apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Clutter, clutter clutter. I can't seem to keep my cooking surfaces clear.

very cool!

I guess I'd like some organization tips: What to do with that second set of china I have (toss it?), how to sort the massive collection of herbal teas I have and also handy tips on how to store pots in deep cabinets (lots of wasted space behind them at the moment). Even just talking about the flow of the kitchen would be helpful.

And how about reviews of various appliances? (I need a new dishwasher!)

I am all about experimenting in the kitchen! Teach me techniques and recipes from all over the world! And while you're at it, could you help me find the best tool for organizing spices? My drawer is a mess!

I could use some advise on the pantry.
Mine is narrow and deep, which makes for lost cans of beans and no real method to the madness.
I have snack items that need help, bags of Pirates booty and chips, what to keep them neat and available so they eaten before they go stale.
thanks

More efficient use of the space and interesting ideas for organization and storage. My dream is to someday have an open kitchen.

How do I better organize my spices and keep them as fresh as possible? I think I want a stand mixer, do I really need it (or, which appliances are necessary, which ones are luxury items)? How in the world do I sharpen my knives?! Bulk food storage? I loooove bulk foods but what's the best way to store them that look good? I'm a renter, how to I solve the no light above the sink in a non-permanent way?

The questions go on and on...

I would love to know how to install a hood for my oven! Or even if I can--there is no cut-out for one in the wall, and I'm worried my kitchen isn't even set up for one.

How about a great method for organizing recipes? I've got an online list, a recipe box, pages bookmarked in my cookbook, and I'm trying to work on a recipe list for my magazine collection. It would be nice to somehow put together a highly organized master list, with headings for the season, ingredients, course, source, etc., but I have no idea how to start.

I'm sure whatever you decide to do, though, it will be great!

I would love good sources for shelving that can handle the weight of flour, sugar canisters etc... and would also love ideas/solutions for storing those pesky pot and pan lids that slide around in our drawers!

Thanks.

I have a NY Apt... SMALL. I have what seems like 4 million covers to pots, how do I store them when I have no room for a rack on a wall or on the inside of a kitchen cabinet???

I would love a suggestion for organizing to take a BIT more advanced equipment in my teeny-tiny but heavily used rental kitchen. We have very little storage space, but I do tons of cooking and would love to somehow have room for a few more pots/pans and a cuisinart and stand mixer. Perhaps a stand for pots/pans? or a cabinet? We have a kitchen island but it's pretty full up. Limited wall space (and weak walls with few studs.)

My poor little kitchen is in desperate need of new countertops! The current ones are green something, and whenever I give them a good scrubbing, the cleaning cloths turn green. It's horrible! A surface that doesn't need much upkeep, one that can handle a hot pan or pot without a trivet, and something that's eco-friendly would be wonderful. Thank you!

hey I could help with the advise on how to manage left overs in the kitchen. What best could be done to avoid any food wastage?

Thanks
http://dreamzwave.blogspot.com/

I have these really deep awkward cabinets- they surround the sink on either side all the way to the back wall, there's a ton of unused space in them, and in our tiny 1 bed apartment storage is a huge plus. These shelves are so awkward that nothing is organized in them, etc. any advice on how to fully use that space without crawling on my belly to get a pan would be greatly appreciated!

I want a marble work surface! I took an in-home group cooking class (cookwithjames.com) at this guy's house up in the Haight here in San Francisco and he had all marble counter tops. I'm a renter so I can't go ripping up my countertops and putting in marble ones. However, I do have one of those little rolling Ikea butcher blocks so I was thinking of doing my own Ikea hack where I replace the butcher block top with a nice thick piece of marble. I just have to figure out where to get the marble.

Also, I would love to have the wood burning oven that Alice Waters has in her kitchen in that 60 Minutes interview (skip ahead to 8:25 http://tinyurl.com/c62877 ). I don't think that there is an Ikea hack for that though :).

my rental kitchen doesn't have a hood over the stove, so the cabinets and everything nearby are covered by a layer of sticky grease mixed with dust. i've tried everything i can think of to get this off and it's not budging. once it is clean (i'm hoping for some tips), how do i keep it clean?

