I am in the process of setting up a new kitchen, with all the decisions, indecisions, and rearrangements that settling into a new cooking space entails. Every time I start in a new space, there's fresh resolve to fix the things that drove me crazy in the last one. This time, for instance, I decided to create order out of the tangled mess of my measuring spoons. Here's how I organized them, and why.
In my old kitchen, my measuring spoons were piled in one section of the big drawer that held all my other miscellaneous implements like small strainers, Microplanes, and more. They were always mixed up and stuck together and sliding into other areas of the drawer.
I have a lot more space (and drawers) in this kitchen (yes, I feel totally spoiled and it's a luxury I don't take for granted one little bit). So I gave one drawer over to measuring spoons and some miscellaneous small tools I use frequently, as well as my salt collection. (The spices are a drawer over.)
I thought about going totally crazy and creating sections of the drawer for each denomination of spoon — from 1/8-teaspoons to 1/2-tablespoons. I remember seeing the tackle box that cookbook author Grace Young uses in her kitchen, with a section for each size of spoon.
But, in the end, I felt like this was probably overkill for me. As I thought about it I realized that in most cases, I am reaching either for a teaspoon or a tablespoon. So I separated those out into their own spaces, and left a space between them for everything else.
This has worked so well so far. I can put my hand almost immediately on the measuring spoons I use most frequently, and they're not too onerous to sort and put away. There's plenty of space for each kind, and it's clear what goes where.
And yes, I have a lot of measuring spoons — when cooking up big meals or doing a lot of recipe testing it's so helpful to have many sets. I have to point out, though, that I was seriously out of whack — I had tons of tablespoons and the mixed fractions, but only two teaspoons! (I have no idea where they disappeared to.) So my husband surprised me with six (yes, six!) individual teaspoons for my birthday last week. Now my compartments are much more evenly distributed!
How do you store and organize your measuring spoons? Do you have a little system like this, or do you just stick them in a jar, or hang them on their ring?
Related: Quick Tip: Separate Your Measuring Spoons!
(Images: Faith Durand)
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I have one set hanging on a hook and the rest are in a drawer. Most of the time when I'm not baking, I just eyeball it.
ohhh my mom had those yellow measuring spoons ... they click together, right?! :)
*How* did you make the dividers? I like!
The dividers are standard Ikea. They are wonderful.
My mom has those Tupperware spoons too. I don't recall them clicking together...they have a slot on the bottom to attach a ring.
I only own two sets of measuring spoons, so I just keep them together on their rings. I just clean out the spoon if I need to use it for more than one ingredient in a recipe. If I'm not making a recipe, then I just use my regular flatware spoons to roughly guess a teaspoon/tablespoon.
Yeah, they are IKEA drawers and dividers. Very handy. And the yellow teaspoons are hand-me-downs from my mom too! I don't think they click together. They somehow have lasted 15 years and at least 6 moves. :)
Wow, that is a lot of measuring spoons! Makes sense though, considering what you do for a living. I would love a detailed tour of your new kitchen someday, Faith. (You haven't done that and I missed it, have you?)
Holy smokes! You have quite a collection there! Do you REALLY need all of those?
I'm with Pi. I have one set which I use only for baking. About 15 years ago I replaced a handful of mis-matched, bent measuring spoons with a set of made of sturdy stainless steel. They will outlast me.
The nice thing about having less stuff is that it takes less space, less thought, less maintenance -- and less stress about how to organize it.
There are many kinds of magnetic measuring spoons such as these http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/martha-stewart-collection-magnetic-measuring-spoons?ID=449628&cm_mmc=Google_DMA_Home_Bed%26Bath-_-PLA+Home+Brands+-+Bedding+Bath_PLA+-+Bedding+Bath+-+Martha+Stewart+Collection-_-47048017645-_-mkwid_9hKcPWlL
They stay together in the drawer
I have the yellow measuring spoon set (also inherited from my mom) too! They click together on a little plastic triangle, which has surprisingly survived more than a few trips through the disposal. They are the BEST!
My mom totally still has those yellow plastic measuring spoons. Putting them on that ring and hearing that "click" is so weirdly satisfying.
We used to have one section of measuring spoons, some on rings, some orphans, some not on rings but full sets. It was life changing...ok, maybe just cooking changing...when my husband had the brilliant idea of putting all the teaspoons (and portions) in one section and the tablespoons (and portions) in another. It's hard (for me at least) to eyeball the difference between a 1/2 tablespoon and a teaspoon but much easier to pick these out compared to their own sections. Just to add some spice, we also have a set of ml measuring spoons from our time in the Netherlands that don't match to imperial measures at all! They hang out with their closest cousins in the teaspoon and tablespoon sections.
