The Kitchn Cure

The Kitchn Cure Day 14: Thursday, August 28 Assignment: Clean cupboards, shelves, and drawers. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Now that we’ve cleared out a lot of the extraneous stuff hidden in our kitchen cabinets and drawers — duplicate tools, rarely-used gadgets, one too many holiday mugs — we’re ready to give those shelves, drawers, and cabinet fronts a good soapy scrubdown before putting everything away.

The Kitchn Cure Day 13: Wednesday, August 27 Assignment: Declutter dishware, glassware, utensils, gadgets, and tools. Make a list of anything you need. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Do your cupboards runneth over? Is your utensil drawer starting to look like a survival of the fittest contest? Have you accumulated one too many kitchen gadgets?

The Kitchn Cure Day 12: Tuesday, August 26 Assignment: Clean and organize your pantry shelves, or wherever you store food. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Yesterday you decluttered your pantry; now it’s time to wash the shelves and get rid of the grime, grease, dust, and that sticky spot from your honey jar that’s been there for months. We’re going to wipe off all storage containers, too, and organize things. Let’s go!

The Kitchn Cure Day 11: Monday, August 25 Assignment: Declutter the pantry and make a donation box. Make a list of anything you’re missing or need. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Welcome to Week 3 of The Kitchn Cure! You’ve handled the big cleaning jobs with aplomb so far. Deep cleaning the oven, freezer, refrigerator, greasy stovetop, and all your small electric appliances is no small feat!

The Kitchn Cure Day 10: Friday, August 22 Assignment: Buy that pan or small appliance you need. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Today we take a break from cleaning to do something fun: shop! If you really need a new pan or small appliance, now’s the time to get it. This is your reward for all the deep cleaning you did this week.

The Kitchn Cure Day 4: Thursday, August 14 Assignment: Clear out the freezer. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Your refrigerator is now in tip-top shape, so let’s move on to the freezer, shall we? Like the refrigerator task, we’re divvying up this task into two days. Today we’ll clear out, consolidate, and label everything in your freezer; tomorrow we’ll clean and organize it so you can easily find what you need!

The Kitchn Cure Day 3: Wednesday, August 13 Assignment: Deep clean the refrigerator. (See all the assignments so far here.) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Now that you’ve cleared out your refrigerator, it’s time to give it a thorough cleaning. Say farewell to the watery goop at the bottom of your crisper, the sticky mess at the back of the second shelf, the crumbs in the rubber door seal.

The Kitchn Cure Day 2: Tuesday, August 12 Assignment: Clear out the refrigerator. (See all the assignments so far here.) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure How did Day 1 of The Kitchn Cure go for you? We started off light, but now the real work begins. Today is the first day of our two-day refrigerator task! Instead of tackling both a fridge clearing and deep clean in one day, we’re splitting the project into two parts.

The Kitchn Cure Day 1: Monday, August 11 Assignment: Make a list of what you like and dislike about your kitchen. Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Welcome, everyone! Today is the first day of The Kitchn Cure, and we’re so happy you’ve decided to join us. Over the next four weeks we’re going to clean, organize, and beautify our kitchens from top to bottom. Are you ready?

No matter how organized we are in the rest of the kitchen, food storage containers always seem to pose a threat to the order, with their varying shapes and sizes, orphaned parts, and frequent relegation to the darkest and lowest corners of our cupboards. Sound familiar? Here’s how to tame the clutter.• First, pull out all of your containers and lids and lay them on a counter or table.

The Kitchn Cure Day 6: Monday, August 18 Assignment: Evaluate your pots, pans, and small appliances. Discard what you don’t need. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure Welcome to Week 2 of The Kitchn Cure! We’re moving on from the fridge and freezer this week to focus on your other appliances, both big and small.

Are you deep into cleaning your pantry during this week of the Kitchen Cure? I confess that I haven’t started yet, but I have a lot of things to work on in my cupboards and pantry! I am looking forward to pushing through old spices, nearly-empty packages and greasy jars. Time to consolidate and clean!

