Kitchen Organizing

So much goes on in a kitchen. It can be the social center, work center, and relaxation center of your home. All this and three meals a day! That's a lot of function in a small area.

Today's kitchen truly is command central of a home. How can you make your space work for you? The first step is to determine the general flow of the meal preparation space, since meal preparation is the main purpose of a kitchen.

Consider where you store food. If you have a pantry, look at how it functions. Can you find what you need? Is it easily accessible? A pantry should be set up like a tiny grocery store with like items together and the oldest products in the front, so you are more likely to use them first. An organized pantry will make it easy to do what I call "shop your pantry" before you go to the grocery store. You can quickly survey what you have and won't buy any duplicates when you get to the store. This technique can also be used with your refrigerator and freezer.

Next, evaluate where you prepare food. Do you have space to work? Do you stand within the work triangle formed by the sink, stove and refrigerator? This should be the area where you do most of your work, whether it's preparation of or clean up after meals. If the counters are too cluttered for you to work comfortably, you need to remove some items so you have more space. Determine which items are used least, and move them to another location. Or consider getting rid of items that are not of use.

Where do you store items like pots and pans, dishes, and spices? These items should be stored in the most convenient location: pots and pans in the largest cabinets near the stove and oven for convenience while cooking, dishes near the dishwasher to make it easiest to put away, spices by the stove for easy access while cooking. The rule of "Easy to Access and Easy to Put Away" should be used for everything within your kitchen.

Now, consider all the other tasks that are done in the kitchen. Do you use part of your kitchen as a home office? Do you keep paperwork here? Do the kids do homework or crafts at the table? Is the kitchen your landing zone when you walk into the house or a launching zone when you leave? How can this space work more efficiently for you? Designate zones for each activity that is done in the area. Each space can serve several purposes. The table can be the dining area and the homework area, and a drawer can be used as your landing zone for keys as well as a small communication center.

Having a home for everything and communicating with all the family members where things belong is important to maintaining order in this most used space.