Just about everyone I know has the old Tupperware spoons. I really like the 1 1/2 teaspoon measurement in the old sets, which they don't have in their new sets.
Love that your hubby was able to get you individual teaspoons--how thoughtful!
I have three sets of measuring spoons which I hang on the hook
I have two sets of these magnetic ones:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-Magnetic-Measuring-Spoons/dp/B000V8F07E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358304435&sr=8-2&keywords=magnet+measuring+spoons
They are amazing, and require no organizing.
Measuring spoons drove me nuts until I had the epiphany to take them all off their stupid rings !!! So frequently, all of the spoons in a set would get dirty from liquid dribbling onto them from the one I was using. In addition, while I have plenty of cabinets in my kitchen, I have a severe shortage of drawers. AND, they're narrow and shallow. Most of the standard drawer organizers don't fit in them. So I have most of my cooking tools (spatulas, whisks, peelers, knives, wooden spoons, etc.) in small crocks or large mugs in an otherwise dead space behind my sink. A small coffee mug now holds all my "de-nested" measuring spoons. I, too, like having multiple sets. When I'm in a baking frenzy, for instance, I can keep one for dry ingredients, and one for liquids. Taking them off those silly rings was one of the smartest things I've ever done in the kitchen,.
Add me to the "my mom had those plastic measuring spoons!" club. Although they weren't all yellow, I think they were different 70s colours - one of the smaller ones was orange, another was green, etc.
I only have one drawer in my whole kitchen, so I only have one set of measuring spoons. Started with a white plastic set from Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store, upgraded to a nice stainless nesting set on a binder ring - I take whatever I'm using off, wash it, put it back on the ring, and put it back in the drawer with every other kitchen tool and piece of cutlery.
God I hate only having one drawer.
I'm glad I'm not the only one with multiple sets of measuring spoons. (And measuring cups, and cutting boards, and rubber spatulas, and wooden spoons... It seems you can never have enough.) My favorites are a set of Mario Batali - a set of three double ended spoons that have magnetic handles.
Funny, I've always just used mine on the ring, but after seeing your picture, it makes WAY more sense to keep them loose. That way I don't have to deal with the dangling others. Duh!!
I had to read this to see if there was an explanation for having so many measuring spoons. I've done the apartment and the kitchen cure and I have 2 sets: one for home to convert recipes, and one in a toolkit for work.
Personally, that would annoy me, having so many. Growing up in a kitchen where my mom's rule was clean as you go, one set is more than enough for me.
I think someone wants me to measure everything by weight. First my father-in-law was helping on Thanksgiving and threw our measuring spoons in the dishwasher. They got clean all right but the labels on them all washed away. I'm thinking of making new ones but I fear they will suffer the same fate (even a Sharpie won't stay on them :-/ )
My measuring cups are in disarray. We only had a cheap set from Rubbermaid and then a Dollar Store set I'd like to get rid of. I'd like to just toss the whole lot of them and get all new ones.
Any sets of each that you'd recommend?
There's one measuring spoon that, despite being a unitasker, I can't live without:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/yeast-measuring-spoon
I also have multiple sets of measuring spoons. They are currently stored standing up, in two older measuring cups. One for teaspoon measurements, the other for tablespoon measurements.
I saw a set of brightly coloured, long-handled measuring spoons that, unlike the regular, stubby ones, could be stored in a utensil pot. They were in the thrift store, and I could kick myself for not buying them straight away because they were gone when I went back for them (along with the bright orange set of kitchen scales that I had my eye on)!
Battra 92, I just got these and I LOVE them:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GAQKKW/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i05
I, too, would like a good measuring cup recommendation. I have a cheap plastic set, the markings on which rubbed off a long time ago. It makes it a fun guessing game trying to decide if you're looking at the 1/4 cup or the 1/3 cup. :-)
My drawer space is at a serious premium, so I've got our 2 sets of measuring cups and spoons hanging from command hooks, on binder clip rings.
I have 1 set of stainless steel measuring spoons (we're very minimalist about our kitchen utensils) and we keep them on a binder ring (like the kind in a 3-ring binder). So much easy to remove a single spoon without having to wash the whole set every time. We also use those types of binder rings for our house keys. Works great!
beautifully organized ... but why so many?
ah - clearly I didn't read to the end of your post. :) I work in a commercial kitchen and still just have a few - use/rinse/wash/reuse. Works well for us to just have what we need.