Which common kitchen utensil do you think it is? We actually have two (maybe three) of this space-hogging tool, and as we thought about de-cluttering this week, we realized we never, ever use it. We bet you have at least one in your utensil holder, too…There are even two of them in the picture above.It’s a ladle. And we’re pretty sure almost all of you have one. Ladles are a mainstay in any utensil set, and they seem like such a no-brainer. You make soup? You need a ladle.

The Kitchn Cure Day 9: Thursday, August 21 Assignment: Clean your small appliances. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure This is the last cleaning assignment for this week, friends! You’ve really gotten down and dirty these last few days, but give it one more push today and all the major stuff will soon be behind you.

The Kitchn Cure Day 18: Organize cookbooks, magazines, and art. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments It’s a self-evident truth that despite a universal purpose and functionality, not all kitchens look the same. In some cases, not even remotely the same. Depending on your style, your kitchen might resemble a sleek laboratory or an IKEA catalog. Or maybe it’s closer to art gallery or a preschool classroom or a vintage jumble shop. No matter.

The Kitchn Cure Day 11: Clear, clean, and organize your pantry. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Your kitchen pantry may seem quite ordinary — with its jars of lentils and tins of tomato sauce and sticky, half-forgotten bags of dried apricots — but the pantry is the place where much of our cooking magic originates. It is the power center of the kitchen, and because of this, it needs our love and attention.

The Kitchn Cure Day 7: Take a hardcore approach to cleaning the oven. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Okay, no soft lead-ins today; no distracting honey pots and sunbeams, no philosophical pitter-patter. I’m taking us straight in because we’re about to tackle arguably the worst job in the kitchen: we’re going to clean the oven and we’re gonna clean it good. Don’t pause, don’t think — just grab my hand and jump!

The Kitchn Cure Day 6: Take a kind and considered look at your stuff. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments We’re stepping into week 2 of the Cure with a more thoughtful meditation on our relationship to our kitchen gear. Usually this day is reserved for sorting through and organizing our pots, pans, and small appliances — and in the end, that’s exactly what we’ll have done.

The Kitchn Cure Day 5: Give your freezer a good scrub. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments We took it easy yesterday, but today might be a bit more of a challenge as we take on giving our freezers a good scrub. How much of a challenge this is depends on how large and clean your freezer already is, and whether or not it needs defrosting.

Day 7: Tuesday, October 8 Assignment: Special project This is where it gets really fun: it’s Special Project time! Your special project is about improving the functionality of your space, with a slight eye toward the aesthetic. I’ve seen people repaint their kitchens, strip wallpaper, replace faucets, and create new systems for storing knives or compost.

Don't store tall things in the back!

Day 1 Task: Declutter and purge fridge and freezer, clean. So, this task made me cry. Was it the scary, scary cucumber I found at the bottom of the veggie drawer? The massive number of jars, some with dubious origins? Was it the nearly full bottle of expensive umeboshi plum vinegar silently mocking my failure to go macro or whatever that was? No. I cried because the last time I cleaned the fridge was the day my mom died.

Day 7 Task: Special project I didn’t mean for it to happen. I was feeling guilty, because my special project wasn’t all that special, or difficult. I needed to deal with the cookbook situation. I have a thing for random cookbooks and that thing is getting ugly. And the spaces behind the cookbooks were getting really ugly, so it had to be done. But then something amazing happened: My youngest son got totally into the Cure, and I don’t mean the band.

Day 2 Task: Declutter and clean pantry and food storage areas Who bought this stuff? It can’t have been me. Okay. Well. I think we all know it was me. Though my husband will have to claim a few things, jars of who-knows-what he got in gift baskets at work and stuck in there, never to see the light of day again. But it was pretty much me. By the way, the picture above is the “after” picture. Before was just too scary.

