***An Organized Kitchen is An Organized Home: How to Do It

As has often been pointed out, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in any home. A well organized kitchen will save you time and money and allow you to cook better meals. It will leave you less stressed. Regardless of the size or layout of your kitchen, it is possible to have an efficient, well organized and easy to use kitchen at little or no cost. And many of these tips can just as easily be applied to other areas of your home and life.

Layout is one of the most important aspects. An ideal layout allows you easy flow between three of the most important components of your kitchen - the stove, sink and refrigerator. Consider the natural flow of things: a piece of meat may be taken from the fridge to the sink or counter for preparing, and then to the oven. Pots and pans that are used regularly should be stored next to the stove; plates and cutlery within easy reach of any eating area.

One of the most important things is to have everything you might need in your kitchen close at hand. To some extent, this will depend on the size of your kitchen and the amount of storage space as well as the size of your family and the kind of meals that you generally cook. Many cooks claim that you can never have too much storage space. According to many home buyers, plenty of kitchen cupboard space is one of the most sought after and important features.

If you have too much stuff in your kitchen, even after organizing and allocating a place for everything; you should probably get rid of something. If in doubt, ask yourself
when you last used it or if you could manage without it. Most of us simply do not need a bread-making machine, cookie press or melon baller; all those gadgets you never use are not only taking up space, but making it difficult to access things that you do need and use regularly. If you really need to keep them and use them occasionally, store them in a spare room, garage or basement. Discard any broken or duplicate items.

After your fridge, stove and sink, you may consider the dishwasher to be the next most important item in your kitchen. Consider the location of the dishwasher carefully. You do not want to be constantly opening and closing it to allow people to pass; you also want it somewhere where clean items can quickly and easily be put away. An ideal location is perhaps within easy reach of the eating area, so that any dishes can easily be moved from there to the dishwasher.

Regardless of the size of your pantry, chances are that it is still not big enough. Start by cleaning it out. Discard anything that is past the sell by date. Store similar items together, boxed items on one shelf, cans on another. Things such as rice, pasta and cereal can all be stored together. Tea and coffee items can also be placed together. Consider purchasing some additional organizing aids such as an over the door hanger, stacking containers or a Lazy Susan for spice jars and small items.
Many experienced cooks will also tell you that you can never have too much counter space in a kitchen. If you have plenty of counter space in your kitchen for your cooking needs consider yourself lucky. Try not to take up too much space with other activities or items that do not belong there such as books, papers, bills, etc. Before you know it, the counter space has all gone! Keep paper towels next to the counters, this is one place where you are likely to use them.

Similar to pot, pans and utensils, cookbooks should be easily accessible. Those books that you use the most should be easy to locate and reach. Books used occasionally can be stored somewhere else. If you frequently use cookbooks, consider a device which allows you to have a book propped up open while you are reading it. Another space saving idea is to put frequently used recipes on index cards or in a folder.

What works in somebody else’s kitchen may not work in yours. You may have to try different ideas before finding something that works. Cooking meals that are healthy and tasty can be challenging enough, especially if you are trying to balance time spent in the kitchen with family or work time. A well organized kitchen is an important step towards having a well organized home and life; and if you are selling your home, a well organized kitchen is what buyers want to see!