Faith says her pots lids are slithering everywhere. We'll help you with that this week. She adds that her tool drawer is "embarrassingly jumbled." See for yourself on the next page.
• Cure Clock: 5 weeks remaining
• Cure Takers: 648 and counting...
• New Flickr Group: 2009 Kitchen Cure
• Submit your photos directly to The Kitchn
Week Two is here. Now that you tackled your collection of ingredients, it's time to pay a little attention to the equipment piled up in your kitchen. Take a long honest look at the stuff you keep in your cupboards and on your counters. From little stuff like flatware to big appliances. Do you really use that George Foreman grill? Do you truly need three strainers? This week we'll be posting our thoughts of the bare bones essential kitchen tools and how best to clean out those crumby drawers.
First our usual note on participation: Do your best, and pace yourself. Haven't gotten all the way through Week One yet? That's ok. Do your best to march forward. It never gets too hard. Many assignments can be on-going through the Cure. Document your progress with photos and discussion on the forum, this way you'll stay in touch with the community and the group will help keep you going. Losing steam? Ask for help!
Week Two Assignments
1. Just like last week, take a BEFORE photo: We want to see the scene before you weed things out. Show us your counter-tops, cupboards and other places you keep your kitchen tools and equipment. DO NOT clean things up for the camera. Remember, this is a "before" shot. Submit your photos directly to us and use the "Go For It!" section of the form to write captions for each picture. Submitting your photos gives us permission to post them using the name you provide. This will allow us to learn from each other's projects.
Hanna has a little work to do here. I see some stray plastic storage bins. Go Hanna!2. De-clutter and purge: Make three categories: stuff you use regularly, stuff you use occasionally, and stuff you never use. It could be as small as a stray ceramic corn holder or as large as a KitchenAid mixer you got as a wedding gift and just don't use.
• In the case of stuff you use regularly: set it aside. It will be going back in the cupboards, but not before you wipe down all the surfaces.
• In the case of stuff you use occasionally (for me this is my ice cream maker, a grain grinder, knife sharpening stones, muffin tins), consider using spaces in the back of a cabinet. We often are asked how to maximize deep cupboards - here's your chance. Also consider boxing up some of these items - like special occasion dinnerware, seasonal things (margarita glasses? BBQ tools?) - labeled neatly and placed in the rear of deep cabinet or in a high place in the kitchen like above the refrigerator.
• In the case of stuff you never use, consider giving it away or selling it. I meet so many people who keep things in their kitchen that were given as gifts. This is your chance to take a leap, be bold, and get rid of those unused wedding gifts or things your bought because you thought you'd use them but you just don't. List them on on our classifieds, eBay or Craigslist. Believe me, someone wants your yogurt-maker. You don't need three grill pans.
Faith is only human. I can't wait to see her after shots.• As you go through your collection of kitchen tools, pull out duplicates. I find most people keep way too many pieces of plastic left-overs containers. Often tops and bottoms don't match. We know tongs are everyone's favorite tool, but you really only need one pair. Mixing bowls are another common offender. Small, medium and large is all you really need, right?
3. Clean all surfaces: Take out anything else in the cupboards and on the counter tops and wipe it down with a warm, moist cloth. We encourage you to use earth-friendly products. For cutting through grease, vinegar and water works nicely. Check out our recent post on cleaning products for the kitchen.
4. Keep up the good work you did in Week One: Keep the your ingredients in order, pared down and most importantly, used. Did you miss something? Two extra half-used jars of dried oregano in the back of the pantry? Consolidate! Faith's handy download-able Cure Discussion Page. Also, don't forget to check in every day with the Kitchen Cure Page where all the Cure-related posts live in one neat little package. While assignments are posted once a week on Mondays, related posts are going up every day and there is a lot of conversation to be had in those posts comment threads as well.
Reminders about photographs:
• If you'd like your progress to be showcased, please submit your photos directly to The Kitchn. Make sure to explain what's going on in each image.
• We also have a 2009 Kitchen Cure Flickr Group. If you post your photos to this group, please include captions so we understand what's going on in each image.
