(Guest Post: Carrie Tyler)
The kitchen is one area of the home that can truly benefit from reorganization. It will make cooking and clean up easier and you can even save money thanks to knowing exactly what you need to pick up at the grocery store. When you go to organize your kitchen, you'll want to schedule a day or two to arrange the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer optimally.
Start with the pantry. You'll want to arrange your cabinets in like sections, similar to how a grocery store is laid out. Just like them, you want your food convenient and easy to find. Keep your baking supplies in one area. This would include things like flour, sugar, oil, baking soda, baking powder, mixes, and salt. Another section would be for hot and cold cereal. Drinks, such as teas and coffee, can be grouped together. Rice and pasta would also be placed together. Other sections that you can use include canned vegetables, beans, and fruits, condiments, canned meat, entrees, and soup, and snacks.
To sort your pantry right, you'll need to remove everything first. Since this is a big task, be sure you schedule enough time. When you put the items back in the cupboards you want to pay special attention to how you are arranging them. The taller items should go in the back, while the smaller ones should be placed in the front. This enables you to see where all the items are instantly. For sections with lots of cans, consider step shelves. Step shelves also work great for arranging spices.
You should use the same method for organizing your fridge. Unless you have all day to clean, schedule the pantry and the fridge on different days. Start by removing all of the items. Even if you clean out your fridge regularly, you probably have some items in their that can be thrown out. Mostly empty condiment bottles often stay in the refrigerator past their usefulness. After everything is out, clean the shelves and put in a fresh box of baking soda.
After the fridge is cleaned, go about grouping the food items in a similar way as you did with your cupboards. Fruits should go in one crisper, with vegetables in the other drawer. Lunchmeats and cheeses can go in a different drawer. Condiments work well in the door shelves. Eggs can go in the door if there is a place for them, or kept in the carton for longer lasting freshness. Keep the top shelf fairly clear for taller items and keep one shelf open for longer items, such as casserole dishes. After these considerations, group by type.
The freezer can be tackled the same day as the fridge, or on its own. Again, the method is the same. First toss out any old items that you will never use. Then group the items for easy access. Vegetables should all go together, as should meats. Stack any frozen leftovers or store bough entrees together. Arrange everything for easy access. Large things should be broken down into meal sizes and then wrapped and dated.
The final step to having an organized kitchen is to keep it organized. Once the first step is taken this is fairly easy to do, but don't fall back into old habits. Schedule one day a month to maintain the kitchen pantry organization so that cooking can remain fast and simple.
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Carrie has been writing articles for several years, about everything from home improvement to self improvement. Her latest sites are childrens car seats and Graco booster seats. |
