Organizing your kitchen; A Guide

Imagine being hungry and coming home to a chaotic kitchen. Nobody would want that hangry man`s havoc, right? A smart organisation of a busy place like a kitchen is hence mandatory to calm the chaos and heal the heart. It will not only keep the countertops, cabinets and drawers neat and tidy but also make it more presentable.

Helpful tips to bring about the mentioned change:

Sorting out; kitchens are usually stuffed with all ranges of items from tiny spoons to large food processors; which if not sorted properly could cost a person 3 hours for a simple 30 minute task. To avoid this, begin by jotting down all the items used in a scribbling pad. Do it in a manner that gives you a clear differentiation of often and seldom-used items. Discard items no longer in use, like the expired condiments in the drawer waiting for its farewell or the tiniest spoon set nobody ever went to.

Now that you have a rough picture of what things you want, the next step is assigning the correct place for storing the items; Arrange your cabinet contents according to use. By grouping items together to create zones – cooking, cleaning, prepping,  you will have everything you need close to hand as you move around. The most commonly used utensils should occupy the drawer closest to the food preparation counter. Having dividers and trays in the drawer is recommended. It will make it easier to group the items of similar categories together, yet unmixed.

For those with open shelving, choose colour palettes that complement the backsplash or kitchen cabinets. Keep it in mind to use only one colour throughout for styling, as mixing many colours will make the entire look messy. Clean white kitchen colouring will make the room look spacious. 

Selectively decide the cabinet knobs and handles that go along with the choice of your entire kitchen look. Wrong choices will make the room look haphazard. 

Spices and condiments should be stored in transparent containers of size neither too large nor too small. Labelling them with their respective names will be extra helpful while looking for the correct recipe. This will keep you from rummaging around in the back of cabinets or frequently ending up with multiple purchases or out-of-date herbs. Adding up a spice rack at the back of larder doors is also an option as the jars sit at eye level with the labels facing out clearly visible. The most logical way to categorize a herb and spice collection is by placing them in alphabetical order rather than by the style/shape of the packaging.

If one doesn’t have room for a large pantry, utilizing the cabinet doors can go a long way towards keeping essential ingredients organized. Designing them with specific contents in mind can help one make the most of the available space when organizing a kitchen. Racks can be added for oils, spices, coffee and even everyday ingredients such as pasta and rice. Keeping the items in use every day on shelves of different heights will make them look tidy and easy to locate.

Dishes and glassware should occupy the space closest to the dishwasher and sink. This will make it easier to place the washed and cleaned items. As opposed to this, if one usually likes to host guests for drinks, they`ll  almost certainly own an impressive collection of glassware. In that case, hanging glasses from the ceiling is an effective way to organize them into order as it takes the pressure off the cabinet space. One can even arrange them by size and use, to make it easy to serve during crowded situations. Besides that, rows of shimmery glassware will also serve the purpose of decor.

The spacious lower cabinets should be dedicated to the storage of bulky pots and pans. Installation of pull-out cabinets is recommended for upscaling a basic cabinet into a customised space.

Speciality items like rolling pins, cookie-cutters, cookie sheets of varied shapes and sizes, baking pans could make the process of organizing bake-wares challenging, but using labelled bins to gather items like spoons and measuring cups and shelf dividers for stacked pans could make it easier.

Avoid keeping every appliance categorised as a countertop on a display. Keep the heavier items on the lower cabinets as it will make them easier to reach. However, gadgets like coffee makers which are frequently in use can be kept on display. 

The space underneath the sink should be utilised for the storage of cleaning supplies. Make sure to store only those items that belong in the kitchen cleaning.

A regular cleanout routine is to be practised for the freezer and refrigerator. It is recommended to store items in transparent containers and silicone stasher bags for ensuring the freshness of food materials as well as quick access. A disorganized fridge could lead to food wastage which is not good.

Miscellaneous items like cloth bags for carriage, foils, baking parchment, tea towels and various others can be stored in a junk drawer.