Day 4 Task: Deep clean. I have a confession: This task was not too scary, because we have a house cleaner once a week who takes care of a lot of deep cleaning type tasks, so our space doesn’t get too bad. The floors are clean, the baseboards dusted and the counters and backsplash polished on the regular. There are, however, a few scary spots, which I tackled with glee. (Hey, this is starting to get fun!) The worst place in my kitchen is under the sink.

For those with four-legged furry friends running around their home, there seems to be a unanimous problem — where do you put the pet bowls?! It seems like the answer should be easy: the floor, duh. But in reality, finding a bowl that looks attractive enough to sit out, plus learning not to kick it over during your daily routine, is a challenge.Before you can tackle the placement of your pet’s food and water dishes, you must first decide what’s best for them.

The Kitchn Cure Day 15: Friday, August 29 Assignment: Restock your pantry. Buy any tools, gadgets, or utensils you really need. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure We’re coming up on a long holiday weekend, which is a great time to catch up on The Kitchn Cure tasks if you need to. If you’re feeling on top of it, then your only task for today and this weekend is this: shop!

People participating in our Fall Kitchen Cure are closing in on the final days of the process. If there’s one question we’ve seen again and again it’s how to deal with those pesky plastic containers. Stacey Platt, a professional organizer here in NYC, gave me some tips to share with you.Plastic food storage containers are a serious kitchen clutter culprit. Who isn’t guilty of hoarding far more than they actually ever use at once?

We’re rolling on through The Kitchn Cure, 20 days (or four weekends) of assignments to get your kitchen clean, organized, well-stocked, and all round rocking. To get us through the last push, let’s rock out on this long weekend with a playlist designed to keep your toes tapping and your mop in motion. Here are 20 songs, from our readers’ suggestion and our own favorite playlists — all guaranteed to set you dancing as your kitchen gets cleaner.

The Kitchn Cure Day 19: Thursday, September 4 Assignment: Buy something nice for your kitchen! (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure You’ve worked hard the last few weeks, so now you deserve to buy something special for yourself and your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive — just a little indulgence! Not sure what means? We have a few ideas: 1.

Lots of people believe in spring cleaning, but I think it’s just as important to clean as you head into fall. Why? Because you’re phasing out the summer stuff (Popsicle molds, melamine dinnerware, etc.) and getting ready for a nesting period, during which you’re more likely to entertain at home, cook heartier meals, and generally be inside more — only to be annoyed by clutter and messes.

Last Thursday I gave a controversial assignment as part of Week Two of The Kitchn Cure: I asked you to pitch your processed foods.And the questions started rolling in about what, exactly, processed foods are?Processed food is basically food that has been changed from its natural state for the sake of shelf life and safety, or for the sake of convenience.

With a well-stocked pantry, you’ll not only be prepared to cook a wide range of dishes, you’ll save time and money in the long run, because by getting accustomed to your personal set of supplies, you’ll develop your own style, and you will not have to go out to the store and buy every single ingredient in a dish when it’s time for dinner. In the Kitchn Cure, I’m starting to try to impart some techniques for cooking more by instinct than by recipe.

When we launched the Kitchen Cure, we asked people to tell us about the problems they had with their kitchens. One issue that came up many times was the problem of where to store pot lids.Faith and I have two different solutions. Mine isn’t perfect by any means, but for me it solves the problem and gets those clanky lids out of my way.I keep my pots on a hanging pot rack, and my lids on top of the rack.

Those who are participating in The Kitchen Cure know that Week Three’s Assignment has you stocking the kitchen. This is a nice opportunity to stream-line your cabinets by replacing some of that ugly, clunky packaging with jars.I love storing our food this way because I get a good seal and I can see what’s inside.

Q:What’s your opinion? — AnnaEditor: Anna, when it comes to storing olive oil we like to quote Nadim Beyrouti of Oliviera in Nice, France. He says that there are three enemies of good olive oil: Light, heat, and hungry friends!We don’t mind sharing our good oil with the third enemy, but we’re careful to keep oil away from the first two. But we also buy our oil in large, economical tins.