Recipes, recipes, recipes!

Oh and maybe some cleaning tips too!

Gracia

I'm short and can only reach about 2/3 of the cupboards in our kitchen. But, we are strapped for space in our rented apartment kitchen, and there's stuff I need up there! I need help prioritizing what goes in those unaccessible (to me) places. (The champagne flutes and booze are already up there, even though I worry that it's kind of warm for the booze).

Spice storage, I have mine in a large round rotating 2 tier rack that is taking up a lot of valuable counter space.

i have extremely limited counter top, and there isnt enough room for a table in the kitchen either. how i make the most of my tiny kitchen?

I actually just re-did my kitchen last weekend and will be finishing it this weekend! So, I guess I anticipated the Cure. I LOVE my kitchen now!! But I could use more recipes to work with. :)

I really love working in my kitchen and it's well organized. But I'd like to be making more basics, like yoghurt and bread. Do you have some tips that would help me fit these longer processes into regular working days? Thanks!

I have a tiny NY kitchen and I cook a lot for the family of three. It doesn’t help I own basically all appliances except deep fryer, which I threw out last year. I use them all regularly so getting rid of them is out of the question.
I’d love to know:
money saving tips in buying and storing food
effectively cleaning black stove top w/o scratching surface & stained enamels
storing many kinds of flours powders
making good use of window sill above sink other than plants
how others store onions, potato, banana, fruit @ room temperature – fruits are nice, but having onions and potato on countertops are simply ugly.
cheap easy material for DIY kitchen flooring. We have 1sqft tiles just floating on our floor.
clever storage for baby products (bottles, food, warmer, etc)
asian kitchens stocked with rice(& rice cooker) and different kinds of fridge items
nicely designed pad for the sink area
art to hang in my kitchen

I need to stop relying on frozen meals and do more cooking from scratch, while taking time into consideration (I'm a single mom who works full time).

My entire house needs a good spring cleaning actually, but definitely the kitchen, and I would love to be able to throw a dinner party at my place. I'd like to be more organized with meal planning too.

How to keep a tiny and much, MUCH used NY kitchen CLEAN without devoting much of my life to it. I already devote much of my life to cooking!

I need help finding a non-toxic, not too expensive shelf liner paper or product (not PVC!) to line 20 cabinets and drawers in my vintage 50's kitchen. I can't seem to find anything- wall paper is not food safe, and most shelf liners are PVC (vinyl) which is now shown to be not safe!
I am in the Chicagoland area.
Thanks for any help! you can respond off line to heidigdnd@msn.com
Heidi

I have NO counter space -- about a foot wide on each side of the sink, and that's it. It really discourages any desire to cook because there's no room to spread out and make a mess. There's also a serious lack of drawers and cabinets (and as noted by a commenter above, I'm short and have a hard time reaching the high cabinets). I need to invest in some storage, but I can't decide what the best options would be, within my limited budget.

I have a nice-sized pantry, but it's become a dumping ground for all kinds of misc. things instead of just a kitchen-focused storage space. Blech! I'm in the process of cleaning it out as part of the Cure.

How to organize a small space! I have a really small kitchen and need ideas for fitting everything in.

Teach techniques... knife skills, sauces, creating a menu. Too many cooking shows simply show you how to follow a recipe, I want to learn more.

I live in an 1100 sqft condo, I am very organized, but space is still an issue. I love to cook and bake, and entertain often, and would like storage ideas for extra cutlery sets, large serving platters (that are too deep for the cupboards), and various dinner plates and drinkware.

I would also like some help with appetizers from cusines around the world.

Thank you!
W.

