Banishing Kitchen Clutter!

For most of us, the kitchen is the heart and soul of our home. This is where people gather, where we fix and take our meals, and where we come for comfort (food is truly the best medicine!).

But because this room of the house is the most traveled and the busiest, it often becomes a catch-all for the trappings of our lives. Like keys, mail, random appliances (do you really need that curly fry maker out on the counter?)

Here are some tips for making the kitchen as functional as it can be.

1. The number one rule of an organized kitchen is to store items where you use them. Put your plates near the table or the stove (depending on if you serve from the stove or the table), glasses near the fridge and cutting knives and board near island or counter where you cut up produce. Keep like items together, and items that you use all the time within reach.
2. If you do any baking, set up a baking section. Store together all items you use when baking.
3. Clean and organize your fridge and freezer. Do a quick upkeep once a week on trash day. If you don't use it, get rid of it. Nothing worse than a stinky fridge.

4. Move the excess clutter. For example, seasonally used items such as platters and holiday dishes are better stored in a basement or attic. Unless you have a very large kitchen, it is best to remove items that are not used on a regular basis. You know that cabinet over the fridge? That's also a great place to store seasonal dishes and serveware since it's out of the way.

5. How many glasses do you really use between dish washings? Store only as many as you regularly use (glasses, dishes, wine glasses), and place the extras in storage, like the bottom of a coat closet or pantry. Have them close by for parties or dinners.

6. Go through your cookbooks and keep in the kitchen only the ones you use regularly. Seasonal cookbooks can be stored with your holiday dinnerware, others can be kept elsewhere, like the living room or office bookshelves. Or even better, photocopy the recipes that you use the most often, laminate or bind them in sheet protectors and keep them in a binder.

7. Here's a tough one. If you don't use it every day, remove it from your counters. So many of us complain about not having enough counter space yet we crowd the counters with things we don't even use. Do you really need that Tater Twister or Smoothie Machine RIGHT there on the counter at all times? No.

8. Check out all the racks and drawer units on the market to more efficiently store all your kitchen items. You will find a large selection at home stores around the country. If you can, hang your pots and pans on the wall. Julia Child was right on the money with this one, especially if your pots are lovely copper or stainless steel. But even if they are not stunners- hanging them up near the stove is functional and makes for interesting living art.

9. Set up a small pantry somewhere in your home for extra cans of soup, coffee and other essentials. You'll save money by buying in bulk or during sales and you'll save space in the kitchen. A small closet can easily be converted to a pantry. Once you have one you'll never want to be "pantry-less" again.

If you have any other kitchen organizer tips, feel free to email me at musingsbynayblog@gmail.com

Organizingly yours,

Nay