American kitchens are busy places. Today’s women spend on average over 1,000 hours a year in the kitchen, along with everyone from husbands to friends, teenagers and dinner guests. As a central hub of activity, kitchen organization is essential. Add to that the fact that kitchens often exemplify the excesses of American living, which inevitably leads to clutter. We have more dishes, pots and pans than we need. We purchase the newest kitchen gadgets in the hopes that, one day, we will have the need to make homemade bread, or freeze dry 200lbs of green beans. And when we think our kitchens have everything, we realize they lack the one feature we need the most — space! However, with a few helpful tips and some space saving kitchen organizers, your kitchen clutter woes will be a thing of the past.
Discard or Donate Seldom Used Products
When is the last time you used the food processor on top of the refrigerator, or the bag of pinto beans in the back of the cabinet? Donate food items you don’t need to can drives and charities, pass kitchen devices on to relatives who might actually use them, or have a yard sale.
Making your waste receptacles easy to access, and separating your recyclables is another great way to reduce clutter. How often do empty juice bottles sit on the counter, waiting for someone to take them to the recycling bin in the garage? Eliminate that aspect of clutter with stackable recycling bins. These recycling bins provide an economic, odor-reducing design for recyclables and trash. The bins’ lids are recessed slightly for easy stacking and condensing. The color-coded dials allow you to label the contents of each bin, and they fit beneath most counters for out-of-the-way storage.
Make Frequently Used Items More Accessible
Recognize what you use most often, and make those items easily accessible. Infrequently used items, like the roasting pan that you only use during Christmas and Thanksgiving, can go on high shelves or in the back of cabinets. They can even be stored outside the kitchen in the garage or attic. Store frequently used utensils together, separating stirring spoons and steak knives in easy to reach places, and put the melon baller and lemon zester in the far back of the drawer! Utilize drawer organizers to help separate utensils that are used frequently from the ones that are not. The same goes with pots and pans.
Free up Cabinet Space by Hanging Items and Utilizing Alternative Storage
Items like pots and pans can be hung underneath shelves and cabinets, freeing up cabinet space for other items. Organizers like a shelf pot rack keep kitchens clean and clutter-free in true restaurant style. These racks instantly free up cabinet space, offer easy access while cooking and look fantastic. Plus, these racks easily install into drywall, with no studs required, and are made of steel.
Other handy products like a xix-tier kitchen wall rack helps to relieve clutter on tables, counters and drawers. This rack has a slim, understated design, but the strong steel frame holds anything from cookbooks to cans of food. Standing 45-inches high, this rack provides great storage in a place where you might never think to utilize space.
Create Convenient Centers of Activity
Store related utensils, food items, and devices close to where they will be used. If you can successfully break your kitchen down into practical centers of activity, this will greatly assist you in reducing kitchen clutter. Whether you store foods in a pantry, cabinet, a closet, or someplace else entirely, don't forget to go through periodically and clear out items that are hopelessly old or will never be used.
Stacking and condensing items in this area can be very helpful. Items like a stackable roll down can rack saves space and organizes canned food and drinks on easy to access shelves for fast retrieval and restocking. The rack’s compact shelves will fit neatly in either your pantry or cabinet, and stack or separate for custom fits.
Your cooking area includes your stove, oven, and the utensils that go with them. Make sure to store pots and pans, pot holders, spoons and spatulas in this part of your kitchen. A great item for this area is the Pan Tree, which organizes up to 14 pieces of cookware, including six pans, four lids and a Dutch oven conveniently. The Pan Tree easily stores in a cabinet or on a countertop.
Kitchen organization can be a daunting task. Remember to pace yourself. Unless you are moving in, don’t try to organize your kitchen all at once. It will be much simpler to go drawer by drawer, shelf by shelf, reducing clutter and creating the ideal kitchen
Leslie Silver is a freelance writer who writes about kitchen organizers.
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