I have a terrible time keeping the silver insets that go under the burners of my stove top clean. I put them through the dish washer at least once a week but that doesn't seem to do much good. They are so expensive to replace on my range. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks. BP

wow! can i just say that a lot of these requests sound more like "good questions" type posts? they're very specific to people's living situations rather than trying to find the best solutions for yourself while working with within a suggested framework of hints and tips.

so how i see it... for a cure at least:

cleaning: tips and tricks to get a good deep clean going on including products that make kitchen cleaning easier (old sticky grease, oven, pots, etc), where you should be deep cleaning, and then suggestions on how to maintain this without having to clean too often or too much. maybe even a timeline of how often say a hood should be cleaned vs. sinks/counter

organization: the outbox! maybe break down depending on what type of cook you are (baker, cook, infrequent, highly frequent) what you can suggest as essentials in the kitchen and to get rid of the rest that you're less likely to use. maybe suggestions of how to multitask items a bit more (does everyone really need a rice cooker?) and then on top of that, prioritizing what you use so that you can put certain appliances higher up or farther back as a more long term storage type item that you can't give up but don't use often. prioritization is important for stacking things up but that's such a personal thing... you need to know what you use, what you want to use and what you barely use. perhaps the box of stuff where you pull it out as you need it is a good example of prioritizing. also... just accept that you'll need a ladder sometimes. after the outbox and big stuff then i'd focus on small things: spices, knives, grains, old foods etc. and trying to find ways to organize those nicely. i would highly recommend finding ways to clear counter space. people have SO MUCH on their counters it's no wonder they need more space.

cooking: ways to use up old foods, introductions to new recipes/techniques. try to focus on time saving or perhaps even recipes that are easy versions of harder ones... that way those days when you do have extra time you can try to more extended version if you like. maybe even the art of freezing or links to posts about preserving to use up old/nearly rotten stuff. as per someone's request, perhaps make up a quick schedule of how to work in making stuff like no knead bread, yogurt, etc in a busy work week schedule (say 8am-7pm at work) as sort of a incentive for some people to see how you can fit long term dishes in.

deep cure: this is where you might focus on materials that are best for the kitchen (ie. for counters, tables, floors etc) because i can't imagine anyone is going to start tearing up flooring and counters with this cure just one week around the corner. this is long term work.


to everyone else out there... if you've got too many pot lids try to find some universal lids that work across multiple pots and then get rid of the rest! can you next your pots and lids? if you need to keep them all there are a tonne of posts about racks that hold only lids.

for the one who wants a marble baking/cooking surface, i've commented about this before. your cheapest option is to go to a counter place and find out about their "boneyard" or leftovers. if you only want a small piece you can get it for less than $5/sqft and maybe $5 per cut you might need to make sure it fits. you won't get a very thick piece but that's good.. it'll be too heavy! then just slide it on top of your ikea cart... it'll be heavy enough it won't need any other attachments.

anyone who needs counter space but can't have a table... you really just need a fold up dining table. that or the oft mentioned solution of cutting boards on top of stoves/sinks. that or you can get a rolling trolley that you keep in your main living space and roll out as needed.

leftovers... write a date on them the second they go in the fridge. check dated food regularly and throw whatever you haven't touched for a couple days in the freezer. it'll last much longer there and then it's not too far from being heated and eaten. if it's beyond the number of days you're comfortable eating it within... garbage it goes!


i would personally love some encouragement on how to include fresh food constantly in your meals. i mean good and all we can get it from a grocery store but i think a start-up garden guide for small kitchens would be fabulous. especially if it focused on the indoors because we don't all have great balconies/patios or nice weather.

best of luck sara kate, i'm sure the syllabus will be great! this will be the first time i'll join in to tweak up my kitchen to be at its prime. also i really hope you have a small cool kitchen contest!

My biggest struggles right now: planning meals; budget-friendly, satisfying meals. I'm excited to see cleaning assignments or organizing ideas and basic cooking techniques--the more basics I learn and the more organized I am in the kitchen, the more I feel like the first two things happen.