If anyone has tips on how to organize a kitchen gadget drawer, that's what I'll need help with! I've got piles of stuff in a giant drawer...already took out the stuff I don't use, now I just need to figure out how to best store the things I want to keep.
view Scout84's profile
I'm with you, Scout84 - as you can see from the photo above, I can't keep mine straight. It's a wide drawer, but surprisingly shallow, because it's under the stovetop. I am going to work on it this week!
view faith's profile
Heyyyy... those pictures look like my "organization" system. This cure is the best thing to ever happen to my kitchen. :)
view HannahS's profile
My drawers need major help (all two of them!) - and I'm sure I can get rid of a few stragglers in the cupboards. This is one true benefit of a tiny kitchen - very little room for anything extraneous.
view STLcolleen's profile
This is perfect--I was standing on a step stool this morning rooting through a huge collection of washed-and-reusable ziplocks looking for a lid. Now, I'm proud of myself in the Reduce-Reuse category, but these have got to go or be re-organized. I really don't own much equipment, but I'm sure there are a few things that can get the heave-ho. I will not part with the avocado-green 70s fondue pot though, never mind I didn't use it 2008.
view cmcinnyc's profile
1) the knives in that drawer hurt me. And not in the "Wow, I just chopped off my finger reaching into my crazy drawer" way. In the "that's going to damage your knives" way. Get a block or a magnetic strip (you can even magnet it to your fridge. IKEA has the best one, IMO)
2) I put all of my long handled utensils either in a crock by the stove (wooden spoons, spoonulas, etc) or hanging on a rail - anything with a hole in the handle. IKEA has a great rail system, too. Then what you have left are the random things like your peelers, pounders, brushy things...and those won't get so crazy so quickly.
3) We just moved across the country at the New Year, so I've already done this. And then I took my time unpacking precisely to avoid having to do a major purge/organize on it.
Photos of my kitchen - in both places - here:
new kitchen: http://embritadesign.blogspot.com/2009/03/dining-area-beforeafter.html
old kitchen: http://embritadesign.blogspot.com/2008/08/little-project.html
Hope that helps!
view EmmieB's profile
Scout84 and faith, In my gadget drawer I have four compartments. One is for things that measure: Measuring spoons and cups, a ruler, candy thermometer. Second compartment: Things that cut: Cheese slicer, scissors, microplane, vegetable peeler. Third compartment: Things that stir: Mostly spatulas. Fourth compartment: Things that open: Can opener and garlic press (I figure it "opens" the garlic, so it can go in there). My family thinks I'm nuts, but I always know where to look for what I want.
view Casey Leigh's profile
I have to admit I'm a little apprehensive of giving up some of my duplicates. When my S.O. and I got this apartment together we each brought a fair array of cooking utensils so we have a lot of doubles (and even a few triples). I have actually found it pleasantly convenient, and sometimes essential to have two peelers and several pairs of tongs. I can think of a few I could safely ditch, but with simple one pot weeknight meals it sometimes takes us two or more nights to get the dishwasher full enough to run it efficiently. I think I would rather have two of them than have to wash them by hand to use the next day or run the dishwasher half full.
view adamwa's profile
Casey Leigh -- I like your ideas. It's also a system that's easy for others to follow. I'd also add wine opener to the "things that open" category.
view asprygal's profile
One set of cabinets down. Started with the easy stuff, no real decisions to make. It occurs to me that I'd really like to purge the dishes, even though we don't have much. I don't like a lot of them, and some things are overstocked (coffee cups and wind glasses, specifically).
view cmcinnyc's profile
Are magnetic strips the best way to store your knives? I've been thinking about getting one especially since I got some nice, quality knives for my birthday, but I'm scared to have something that sharp just hanging off a wall in plain sight...
view lilbones's profile
The best thing I have ever used or seen for knives is the kapoosh block or the lovely round bamboo version that I cannot find here in the US. If you have children make sure the blades are all facing away from where the can reach them.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13749337
PS Your knife sharpener should be out and used nearly every day! a great one is by chantry knife sharpener. Old school but safe and the gets best edge..
view tut's profile
It's really a personal preference, but when you have little counter top space, a knife block sometimes takes up valuable real estate.
You want one or the other, though - and up high enough that little hands can't reach.
