How to Organize Your Kitchen
The kitchen is often considered to be the heart of the home. It’s where family members and friends gather for meals, conversations, and get-togethers. Even though the living room or family room may have comfortable couches and chairs, more often than not when company is over, you find everyone congregating in the kitchen.
Because it is such a well-used room of the house, it’s also one of the rooms that needs the most organization. A well-organized kitchen helps simplify your life! While organizing your kitchen may feel like a daunting task, taking a day at least once a year to go through belongings, purging and organizing items can help keep things in check so it won’t continue to be such an overwhelming job.
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5 Kitchen Organization Tips
Here are some great tips to consider when you’re ready to start that kitchen organization project you’ve been putting off for months:
1) Empty cabinets and evaluate items. Make piles of items- keep, donate, and toss. The keep pile should contain items you use on a regular basis. Keep only the things you truly use and love. Donate duplicate items or items you forgot you had and never use to charity or family members. Finally, toss items that are broken or beyond repair.
2) Make a list. As you organize, write down items you need to replace. If your favorite pot has a broken lid, time to replace it. Are your dish towels looking worn out or stained? Make a note to purchase some new ones. You can also mark down projects that need attending to at a later time, like fixing a wobbly chair leg or tightening the hinges on the cabinets.
3) Clean as you go. As you’re clearing out cabinets, wipe down the shelves before putting everything back inside. Same goes for drawers and even the refrigerator. Wipe up crumbs and spills and throw away expired food in the fridge. Cleaning a little at a time makes it less overwhelming.
4) Decide where items should be stored. As you’re emptying cabinets, try to keep like items grouped together. Keep baking items like cookie sheets, cake pans and cooling racks together, pots and pans and lids in another pile, seasonal or holiday items in another. This will help you put everything back in an organized fashion. The items you use on a regular basis should be easily accessible, while items like the giant roasting pan you only use at Thanksgiving can go on a high shelf, or even in the garage or basement to save cabinet space.
5) Keep the counter clear. Once you’ve put everything back in its designated spot, try to keep the counters as clear as possible. The counter needs to be cleaned and wiped down often, and knick knacks and papers will just get in the way. Create a spot for sorting through mail and bills somewhere other than the kitchen, if possible. Otherwise, use a decorative dish or bowl for mail and keys, but continue to sort through it on a weekly basis.
Remember to pace yourself when you start a project of this magnitude. Give yourself ample time to sift through belongings and get them back in their proper, clean spots. Create a checklist and organization plan before you start, cleaning and reorganizing one area at a time and checking things off your list as you go.