What’s on my mind? An online friend recently expressed a twinge of discomfort about the organization of his kitchen. I know plenty about kitchens, mainly that ours is too small.
If your kitchen is also on the small side, this post may help. I’m very good at giving advice, even if not so hot at taking it. I want to visit my kitchen - not live there. Having a well-organized kitchen helps Himself and I do exactly that. So here are some tips, take ’em or leave ’em. Top tips, first:
When I’m not using it for stock, this stock pot sits on my kitchen counter as an ideal storage for kitchen tools. Group tools in large and small jars inside the pot. Raise the jars on small blocks of wood. The jars will be hidden, but your tools will be at exactly the right height for you to find and use.
Our kitchen has minimal cupboard space for canned goods. To solve this problem without spending a lot of money, I bought a custom-made bench for a covered area of the patio.
The seat of the bench flips up, revealing a handy storage space for two and three layers of dozens and dozens of cans.
Essential to our efficient, bug-proof storage of canned goods, the ample space in the bench lets us take advantage of on-sale case-lot goods. Decorated with cushions, a storage bench such as this will work in almost any room of a house or apartment.
Cupboards are a major component of efficient kitchen storage. Well-organized kitchen cupboards need washable, durable, tightly closable, similar-sized containers (preferably opaque, preferably matching for the wow! factor, and preferably unbreakable). I organize mine by food-type, grouping sugars together and doing the same with cereals, flours, etc.
No matter how large or small, a deep freeze provides efficient storage, saving time, money, and waste. Examples? I packaged this chili for a larger meal, but also in smaller containers for a handy lunch.
I routinely buy fresh mushrooms in bulk and on sale, cutting them with an egg slicer (faster to clean than a food processor; faster to use than a knife). I sauté, cool, package, and freeze them in 1/2-c. portions for later use in recipes … A space-saver; a time-saver; a money-saver.
With writing my priority, Himself does much of the cooking. A well-organized kitchen is especially important when more than one person’s cooking. While many of my older recipes are on file cards, I share my very favorites with the readers of my second blog, Nicole Parton’s Favorite Recipes: http://nicoleparton.blogspot.com
Anyone can organize recipes this way: Blogs can be public or private - for your eyes only. No need to write out recipes: Screen shots work well for private blogs.
Himself also added vertical and horizontal shelves to the hall cupboard, adjacent to the water heater. I store baking pans there.
There’s more, of course, all of it revolving around space and efficiency. I wrote about kitchen organization years ago. While these books aren’t easy to find, Amazon may be able to find gently used copies.
© Nicole Parton, 2021
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