Tips for organizing your kitchen

There is much to be said to the art of organizing.   Organizing whether we like it or not, is a part of our everyday lives.

If we learn to do it well, then over time it becomes natural and only positive results can occur.   Like finding our car keys!

If we do not learn it well, then we continue on in our unstructured day looking for car keys, pens, spatulas, pot holders, and can openers and anything else we tend to use.

I use examples with the kitchen, because I never realized how important it was to be organized until I really started spending more time cooking.

I surprised myself when I would get so frustrated and annoyed when I couldn’t find what I needed – when I needed it.    For someone who never enjoyed cooking, I found myself actually taking the process pretty seriously.  Needing to get a pizza out of the oven right then and there without delay before it begins to burn, but not being able to find the darn pot holders to grab the pan is just so annoying!

So I began taking organization more seriously.  And here are a few tips that might help you which help me:

1.  Toss out unused and needless utensils.

I’m talking about old can openers, cork screws (I think we have 4 different ones lying around), old baking pans never used etc.

2.  Lose the junk drawer.

Make sure everything has it’s own place.   The way to do this is one of the hardest things to do – do not have a junk drawer.   Junk drawers are evil!  They serve no positive use, they clutter the place, make it hard to find things, and just look terrible.

3.  Create space.

Finding space is hard when space is limited.  But once go through your cabinets, pantry and drawers to get rid of anything you haven’t used over the years you will be amazed at what you will end up with.

For example, you may end up with an extra few shelves in your pantry.   Why not use them to store your cookbooks?   Or how about some larger appliances or fancy pasta bowls?

The options are endless.

If you are looking for a site which specializes in organization for the home, office and all around life – head over to Deb Allison’s blog where she specializes in this exact topic.

Good luck with your organization journey and don’t wait until springtime to do it!

Liz
www.simpleitaliancooking.com