***Organize Your Kitchen with These Suggestions

Let’s be honest. When it is time to start organizing your kitchen, it is fair to say we would rather have someone else do it for us. It is one of those chores we would rather not do or even think about doing. But when it comes to cooking, you certainly do yourself an injustice if your kitchen is not well organized.

There is no particular time of year to clean and re-organize your kitchen. But the sooner you get started, the faster you can start enjoying your kitchen again.

Some people just do not know where to start. In these cases, it is strongly suggested you take it one drawer or one cupboard at a time. Others can start by pulling everything out of the cupboards and begin cleaning the inside of the shelving units with warm soapy water.

When it is time to put everything back into the cupboard, then it is time to ask yourself if you use that kitchen item, is it broken, do you want to keep it? Use the same approach when you start sorting through your food items. It’s also a good idea to take note of duplicate utensils or other kitchen items. If you own too many of the same item, then donate some to your favorite organization.

When you are putting the food back, and you notice a dented or swollen can, you must throw it out. Make sure the food product is not expired. If the food product expires, or the food is stale, or you have no clue what it is, then throw it in the trash. Ask yourself, “will I actually ever use this item when cooking?” If the answer is no and the food product is good, put it in the food donation box. There are plenty of food donation places in your community that will appreciate your unwanted food items. Keep in mind the food product that you donate must not be perishable.

Spices are necessary for anyone who enjoys cooking; however, spice containers take up a lot of space. . One way to organize your spices is to purchase 2-tier lazy susans, or the tall, swivel spice holders. This makes it easy for you to see every spice you have, and makes proper use of the space where the spices are placed.

Your pots and pans should be placed close to your stove, so you do not have to reach far to retrieve them. Utensils should be placed near your stove or oven as well. If you are lucky to have the room, then put the utensils in the drawer next to the stove, or you can buy a hanging utensil rack. This will keep clutter at bay and still allow the cook to reach the cooking items when the need arises.

Food storage containers are another item that takes up way too much room. Half the time, you might have the bottom of the container but lost the top. It is time to look carefully through all your plastic food storage containers. Get rid of old, damaged ones and consider purchasing the type of food storage containers that stack within each other. This way you end up with one tall stack that includes all tops and bottoms. This will open up a lot of your precious kitchen storage space.

Now it is time to put away the appliances. If the appliance is too large and one that you do not use often, it is suggested that you wrap the appliance to keep it clean and secure, then store it outside of the kitchen. Another option to lack of space is purchasing some space savers for the areas of your kitchen that will benefit from them.

One of the main goals when organizing your kitchen is to clear off your counter space. If you clear off your counters, you will have more room to work in the kitchen, and you can clean the counters with ease. Plus it will make your kitchen look bigger. These are all excellent reasons to clear those counters.

Another consideration for those kitchens with little storage is to buy a tall standing, basic storage tower. Perhaps placing it right next to the refrigerator would be a terrific out of the way corner. This would be a good place to store items that have a neat look to them like your canister set, or appliances that you do use on a regular basis. By placing the appliances in the storage tower, it opens up more space in your cabinets.

With a clean, organized kitchen, you’ll be able to better enjoy your home. Whether you’re preparing a big family dinner or whipping up a quick snack, a well organized kitchen makes life easier.