I’m a busy working college student so this is what happens. I have made the best of my “kitchenette” but it is definitely in need the cure. (aubreylane in Santa Cruz, CA)One thing that keeps popping up in the Kitchen Cure submissions is concerns over cookbook storage and the question of how many is too many. First, let’s get a sense of how many cookbooks you have lurking on your shelves.

Day 5 Task: Restock ingredients I needed more destocking than restocking. Judging from the mess in my fridge, freezer and pantry, I had everything I needed. It was time to use it! But all that shiny, empty space was tempting, so I did add a few things. The first thing I did was take stock of my stock (ha!). I was down to one container and I had a bag of duck bones and onions in the freezer, so I knew what I had to do. I even managed to use a few more things in the fridge that needed to go away.

Day 5 Task: Restock ingredients I knew what I wanted to do for this task right from the start. Since moving, my mortar and pestle has sat, unused and sad-looking, on my pantry shelf. Well, ok. If I’m being totally honest, it sat, unused and sad-looking, in my old apartment, too. I know that freshly ground spices are on a totally different planet than their pre-ground counterparts.

Day 6 Task: Consider appliances, gadgets and tools. Y’all! We have crossed the halfway line of The Kitchn Cure! Doesn’t it feel great? The Cure has been all about streamlining for me. I don’t need more, I need less, so I can find and use what I have. As I went through my appliances, gadgets and tools, I found at least one really cool thing I had forgotten, and I’ll be using it regularly.

There’s nothing I hate more than something that doesn’t work well, and I’ve definitely been tormented by plastic wrap. Who hasn’t? (Well, maybe a lot of people, but I’m not one of them.) The Kitchn Cure has me really looking at what’s inconvenient about my kitchen, and how I can change it. As you may have noticed, I’m pretty excited about my new ChicWrap dispenser. This stuff really works! And the zip cutter on top of the box is genius.

Day 8 Task: Bring fresh flowers or a plant into the kitchen Who can’t keep succulents alive, you ask? That would be me. But they’re the easiest plants to take care of! Yes, so I’ve been told. Like, seriously. So easy! I get it. Really, they require almost no water! OK STOP. I don’t know what it is, but I have terrible luck with plants.

There’s nothing more disappointing than getting all geared up to clean out your kitchen, only to find that you don’t have the proper cleaning supplies and have to run out to get them! Having everything on hand will put you in the right frame of mind to focus on the tasks ahead. If you’re joining us on next week’s Kitchn Cure, stock up on these essential supplies so that you’re prepared and ready to go!

The Kitchn Cure Day 8: Wednesday, August 20 Assignment: Clean your stovetop and range hood. (See all the assignments so far here) Sign Up: Sign up here for The Kitchn Cure If you cook every day, your stovetop inevitably gets dirty. Spills and splatters are a natural part of cooking. You may be in the habit of doing a quick wipedown after every use, but sometimes you just need to dig in and give the whole stovetop a thorough cleaning.

Day 9: Thursday, October 10 Assignment: Cook yourself a meal The penultimate assignment in The Kitchn Cure is always to cook yourself a simple meal. This isn’t your big graduation brouhaha; this is a simple meal you are to cook yourself right away. As in tonight. Your kitchen is clean, you have no nasty old food in your fridge or pantry, you have all the right tools and you even have some fresh flowers or a plant inspiring you to nourish yourself. What’s stopping you? I get it.

The Kitchn Cure Day 20: Have a sit and make a list. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Why, hello! Here we are on the final day of the Cure. Congratulations! I hope your Cure has been beneficial; bringing you closer to, and more happy with, your kitchen. At the very least it is cleaner, and cleaner — while not everything — is a good place to start. Before we end, let’s come full circle and spend a final, quiet moment in our kitchen.

