An Efficient Kitchen – What is it?
After spending a week in a holiday house and trying to cook using someone else’s kitchen, I just about went bananas! I then realized why I like cook in my own kitchen, because I know where everything is and I can find it in an instant this equals an efficient kitchen. It makes my life easy, from preparing meals to putting away the dishes, everything in my kitchen has a home. This way when you need it it will always be there.
How do you do this? You need to prioritize your kitchen. Sit down and think about what you use all the time and put that in a place that is readily accessible. If you make tea and coffee frequently, then keep your coffee, tea and sugar in good looking jars and keep them on the bench beside your kettle or a shelf nearby. Ensure that the cups and mugs are in a cupboard close. You would be surprised how much you walk around in your kitchen taking things out and putting them back into cupboards, drawers and the refrigerator. This is great if you are working on a count your steps training diet with a pedometer strapped to you but inefficient if you are busy and have better things to do.
Another handy idea is to keep all your cutlery and crockery close to the dishwasher. These are the items that you use with every meal so this way when you unload the dishwasher you don’t have to move far to empty it quickly.
Keep your cooking utensils, oven mitts, aprons, oils and seasonings close to the oven and or hob where you can access them to throw a little salt in the pot, pull out the tray from the oven quickly, and grab a wooden spoon to stir a sauce with one step! Don’t forget to keep the pots and pans in this same area.
I probably don’t need to mention this one but cleaning equipment, washing up liquid, tea towels, draining mats, scrubbing brushes etc all need to be in close proximity to the kitchen sink.
Then all the appliances that you just had to have, like the juicer, no fat griller, crock pot, kitchen whizz, milkshake mixer, ice cream maker, bread maker (sound familiar, do I need to go on?) need to go in the garage or have a yard sale as you probably never use them! If you do then keep them in an accessible cupboard but in most kitchens you have already used that up with your essential items.
Keep things simple in the kitchen
The pantry and refrigerator, these item are accessed constantly by everyone in the family, to keep yourself sane, buy some transparent containers with air tight lids, transfer the contents of packets into the containers and then label them. Also place these in priority of use, often used at eye height, less frequently up high and down low. This way your family, if they are old enough to read can find what they want at a glance and you don’t end up with ants or other friendly household creatures getting into your food, or your packets spilling out everywhere. It also helps when you go to do your shopping list as you can see at a glance what items are getting low in the pantry.
Similar situation with the fridge, organize it so that everything stays in a similar position from week to week, so that everyone knows where the yogurt lives, the eggs, the bacon, the condiments etc. Pack your leftovers into air tight containers and label with the date so if they aren’t eaten within the correct time frame they can be disposed of, and your fridge and you stay healthy!
So I think that covers most of the things that make your kitchen efficient. If everything has a home in your efficient kitchen then you won’t always be asked, in my case anyway “Mum, where’s the biscuits?” several hundred times a day and you will stay slightly sane.
Go forward and reorganize your kitchen today, I am sure that it will be worth the effort!
If you love organizing kitchens, you may like to design them, check out the interior design course.