HTH!
http://embritadesign.blogspot.com
view EmmieB's profile
Lilbones – the knife magnet is probably the best for your blades. And like the previous poster said – it keeps them off the counter. I used to have a knife block, but I’m happy to have gained the counter space since hanging them. As long as they’re hung high enough, blades pointing up, it’s safe. The magnet is pretty strong, so the knives won’t slip off at all.
view WoodNymph's profile
My cabinets aren’t in very bad shape. I gave a bunch of stuff to my little brother when he got his first apartment a year or so ago. They could use some tidying, but all in all I doubt I’ll be purging a lot. My drawers on the other hand…I have a silverware drawer, and then the others are a mixed bag of utensils, appliances, and junk. Organizing them has been on my list for a while, but it always seemed like too much of a task to tackle.
view WoodNymph's profile
I love my "sharp objects" drawer - all my knives with their sheaths, peelers, can opener, graters, etc are kept in one place, away from my other gadgets. I used to get scraped all the time while rooting through my drawers for this or that and am extremely grateful to now have enough room in my kitchen to keep these things separate.
view karenenen's profile
Thank you for the article about miso.
Week 2.......still working a bit on the fridge and freezer actually, but it made shopping go much smoother. I bought lots of fruits and veggies, and lots of space to store them.
So we have eaten better already.
A question:
I found six wooden bowls at a thrift shop. The bottom says Japan.
I have an unfinished wooden bowl that is large enough to be a nice salad bowl, to match them up.
The small bowls already have some type of finish on them.
What do I rub into the wooden bowl, to protect it, and be safe for food?
(olive oil, mineral oil, ?????)
I'll be giving it a light sanding, and hope someone can help me out. (could google, but look forward to the responses here.)
At this point I cannot post any pictures. But hope to have some by the end of the six weeks.
Thanks to all who have posted pics.....
Our pots and pans are a jumble. I'd love to have a pot rack by the end of this six weeks.
A kitchen bar too, but I don't know if we will get around to knocking that wall out anytime soon.
Lisa
view LGT's profile
the only dupe that i am having trouble parting with is my larger crock-pot. we use the smaller one almost every other day to cook various type of beans, but the larger one (with extra divided crock thingy) only gets pulled out once or twice a year. worth keeping?
view aneelee's profile
Thanks to whoever posted the tip about removing label glue with vegetable oil (which I now can't find); it's been noted and implemented at my place already.
For cmcinnyc: I also have a lot of washed ziplocks in my wraps drawer. Been thinking about using a bulldog clip to catch them all together and hang from a hook somewhere. Maybe you can use that idea too?
view MrsSparkles's profile
I now have three boxes of pots and pans, extra relish trays, extra drinking glasses, a wok and lots of other things going, going, almost gone !! YEA!! All are going to a school student museum sale to help the museum stay open!! Am now working on the fourth box of things to go!! Yea!!! I realized I only have two big burners and two small burners so I left only two big pots and two small pots in cabinets. One of the big pots has a insert for pasta and another insert for steaming veggies. (I use the steamer as a colander, too!!) I can cook pasta and steam veggies all at once on only one burner!! You could have one big and one small pot that is non-stick and one big and one small pot that is regular. And two frying pans.
When I cleaned out my cooking utensils I found I really only used:
SPATULA: that someone cut the end in the shape of the rounded edge of a fry pan!! MY FAVORITE THING!
SOLID SPOON:( must of belonged to spatula owner's first cousin) the tip is cut off flat so you can scrape the bottom of the pot with it!!
SPIDER SPOON: lots of little holes to scoop things up from pots and pans
LADLE: a really big one!! scoops up a whole bowl of soup at one time!
PIZZA CUTTER (large one): I cut waffles, pancakes and garlic bread with it!
WHISK: to make things frothy!
PEELERS: OK, I have two of these so someone can help!
KNIVES: I have one small pointy one and two sets of steak knives that I bought from a dollar store years ago (5 knives in each dollar set!) still using them!
I had a set of 10 glass bowls that fit one inside the other but I only used the biggest 3! So, what happened? I put the extra in a plastic baggie to get rid of them and then I accidentally knocked them off the counter top! RATS! Must learn to take more time and be more careful!
Two sets of measuring spoons, cups, (one for wet and one for dry ingredients) and one 2 cup and one 4 cup glass measuring cup.
And one large crock pot and one small one!
Getting rid of all the extras has really made my life so much easier!! Thanks to this Kitchen Cure!!
view KitchenNooknCook's profile