We spend a lot of time in the kitchen. We also spend a lot of money in the kitchen. Think about all the food, appliances, cookware, flatware, and time we spend in the kitchen.
A contractor colleague of mine recently said a kitchen remodel should typically be 8% - 10% of the value of your home.
WOWZAS!
So I would assume that for such an investment, we would want to use our investment wisely. Here are some tips to keep you from spinning your wheels and wasting a lot of time in the kitchen.
1. Out with the old.
This point may sound quite obvious but if you take out broken or unused cookware, expired food items, unused (especially the super bulky) appliances, you might be surprised how much roomier your drawers, cabinets, refrigerator, and pantry will be.
TIP: Before you go to the grocery store, make a list. Raid your fridge and pantry and throw out all expired things, clear out and clean out the pantry or fridge. Make this a habit and you'll buy less duplicates and have room for the items you are going to purchase.
2. Keep items by category.
If your pantry is divided by zones, it'll make things a lot easier to find. Keep snacks together, baking items together, can goods together, and your brain will thank you and so will your stomach.
TIP: Keeping categories in bins or baskets make it easy to group categories. It doesn't have to be super pretty or polished but functional is better than nothin'
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| from unskinnyboppy.com |
3. Keep items where you can see them.
Have you ever looked for something in the fridge and you couldn't find it because it was behind the milk? Well when we put things in the fridge, be mindful of putting short things behind tall things. The goal when putting something in the fridge or pantry or cabinet is so that you can retrieve it later.
TIP: Have a family member or roommate that doesn't follow that policy? You can create sections in the fridge or pantry that make it darn-near impossible (binning everything pictured below) to do it any other way OR label it. A lot of times putting things away is something we do subconsciously. If we give our brains a visual cue, it might help. Or strangling the offender.
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| from fitsugar.com |
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| Dexterous Organizing does design work with ShelfGenie! |
4. Empty that box or bag!! (Consolidate)
Many, many, many times when organizing pantries, we find a big ol' box with one tiny thing left in it. Once we threw away a lot of the excess bags and boxes we find awesome amounts of space for items. If you abide by tip #2 above you'll find that you can contain things by category and not need the bag or box.
TIP: Jars, air-tight plastic containers, freezer bags and snack/sandwich bags are a life saver in helping to consolidate half-empty boxes and bags. Also use rubber bands to get the air out of snack bags and roll them up tightly for more space.
5. Stacking and Nesting
When you can take advantage of vertical space by all means do so! Many of the containers we buy in the stores are build for stacking and they are also built for nesting. Usually with the lid is on a container, we can stack something on top of another without it falling off. Conversely without the lid we can nest things inside one another (like bowls or containers). This helps to conserve on the space.
TIP: Buy bowls and containers that all stack or nest together. Trust me, it's worth it.
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| Stacking Containers |
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| Nesting measuring bowls and cups! |
If you repeat these tips constantly and consistently you'll work your way to a more organized kitchen.
If you need help to make decisions or get stuck in ways to organize, give us a shout! Visit our website at www.dexterousorganizing.com for more information.