How to organize my recipes-especially those ones that I plan to try.

btw, i forgot.. but baskets.. dear lord baskets people.. this will clear up so many organizing woes. baskets that stack are the most amazing things and take advantage of height. if you get them straight walled they won't nest into each other but they'll optimize the space you've got and let you stack high!

also with deep deep cabinets... drawers.. if there is any way you can install something that allows you to pull out a drawer of some sort (this is a fancier version of what i imagine: http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=19518871&itemIndex=44&CATID=68564&PRODID=10024442 ) you will be saved the belly on the floor business.

Can you recommend a way to clean granite countertops without buying fancy sprays formulated for this? I use ammonia and water. That gets the dirt off, but it also seems to wear away the shiny finish. Are there inexpensive products to use that will both clean and shine?

I believe we could all do with learning some techniques, cooking basics and how to maximise limited space. writing recipes incorporating other recipes from around the world would be interesting as well

We moved back in July and I had to be out of town the week before. We'd hired movers but my mother-in-law decided to "help" by hand-packing the kitchen and moving it herself in advance so we'd be more settled on moving day, going so far as to unpack where she thought things "best belonged." Things she didn't recognize or that looked like "junk" she either shoved back into boxes or threw out. I never had a chance to build the space the way I wanted, I and nearly ten months later I still can't locate some items.

I've tried to reorganize things in sections, tried to decide on best locations, but I realize I don't know how to plan this space. We have a fairly large rotating corner cabinet that has been alternately home to boxes and dry goods, baking tins, and pots and pans - nothing seems to work there. Arguments (loving) have been had over the best location for glassware. Is there a logical way to go about laying out a kitchen, and perhaps a good system for unraveling the havoc that my mother-in-law managed to inflict on my kitchen? What sort of things work best in drawers as opposed to cabinets? What goes in that pull-out drawer under the oven? That's what I need.

What spices and seasonings should ALWAYS be fresh? Which can be used from a jar? What should I keep as essentials, and which can be substituted when necessary?


I second how to get rid of the greasy residue left over from past renters!!

1. Ideas of what can be done to improve rental kitchens
2. Budget, mid range, and splurge recommendations for pots, knives, and other kitchen gadgets (this is helpful since I am getting married this year and I'm trying to put together a registry)
3. Recommendations of necessary cookbooks.

What people can't live without in their kitchen and why............

Great idea. I would love to know:
- how to deep clean my black enamel kitchen stove
- how to sorta "fake" stainless steel my dishwasher without the cheapo stickers
- where best to place dishes and food -- layout
- creative ways to add an eat-in kitchen when we have no space for an island

More of a focus on vegetarian recipes! Meat/UnMeat has been waaaaaay too meat-focused.

-knife skills esp. butchering basics. I cannot break apart a chicken if my life depended on it.
-pantry basics based recipes/5 ingredients or less without using any sort of packaged goods
-gardening- veggies and herbs to grow, especially in small spaces- like patios/balconies/apartments/small homes and what to grow herb wise

Recipe organization HELP!!! I have so many, and I'd like a system of prioritizing which ones to make...and then scheduling them somehow....

I'd like to focus more on eating FRESH healthy versions of foods....like vietnamese salads, japanese sushi, thai stir fries, mexican salsas, and made from scratch amazing soups....etc.

BRING THE FRESH STUFF on!

I need some motivation to do the dishes...not sure you can help me with that!

The one real problem our kitchen has is too much stuff in it rather than too little storage. There is this lower corner cabinet: it is very deep and impossible to get to. So there is some stuff back there we rarely use, but I don't think I could get to it if I wanted. We also have a wall of cabinets above our refrigerator and pantry which go all the way up to the ceiling. Not sure what to do with these spaces to keep them accessible and somewhat organized.

For those with countertop woes looking for something new, how about powder-coated metal? It looks very nice, comes in one big piece, can be just about any color you'd like, and you can set a hot pan down on it with no worries. This might be a good feature.