The Kitchn Cure Day 19: Revisit your list and pick a project. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today is the day we pull out the list we made on day 1, pick an item from the dislike column, and do something about it! Your initial choice here is to either pick a project that can be completed in a day or begin the process towards tackling a larger endeavor. The smaller project will bring a sense of immediate satisfaction and reward and add to your Cure glow.

The Kitchn Cure Day 16: Clean the under-the-sink area and your trash can. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Gasp! What is this? We are already on the final week of the Cure? Time sure passes quickly when you throw yourself into a project! This final week of the Cure has a few challenges (like today’s under-the-sink clean-out, if your kitchen is anything like mine), but mostly it’s about caring for our kitchens on a simpler, quieter level.

The Kitchn Cure Day 15: Focus on your knives and wooden utensils. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments I’ll cut straight to the punchline: The most important thing in your kitchen is the sharpness of your knives. I was going to add that maybe running water is more important, but after careful thinking, I still come back to sharp knives. You can haul in water if it comes to that, but you can’t cut a tomato with a dull knife.

The Kitchn Cure Day 14: Replenish and replace. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today is the day we finish up creating our Super Magical Power Pantry; replenish our spices; and replace any unhappy dish, tool, or gadget. Yes, today is the day we go shopping. Grab your bags; tuck in your pantry, spice, and utensil list; and set your mind towards a more conscious, mindful shopping experience. What?

The Kitchn Cure Day 13: Sort through your dishes and serveware. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today we’re going to rummage through our dish and glassware cupboards and upend our various drawers of silverware, tools, and implements. We’re going to sort through and clean out and rearrange all manner of kitchen chaos. Hurray! But first, let’s talk about shoes. Shoes are purely functional objects, right?

The Kitchn Cure Day 12: Clean and organize your spice rack. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today is going to be a nice day; a bit of a treat for the senses after a couple of weeks inhaling all-purpose cleaner and vinegar. Today we’re going to play with — err, clean and organize — our herbs and spices. In the process, we may also get a glimpse into our own inner workings. How big is your spice area?

The Kitchn Cure Day 10: Quietly reflect on the last nine days. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Did you notice we’re almost halfway though the Cure already? How did that happen? Time can pass quickly when we’re engaged and steadfast in our efforts. Especially these first two weeks, which were full of some very heavy-duty projects. Today, though, we’re going to head back into the kitchen for a more quiet, reflective endeavor.

The Kitchn Cure Day 9: Give your small appliances a good cleaning. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today we’re going to take care of those small but hardworking appliances that help make our kitchens truly function. If you own a dishwasher, microwave, toaster oven, and a coffee grinder, then this is going to be a busy day. But it’s also the last of the major cleaning, so one more push and the heavy labor will soon be done.

The Kitchn Cure Day 4: Sort through your freezer’s expired items. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Today is going to be a (somewhat) light day. We’ve earned it! If you clean your refrigerator on a regular basis, the past few days may have been a breeze. But most of us don’t do this nearly enough, so it’s possible that what we’ve just done is a huge accomplishment. Congratulations!

The Kitchn Cure Day 3: Banish guilt and finish cleaning your refrigerator. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Yesterday we started our big fridge clean-out by wiping down the door shelves and produce bins and sorting through the bits and bobs we store there. As an extra bonus, we also discovered our Cure spirit animal. (Snail, hummingbird, or other? Tell us in the comments!) Today we’re ready to go back in to finish the job.

The Kitchn Cure Day 2: Wipe down refrigerator door shelves and produce bins. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments I’m not usually a fan of cleaning my refrigerator. I’m not sure why — I love a sparkling fridge with everything neatly arranged and in its place — but somehow, I often can’t get there.

The Kitchn Cure Day 1: Make a list of what you like and dislike about your kitchen. Join The Kitchn Cure: Sign up and see all The Kitchn Cure assignments Hello, and welcome to Day 1 of the Kitchn Cure. I’m really excited to get started on our four-week journey to a more mindful and thoughtful relationship with our kitchens.