted shelves, removed doors, childproofed (intentionally duplicated), and purged SO MANY THINGS. Now, it finally feels DONE! Or at least as done as I’m doing right now! So here is what I cooked up during the process…
Food
When it comes to food, I think sorting by categories is everything! In the perfect world, I would have a huge pantry or wall of cabinets and drawers to store all our food together. For now, creativity rules the day. We have a hanging multi-tiered fruit basket that utilizes a wonderful space near the sink. We keep our tea in a basket above the fridge. And we have three separate pantries, only one of which is actually in the kitchen...
“The Primary Pantry" is a shallow closet in the center of our kitchen. It stores all the food we are actively eating, the trash can, and fire extinguisher. Plus, it utilizes wall and door mounted racks for spices and oils. I also hung our aprons, measuring tools, rolling pin, and large spoon on the wall of this pantry.
“The Secondary Pantry” is a beautiful dining hutch in the entry area. It stores all our extra food plus a basket of baking ingredients. I have totally fallen in love with having a “baking basket”to whip out when baking. Again, in my ideal kitchen, I will have a baking cabinet perfectly appointed with all the gear and ingredients I want.
“The Garage Pantry” is a rack of metal shelves near the door leading to the kitchen. It stores a few “grab and go” snacks, bottled water, large storage containers, and entertaining vessels.
I utilize baskets and boxes in all our pantries to keep things organized by category. I also stack dishes and stand things up vertically when possible.
Cooking Tools
Frankly, I enjoy breaking many of the standard organization rules in the kitchen. For example, Marie Kondo suggests that completely clear counters are the goal, and everything should have a place in a cabinet or drawer. While I definitely think clear counters are attractive, I also appreciate having certain tools on the counter. Kondo says ease of cleaning is the main criterion for kitchen storage. I think it is easier to keep things like a blender, coffee maker, butter dish, and drying rack clean on the counter. Also, corners are generally dead space unless they are softened and utilized by something.
I always recommend streamlining and keeping things as simple as possible. I carefully consider what appliances and tools can do double duty. Our blender serves as a food processer. Our scissors do at least 15 things. And I got rid of many things similar to, and including, the crockpot. Actually, crockpots are literally a joke in my house, because I have given away and purchased (at a thrift store for no more than $10) about 3 crockpots. Currently, we have zero crockpots and you know what? We also have zero crockpot problems. Anything that can be easily purchased at a thrift store need not take up valuable kitchen storage.
For more ideas on how to purge see, “Holding onto the Good Stuff”,“Letting go of Stuff: Developing Habits of Release”, and “Getting Rid of Weird Waste”.
The most important rule when it comes to kitchen tools is to keep it SAFE! Store knives and other sharp objects in a high drawer or cabinet. Avoid storing heavy things overhead. Keep cleaners and chemicals up high. And always have a fire extinguisher nearby. Microwaves may be quite dangerous, so avoid them as much as possible.
Implements for Eating-
Okay, I’m looking at you fine china. Use it or lose it. Unpack and stack. I think eating utensils should be both beautiful and practical. I love having light weight and durable dishes (we have Correlle) the whole family can use. In fact, one of the favorite changes I made in our kitchen was removing the door on our main dish cabinet. Open shelving is an awesome way to decorate with dishes (See “Decorating with ‘Fun’ctional Art”). I was even able to repurpose this door to build an extra shelf for our pantry (win, win!). I keep our serving vessels to a minimum and recommend eliminating anything that goes unused. Most people, unless they are frequent party hosts, do not need 3 sets of silverware or stacks of extra dishes. Also, having “kid drawers” has helped our family by fostering independence and easing parental burdens. We have one drawer for cups, another for plates and bowls, and one for the kid’s silverware.
Other tips-
Think Efficiency and Ergonomics- Consider things like where you want to stand when unloading the dishwasher and which spot will be the main prep location. Can you move things around to make them easier to get to? Can you reach everything you will need at a particular station to complete the task at hand? Is it easy to access your most used kitchen items?
Store compost bins in the freezer= no more yucky smells.
Go for reusable as much as possible = save the earth.
Keep plastic grocery bags in an old tissue box.
Use food packaging to create dividers (Velveeta boxes are premium, not that we eat Velveeta… okay, we do- don’t judge me for the melt).
Proper lighting makes a world of difference. Brighter is better, so using full spectrum bulbs and having under cabinet lights will benefit most kitchens.
Color in a kitchen (or any room) needs to feel good and have balance of dark and light, warm and cool. Red and orange stimulate appetite. Blue suppresses appetite but can make a great accent. Too much black makes rooms feel smaller and cold, so use it sparingly (countertops or appliances are the best spots). Earth tones, yellows, and golds balance the heaviness of black and are a great warm and cozy color palate for kitchens. White evokes a feeling of cleanliness, but a completely white kitchen can feel stark and show all dirt, so adding other colors creates harmony. Green is one of my favorite kitchen colors, because it reminds me of all the wonderful plants we eat.
This week, I want to thank you all for sticking with me. I know my kitchen discussion has been a long one (with lots of pictures too). I hope you find some golden nuggets you can grill up in your space.
As my Italian mother says, “Manga, manga” and enjoy!
Love Always,
Meg
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