I would just like to make our kitchen the true center of our home, full of fresh food, creativity and fun. I have always dreamed of having a true eat in kitchen. We have a small table now but it's not large enough for three to sit so it's become my daughter's art table for now. I hope to find a beautiful old farm table to replace my kitchen island so my daughter can help prepare meals and we can all sit down together for meals rather than sit in our dark formal dining room. I am committed to growing more vegetables this year in our garden as well. So, please more fresh recipes using all those easy to grow veggies and lots of herbs.

I would like a new stove. My has been broken for a while now, and I can not decide between gas or electric. Against gas because of it will mean having to request new service with the gas co, and another bill. Against electric because I honestly don't think my apartment's wiring won't be able to handle it.

How about how to get my fantasy that I will cook all the time and realize at the end of the week I have a fridge full of rotten vegetables while I am eating a bag of store bought popcorn. Sigh.

making a dated kitchen seem nice and colorful without actually painting anything that is part of the apartment itself...
Tea Storage (I have 2 cupboards filled)
storage with base board heaters.

I'm going to be moving during the cure this year (just bought a house!) but I'll probably at least start it since it was so much fun last year. Someone mentioned tips on how to organize recipes, I second that! I have recipes all over the place! Knife skills like breaking apart a chicken and also foods you can reuse in creative ways. (Ie. roast a chicken, then use leftover chicken in another meal make stock, etc) I think now since I'm trying to be budget concious and efficient this is more and more important!

I live in a rental apartment with a kitchen dating from construction of the building, 1959, complete with angular mid-century modern cabinets. I would like some advice on better lighting and better storage.

perhaps a weekly meal plan for a single person that likes to eat interesting things on a daily basis but doesn't like the big shopping lists/bills that come with it?

Or perhaps bringing back a lost art like homemade cheese?

My flat is structured along a hallway, with the living area at the front, bedrooms along the hall and the kitchen at the back. It's great to have the kitchen separate when, say, cooking fish, but challenging during a dinner party when any kitchen work keeps me very separated from my guests. I'd love any hints for dealing with this -- for instance, dishes that can be prepared well in advance and require minimal last-minute work. Thanks!

Wonderful, healthy recipes using basic equipment that maybe my whole family will enjoy. Oh, and cool pic's of kitchen's that inspire 'cos I have nothing except some potholders made by my kids.Can't wait!

i would love to learn more cooking/prepping techniques. Also more basics, like sauces (and curries!), and freezer-friendly/weekend-warrior recipes. Those are so helpful for not eating out during the week and having less stressful evenings.

organization in the cabinets- at our house we have a thousand cabinets but they are filled with things we never use or we end up making it into a cabinet/junk drawer. .

I need help organizing, especially the pantry! We have very little storage, and I have way too many supplies (especially with my recent breadmaking project, http://www.abreadaday.com - does what it says on the tin!). I pretty much know where everything is, but no one else can find anything.

Combine the lack of cabinet space with my firm refusal to put anything on top of them, and you end up with stacks of bowls and bags of flour falling on your head occasionally. Maybe some discussion of attractive countertop storage options is in order?

PS - apologies for the shameless plug.

I really want to get new counter-tops. Saving, saving, saving, so I can get new ones, instead of the water warped particleboard things I have.

Personally, I am so excited about this idea! I love to cook, but live in NYC and the space and cost of ingredients can create some struggles to achieve what I dream of...some of the things I'm looking to "cure" include

Space/Organization - tiny drawers overflowing with utensils; cabinets with pots and pans hidden way back in the darkness, spices long forgotten in an disorganized cabinet...you get the idea

Using and keeping my knives in good condition.

And I will jump on the bandwagon and add myself to the list of commenters who want some advice/help with time-saving tips on cooking and prepping for weekday meals as well as pulling of fabulous dinner parties without freaking out over timing of courses, cooking, etc.

Oh, I would also like to mention BREAD! Bread storage, bread making, etc.... Good bread, especially home baked makes a kitchen feel like home. Now that it is summer... time to perfect my Black Rye.

Herb growing info would be helpful too and some herbs just don't seem to take, and others are impossible to find organic unless by seed which takes very long.

