An organized kitchen is essential for a smooth morning. The last thing you want on a fresh, bright morning is clutter. Decluttering is as easy as it is imperative. So now that you have made your mind to get an organized kitchen, the next part is HOW? Organized kitchen means organized kitchen cabinets. It might come off as a lot of investment, but this investment will reap the returns every day, and noticeable returns, so do not waste time. If you want to move into a new house or reorganize the one you are living in, these to do are imperative.
1. VERTICAL CABINETS
What is a vertical cabinet, and why is it necessary? This question will surely pop into your mind when you come across this term. Storing baking trays, serving trays, chopping boards, grilling trays on horizontal cabinets take up a lot of space unnecessarily. With vertical cabinets, you can store such trays in a file cabinet manner that will take up less space and make it visible more often.
2. TENSION RODS
They take your tension away in literal terms with tension rods when it’s about the kitchen storage space. Remember those times when the cabinets are arranged and completely stacked, but you still have more stuff to put. We usually make space for them on other shelves ruining the zones that we created so minutely. Tension rods are the solution to that. You can add them to your kitchen shelves to increase another row, and store the additional jars. You can also use tension rods to make vertical cabinets. They are cheap and useful.
3. CORK BOARDS
The inside doors of the cabinets are the most convenient space to create a command center. It allows you to write down new recipes, menus for the week, the allergy list( if any), the grocery shopping list. It’s very important to keep track of the kitchen. You could also use it to add hooks for hanging measuring cups.
4. PEGS
They should be placed in the kitchen drawers where you store glasswares like plates and bowls. Why? To make sure that they do not slide and clunk with one another while you open the drawer. The pegs are movable and allow you to keep glasswares of various sizes in order.
5. WHAT TO STORE WHERE
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Assigning cabinets to separate activities is easier said than done. We will help you out with that too.
What To Store In Higher Cabinets?
- Food – Its place is just above your work station. The lunch and dinner staples should be above your kitchen working area. That way they will be easily accessible while preparing meals. You might be thinking about what to do with the pantry? The pantry is for additional storage. People who do grocery shopping monthly should have separate spaces for storing food items and for daily usage. Pantry being for additional storage, and the latter being for daily usage.
- Food Storage Counters – Meaning the lunchboxes, the storage bowls to pour the food. They should also be above the counter space.
- Dishes and glassware – Either on the top or beside the dishwasher or the drying rack would be the correct space to keep the glasses and dishes. This makes putting them away after use easier.
What To Store In Lower Cabinets
- Pots, pans, baking sheets – Nest the pots together and keep the baking sheets and pans in the cabinet below the oven. You could save space by nesting the pots and using the remaining space to make the cabinet vertical for storing the sheets and pans.
- Appliances -They could be kept on the countertop if you have enough room for cooking. If not, then keep them beside the pots and pans cabinet or just below the working area. It’s easy to access while prepping for food. However, if you use an appliance daily, consider keeping it on the countertop.
- Cleaning Supplies – This is the easiest one; Keep it on the cabinet below the sink. If it is more than one shelf cabinet, always keep them on the bottom rack to avoid leakage. Never keep cleaning supplies and food in the same cabinet. If you have pets and small children in the house, it’s better to keep the cleaning supplies cabinet locked.
6. ORGANIZATION ACCORDING TO ACTIVITY
This is especially helpful in the morning. You can have a long but narrow cabinet for the necessary coffee or tea in the morning. For example, the bottom shelf can have the coffee maker, the sugar, the coffee, and the milk, the second last one can have the mugs and cups, while the one above can have the sippers for the ‘on the go coffee’ and the kettles for serving.
Finally, proper planning and improvisation can definitely make your kitchen moments less stressful. Following these tips will help you to make your kitchen functional.