Organize Your Kitchen and Enjoy the Results

Have you found your enthusiasm for cooking and baking waning? Does it sometimes feel like too much trouble to gather everything you need to cook something special for dinner? A disorganized, or simply unorganized, kitchen could be the culprit robbing you of your enjoyment of cooking and preparing great foods. If you find that you do not enjoy being in your kitchen as much as you used to, try following these simple tips to get your kitchen organized, and then enjoy the results of your labor.

1. It all starts with a plan.
Before you begin organizing your kitchen, take some time to think about how you are planning to use this room. Figure out your workspace and the way that your kitchen works now. Do you have the accessories that you need for everyday cooking close to hand? Do you have to walk around the kitchen table to the other side of the room to pull out the pan lid that you want? How about your kitchen cabinets? Are the foods that you use most often within easy reach? Do you have to dig through all the cans on the shelf to find the condensed milk? Think about how to make your workspace more efficient and start to envision how to make it happen. These are all important questions to consider because the answers can help make preparing an organizational plan much easier.

2. Go shopping.
You may have to go to the store to purchase some additional items to help the organizational process. Before you start pulling your cabinets apart, you need the supplies to put them back together neatly. Start your shopping online to see what sort of organizing supplies are available. Your list might include plate and cup racks to organize and expand your space, two tier shelves that can double the space you have available for storage, shelf paper for lining the shelves and a lazy Susan for spices.

3. Organize your food cabinets next.
Clear off your kitchen table and counters so you have extra room to work. Place your garbage can and a sturdy cardboard box nearby. Now you can begin emptying your kitchen cabinets. As you take foods out of your cabinet, make a quick decision to keep, donate, or throw away each item. The foods that you are likely to use should be replaced in the cabinet after you have cleaned them out. Foods that are not open can be placed into the donate box if you do not plan to eat them. You may also want to consider bringing these foods to a food pantry or homeless shelter. There is no sense holding onto something because you hate wasting the money.

Nothing goes back into the cabinets until you have emptied the whole cabinet, washed down the shelves and put up any organizing helpers that you have. When you do replace the items in your food cabinets, take care to place those foods that you use the most up at the front of your shelves

4. Rearrange your dishes, pots, and pans.
Now pull everything out of the cabinets that are housing your dishes, silverware, pots, and pans. When you come across storage containers, make sure that you have the correct lid or cover. If your container does not have a lid that fits, toss it in the trash.

After you clean the shelves, start putting the dishes away, filling the cabinets next to your dishwasher first. The dishes that are washed every day should be in the cabinets closest to the dishwasher to cut down on the amount of traveling you do between dishwasher and pantry.

5. Clean off the countertops and get rid of unused appliances.
Make the most of your counter space by clearing away the clutter. The only appliances that should be out on display are those that are used two or more times a week. For most people, that means your coffee maker (and coffee grinder if you have one), can opener and microwave oven. If there are other appliances that you use more than once a month, tuck those in an under counter cabinet. Take serious stock of any appliance that is used less than once a month. In most cases, if you use it less than once per month, or if you use other appliances that are used for the same task, you may want to consider donating or getting rid of that appliance.

Once you have organized your kitchen, you should find that your workflow moves more easily. With everything within reach and comfortable, chances are that you can find yourself inspired to cook and entertain more often. You should enjoy cooking so much more, and so should your entire family. Do not be surprised if they start hanging out in the kitchen while you cook, enjoying your newly organized kitchen right alongside you