January is the perfect time for a kitchen tune-up. A new year has dawned, and with it the possibility of new cooking adventures. If tackling your kitchen seems overwhelming, start with one (or all) of these eight tips for a neater, cleaner, and more organized kitchen.
1. Get rid of plastic packaging in the pantry and store your food in clear containers. Nothing breaks up the flow of a pretty pantry more than a mess of plastic packaging piled one on top of the other. Instead, store your food staples in glass jars or other clear containers. The cupboard will immediately feel more organized and accessible.
2. De-junk your utensil drawer with an organizer insert. Don't just throw everything into the drawer! Instead, use drawer organizer inserts to keep your cooking utensils and tools separate, neat, and easy to locate.
3. Create a waste-sorting and cleaning station under the kitchen sink. The area under the kitchen sink is an awkward space, and too often a catch-all for trash, recycling, and cleaning supplies. Make it easy on yourself with pull-out drawer gliders and trash can systems, which are easy to install and oh-so-effective at keeping the area clean and manageable.
4. Add wall storage. If you're short on space in your kitchen, make the most of your wall! Hanging pots and pans can not only be effective storage, but also a built-in work of art-especially if you have colorful cookware or a pretty pegboard.
5. Get a rack to store your pot lids. Pot lids always seem to be in the way, don't they? Which is why we love pot lid racks. They're inexpensive, and you can hang them inside cupboards or behind a pantry door if you don't want your lids exposed.
6. Buy or keep the essentials and get rid of the rest. The #1 enemy of a neat, organized kitchen is too much stuff. If you're just starting to stock your kitchen or looking to pare down, stick with the essentials and give away any small electric appliances, cookware, bakeware and utensils you don't use.
7. Once you've pared down, organize items according to task. Your kitchens should be set up to eliminate any unnecessary movement, so group items together by task, with the most-used items within arm's reach. For example, spices, oils, and cooking utensils should be near the stove, while cutting boards and knives should be near your prep area.
8. Keep cookbook collections in control with the "one in, one out" policy. Keep your cookbook collection in check with this simple trick: for every new cookbook you get, pass on an old cookbook to a friend or family member. Before you give it away, make sure to copy out a few of your favorite recipes, then pass it on with good will!
Related: A Smart Organizing Solution for Deep Kitchen Drawers
(Images: 1+2. Leela Cyd Ross; 3. Top: Lauren Zerbey, Bottom: Jill Slater; 4. Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan; 5. Faith Durand; 6+7. Leela Cyd Ross; 8. Emily Ho)
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I like to shop at TJMaxx /Marshall's from time to time for nice glassware..I picked up some nice bormioli rocco swingtop bottles and swingtop jars at a discounted price!
I'm thinking of moving the cookbook collection out of the kitchen entirely to free up valuable kitchen shelving!
i definitely agree w/ #3! I am kind of frugal/cheap, so I recently used an old shoebox and put my cleaning supplies / dishwashing liquid in the box to keep the cats from knocking them over and keeping them organizedish. I use an old TJ brown bag as storage for tied up plastic bags.
i have pared down to the functional essentials on the counters and am now trying to style it so it looks snappy. my color theme inspiration is a plastic trout i got at a yard sale: green-pink-yellow. i have dusty green granite counters and dark off-white cupboards. Other items: a '70s yellow desk lamp i use for "under cabinet" lighting, grandmothers' crystal bowls with silver edges i use to store paperclips and onions respectively, a small white pedestal bowl with garlic in it, metal and white appliances/food scraps bin/dish drainer; multi-color son's artwork and retro Hawaii scene plastic tray that the fruit sits on, warm bright colored towels...seems like a lot going on but i love it all. ideas on how to edit/accentuate differently?? how to style a kitchen?
I don't mind plastic pantry storage, but whatever storage containers, they MUST have a seal. Learned in college in a hallway between classes. Best way to contain pantry pests in the infested jar instead of the whole pantry. Saved us a few times with rice and such.
I love using creative storage containers.
http://www.cookingatcafed.com/2011/10/31-days-to-more-organized-life-day-26.html
And, also using pretty things :)
http://www.cookingatcafed.com/2011/10/31-days-to-more-organized-life-day-13.html
When it comes to under the sink, I love what you said how it can become a catch-all.
Instead, I use vintage dish bins (or clean new litters boxes) to store the cleaners, sponges, etc.
i have a lot of plastic packages and use wooden clothespins to seal them. inexpensive and works great!
i have put so many things in my collection of spaghetti sauce jars that i'm all out now...so am going to invest in some weck jars. https://secure.cnchost.com/weckjars.com/productsDetail.php?category=1
Tip of the day--buy yourself a cheapo canning funnel, & use it when you pour from package to jar. Beats rice all over the countertop.
I re-use glass jars because I have them, but I see nothing wrong with plastic if that's what you have on hand. As long as it protects the food better than the plastic bag and neatens things up a little, it's all good.
I've taken to using some of my jars with items that I keep in the fridge, basically nuts and grains, for the same uniformity and also to protect from rancidity. The side effect is even that is beginning to look staged!
@coconut hill: I might have to do the same as you. I'm running low on jars as my collection of different beans/nuts/grains that I keep on hand grows. A first world problem for sure. ;)
I'd love to repackage some of my pantry goods but I never do because I am uncertain what size containers to buy since weight and volume are NOT the same thing. I don't feel up to the trial and error of the process. But I must be the only one stuck on this issue because the recommendation to use clear containers and make these gorgeous pantries is all over the place. If a container isn't made for something specific (like a box of cereal), how do you choose?
#1 is a great way to encourage buying in bulk, and cutting out all the unnecessary packaging completely!. I've taken it a step further and use plastic mesh bags when I buy "chunky" things from the bulk bins (like nuts or dried beans, not flour! lol). It ended up saving a TON of space under the sink that used to be eaten up by balled up grocery bags. I also started saving the glass jar from the brand of coffee we always drink, and have built up a nice collection of matching jars... organization as a by-product of saving $ !
Nothing wrong with plastic bags for storing dry goods in large quantities (rice, lentils, quinoa and all that). I use the ikea bag sealing clips that work like a charm. When storage space is scarce and at a height, you can't (as much as you'd like to) use glass jars - they're not stackable and you don't want them falling over your head!
(I recently dropped a bag of bulgur to the floor... and was grateful it was a bag not a glass jar!)
Having said that I love to reuse old pesto/spag-sauce jars and even the cute cosmetics jars to store spices.
We've cleared the countertops of as much as we can and I've moved the spices from the cupboard they were starting to take over to a basket on top of the fridge, which also contains oils and vinegars. I love it - I'm using such a range of seasonings and dressings now that it's all in front of me.
Those jars look pretty, and are good if you have a HUGE pantry. But just a couple of jars can take up a whole shelf in, say, a small spice cupboard. I've started decanting spices and herbs into used Bonne Maman jam jars, but even they take up a ton of space! Also, they are heavy and fragile, so not suitable for a carousel or other precarious setup. If space is limited, I think small, stackable plastic containers with a contents label taped to the lid/side are more practical.
As much as I love all my glass jars I am replacing all the clip-top style because the edges around the jar tops tend to chip and who wants glass in their food. They will be replaced with screw top jars which don't tend to chip and make a better seal.
Scotch tape in the kitchen? You bet. Roll the bag neatly and tightly then seal with a strip of scotch tape.... no messy twisty tied bag ends.