BETTER LIVING: 10 Steps to De-Cluttering Your Kitchen
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The kitchen is a tough place to keep organized. Food seems to end up everywhere, and you always seem to have every baking, frying, and steaming utensil but the one you need. But it doesn't have to be that way: with a little planning, you can get your kitchen organized and streamlined. Here’s how.
Food
Whether you just want to streamline your kitchen, or if you’re starting a new wellness program, organizing your food stores is very important. If you tend to ‘lose’ items in the backs of your cupboards, this process can also save you money.
• Take everything out of your pantry and cupboards. Dig deep in the back of those cabinets! Check dates, and toss everything that is expired. If you’re starting a wellness program, toss everything that you no longer want to eat – for example, anything with trans fats. If you’re going organic, toss anything with preservatives, chemical additives, fillers, or other unpronounceable ingredients.
• Sort your food. How you classify is up to you, but some common categories are: snacks; canned goods; pasta, sauce, rice and grains; flour, sugar, oils, spices, and other baking needs; and ---(you fill in the blank here).
• Now, designate a cupboard or pantry space for each category. Arrange foodstuffs neatly on the shelves, so that you can see everything clearly; when you know what you have on hand, you won’t over-shop. Risers or a Lazy Susan are great space-saving options for canned goods, spices, and other smaller items. Make sure kids’ snacks are accessible to them in lower cupboards – or, if you’re keeping track of their snacking, make sure goodies are out of reach.
• Go through your fridge and freezer in the same way as you did your cabinets. Sort foods into categories like veggies, dairy, meats, and condiments, and rearrange to make everything accessible. One good way to make sure you eat more veggies is to place them front and center on the top shelf of your fridge: that way, they're the first thing you see when you open the door.
Pots, pans, utensils and accessories
The items you use to prepare your food are as important to your kitchen as the food itself. But over time, many of us accumulate an abundance of such items – and that constitutes a lot of wasted space. Here’s how to pare down your parers, apple corers, gadgets and gizmos.
• Take an inventory. Clear out your silverware drawer, spread out your pots and pans. Chances are, you’ll find that you have duplicates of more than a few items. Do you really need four bottle openers? Seven ladles? Maybe you have six fry pans but only four matching lids. Choose your favorites (only one set of each utensil or gadget, no more than three similarly-sized pans). Same goes for flatware: think about the maximum number of people you’ll be serving at any one time, and base your total number of forks, spoons, and knives on that estimate. If you never have more than ten people over at once, keep twelve of each type of flatware. Same process goes for steak knives, dessert forks, cloth napkins, placemats, etc. Give anything you don’t use to charities like Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or your local women’s shelter.
• Find your stuff a home. Organizing tools like flatware separators, utility drawer inserts, hanging hooks for large spoons, ladles and spatulas, and hanging pot racks for frequently used pans are all wonderful options. Displaying your pots and pans like art also adds to the ambience of your kitchen.
• Keep track. Whenever you make a purchase, immediately get rid of the item it’s replacing. You don’t need to keep that old set of knives ‘just in case’: trust me, you won’t use them! If someone gives you a gift of kitchenware, make sure to phase out the older model in the same way. Of course, if you like your old stuff better, you can always re-gift, return and exchange, or give the item to charity: after all, it’s the thought that counts!
• If you’re going non-toxic, consider phasing out items with non-stick (Teflon) coatings, opting instead for stainless steel or even cast iron (baking pans can be glass, ceramic, or cast-iron). Over time, non-stick coatings can begin to chip and peel, landing itty-bitty flakes of toxic materials in your food. Also, switch from PVC (vinyl) and other plastic utensils to metal ones. For non-stick options, check out silicone.
Cleaners
I’m a firm believer that green is the way to go when it comes to cleaning. Whether or not you’re there yet, it’s important to be sure that your cleaners are properly stored, away from your food and cooking surfaces. Under the sink is good, but if you have little ones to protect, keep your cleaners in a utility closet in another room – not in a high cupboard over your food, where any small leak could spell disaster for you and your family. If you’re using non-toxic green cleaners, you have a little more leeway, but these products should still be stored out of reach of children.
• In terms of organizing, your cleaners should be neatly arranged, so you can find what you need when you need it. Get anything you don’t use – it’s wasting space, and there’s no reason to have dangerous chemicals hanging around! One thing to remember: many conventional cleaners like bleach, ammonia, and pine cleaners are actually considered hazardous waste, and should not be simply dumped in your trash can. Call your local garbage or recycling authority to find out how to dispose of these chemicals properly, so they don't end up poisoning soil or groundwater.
Now that you're armed with this proven organizing system, it won't be long before you conquer clutter in your kitchen, and make your life a little more streamlined.
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