Arch City Granite & Marble, Inc. - http://www.archcitygranite.com/
Some of us love our kitchens. We can’t seem to have enough of them. We love the thought of purchasing new appliances and cutlery. We look forward to grocery shopping and cooking our meals. We deliberate over which cheese to use over our pasta – parmesan or mozzarella? Kitchen is our haven away from problems in life. When we are cooking we are at our best. It’s therapeutic and what not.
And then there are those who couldn’t care less about the whole charade. I mean, the cooking process and the cleaning up and the grocery shopping. Did I confuse the order there? Well, you get the point.
But that does not mean we don’t need our kitchens or need them to be in a good condition.
Lazy as I am, I went hunting for tips to sort it all out with minimal headache. I found some good advice and a lot of it redundant. Having tried and tested it all, here’s what I’m passing on to my fellow couldn’t-care less .
Lazy people love to plan, you must have noticed. Whether we get anything done or not is beside the point. But we are big on planning, which means this should be a (rather enjoyable) walk in the park for us.
To save a lot of bother later on, begin on this note. Take out a pen and paper, or bring up an Excel sheet if that suits you, and list down the different types of things you have in your kitchen and determine where they should be ideally stacked.
So next to each food (or non-food) type, write down its intended location. Make sure it’s roomy enough for the type.
The natural next step and the simplest way to begin your organization efforts.
All the oils and the cooking mediums go in one place. The spices, herbs, seasonings, and assorted condiments find their own rack. The breads have their own place, and so do the different types of rice and rice-related products. If you love junk food, give it its own spotlight. Keep the soda in the fridge and the Cheerios and Doritos in a separate cabinet. Pastas and noodles should also have their own shelf, as should teas, coffees, and protein powders.
If you own a number of non-transparent containers, label them with removable marker ink whenever you fill them up with anything. This will not only save your time when you are looking for a product when cooking but also make sure you put it back in its right place.
Again, organize the fridge by the food type and make sure to put the things back in their right place. Clean it out at least once a month if not once a week. That way you’ll have a better idea of the useless stuff in there. You’ll save on energy costs, too.
Simple. Keep the ones you use most frequently within easy reach. Anything that isn’t used frequently can be relegated to the back burner (figuratively speaking).
Apply the same principle to plates and bowls and other tableware.
All the fancy crockery should be stacked higher up since it is only used occasionally. Some people like to decorate their walls with their china. I’m not a huge fan of that personally. Some like their pots and pans to hang from the ceiling. It looks ugly but does save time when you are thinking of the right pan to use for your cooking as you have the entire range on display. Also, it’s rather easy to “organize” since it’s all up there and is randomly stacked anyway! So if you don’t mind the clunkiness of it all it’s a great option for you.
You may hate doing this as this typically follows a long and arduous task of preparing for and cooking a meal and then doing the dishes. But this is important. The cutting board and the knives should be immediately washed and the kitchen countertop should be wiped clean soon as you are done using it. Clean counters make you want to not clutter or spoil them. And they also happen to be desirable from a hygiene point of view.
A word to the wise -- invest in the best possible materials so that your kitchen (or house in general) looks classy with minimal effort. Black granite is an excellent option for countertops as it masks stains rather well and doesn’t fade fast. Only buy the and they will serve you well for years.