I could use a few 101-type lessons, such as a "how to" on cutting various veggies.

Ok my question is a little different :

I have a very modern , sleek , glossy white doors with grey flooring kitchen, an orange SMEG fridge.
I want to add some vintage touches..

How can I add vintage to a very modern kitchen??

I can't even see the floor in my pantry. I clean it out, and then everything gets piled up again! Also, all the shelves in my pantry get cluttered. Sometimes I'll lose something in the back for 6 months! The shelves are wider than the boxes I put on them. How do I use the back-space without forgetting about what's back there?
I have things I bought because I wanted to try them, then never knew what to do with them. Examples: Whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs, Orzo, Bulgar wheat, chocolate pasta, lemon curd, etc... they may have been in there for a year or more, but I can't seem to toss them. Should I toss them, or organize a way to use them?

I just need to get motivated and totally spring clean my kitchen and the 4 other rooms in my cottage.

I have a compost bin outside for food scraps and am growing a lot of herbs and vegetables in a plot at the back of my cottage here in rural Ireland.

I'm also doing an organic food growing course to learn more ... and grow my own fruit and vegetables.

I'm about to design and make a spice rack that goes vertical rather than the stubby horizontal ones ... happy to share photos and instructions when I make it.

A neighbour who is a cabinet maker is teaching me over the next few weeks.

Another woman friend and I (and the cabinet maker) are having DIY and woodwork sessions for Women in our small Irish country town during the summer.

Anything we design and build I will share on my blog.

http://lizbiz.wordpress.com

Finally - there's a great UK site I use that give heaps of hints on how to store food and use leftovers.

It's called Love Food Hate Waste. It's a beautiful site as well as a practical one and heaps of people (I'm thinking mainly women) leave their tips.

slan (irish for goodbye)

Liz

My boyfriend and I and our big dog are actually moving from a UWS studio to a Sunset Park 1 bedroom in 2 weeks, so I'm hoping that the Cure will help us transition to an efficient, organized, welcoming kitchen that will be fun to cook in. We'll have about 3 times as much cabinet- and counterspace in the new apartment (woohoo!), and I want to take advantage of the opportunity to start with a clean slate. I like a place for everything, and everything in its place; my boyfriend likes to leave dishes in the sink. My goal is to set the kitchen up in such a way that putting things where they belong is just as easy as leaving them where they don't. (I realize this could be too much to ask.)

We're also joining a CSA in our new neighborhood, so I'm looking for healthy and creative ways to prepare all those tasty veggies. I want to make the most of everything we get, and minimize waste. This applies to not just perishables, but everything in the kitchen. Is there a way to keep an inventory so I know what I have on hand, without being totally obsessive?

I'd like some ideas for how to make aesthetic changes to my rental kitchen without painting or renovating anything.

3 problems renters would run into:

1. organization & deco
2.wallpaper issue
3. bad rangehood and greasy smell after cooking

My husband and I just moved to a new rental unit closer to work. It's an older unit and it has one of those space where the kitchen is not entirely open to the living dining area but has a "rectangular hole" between the counter space and the kitchen cabinet on top.

1. Am struggling to organize and decorate that area. Putting too much on the space make the space look cluttered but at the same time not putting anything makes it look stark!

2. Also, the kitchen has straw colour wallpaper which runs from the hallway and am having difficulty adding a bit of colour in without too much holes or damaging the wallpaper

3. Have a poor function range hood and there's always a greasy smell after cooking... any ideas on how to solve that?

Looking forward to the cure!!!

How to organize a galley kitchen so that two people can cook together in it.

Like erinpeace, I would love a few pointers to pretty up my rental kitchen.
I do not mind that it is tiny - I actually work better in small kitchens, but it is dark, drab and the materials used, especially for the cabinetry, look very cheap.

My knife skills could also use some work. I am an avid cook, but I waste a lot of prep time because I am not using my knifes properly.

I look forward to getting started - this will be my first Cure!