These are all excellent ideas. I especially like the cork boards on the inside of cabinets. I must try that.
Simplify in the Kitchen
- Thread starter Gingerbug
- Start date
I found gutting your kitchen is a really radical way to simplify your kitchen. :rotflol:
We have gutted our home, down to the studs! Now I have one bin for pots and pans, another for bake dishes, and one for non perishables. It is like camping with a mortgage (little manic laughter)
My new kitchen cabinets arrive Friday!! Counters the week following.
This Thanksgiving I am going to be thankful for ... a kitchen! :-D
We have gutted our home, down to the studs! Now I have one bin for pots and pans, another for bake dishes, and one for non perishables. It is like camping with a mortgage (little manic laughter)
My new kitchen cabinets arrive Friday!! Counters the week following.
This Thanksgiving I am going to be thankful for ... a kitchen! :-D
I love all these ideas.
I am looking out (still) for a small rectangular glass tray to hold my two oil bottles on the worksurface (I decant olive and sunflower oils from the bulk bottles into 2 small corked bottles for everyday use, but they do dribble a little on the counter). My mum has one that she's used for years and it really saves the counter, and keeps the bottles in one place too.
I also kept nice glass corked bottles (they originally held nice lemonades that we got as presents or treats) and decant the squashes into those for the counter top. They are easy to grab when setting the table for dinner, look nice (instead of the old plastic bottles) and means that if I get a bargain on the 3l plastic bottle, I don't mind as no one will see the carton. I store the large bottles of oil and squashes, as well as a few cans of coke and fizzy orange, in a cupboard low down.
I must organise my herbs and spices as they are in a bad way. But we got a new kitchen last winter (part of an extension) and we asked for the wal cupboards to go to the ceiling rather than leaving wasted space of about 2 feet on the top that the standard ones do.
I love removing cartons and boxes and packaging as soon possible. I keep all my pasta (about 4 types), rice (2 types), flour (2), sugar (4), dried fruits (3) biscuits, savoury crackers and cereals (3) in different glass and plastic cannisters which are sealed. It started when I got an infestation in the flour (still unopened from the store) a number of years ago, but actually really keeps everything fresh and saves soo much space too. I must get a few more small ones for different dried fruits, nuts and chocolate chips for the baking cupboard. I also have an open plastic tub for choclate bars and muesli bars, which I tend to buy in multipacks and dump the packaging fast. Packets of cereal that don't all fit into the plastic tubs, I seal the inner bag with a clippit (it's a plastic sealer that clips together - I used to use clean clothes pegs) and throw away the cardboard outer packaging into the recycling.
I have a corner cupboard just below the main prep surface, where I keep my Kenwood chef, food processor and deep fat fryer, and the hand blender (as well as the baking tins and the casserole dishes). There are a couple of plugs behind the worktop here too (it's a peninsular unit, but the wall is a foot higher at the back to hide everything from the dining side of the room and have a breakfast bar on top), and it is very easy to pull out what I need, without anything cluttering up that surface all the time.
The cupboard beside the cooker has my spices and seasonings, tea/coffee/cocoa/fixings, cereals, biscuits, and also a couple of tins for everyday use (tomatoes, tinned spaghetti, beans in tomato sauce, tuna, sweetcorn) - ones I'd use a lot. But only 1 or 2 of each. I have a cupboard which is futher away and more awkward for everyday use, that I use to put the bulk batches of those kinds of tins and jars of sauces - tuna is often sold in sets of 4 a lot cheaper than 1 individually, but I keep 3 of them in the storecupboard and only 1 in the everyday one. Or the bulk box of teabags, with just a good handful in a nice glass jar for everyday. Or the unopened packets of coffee (get them in a different store that is rarely visited, so we buy a good few packets at once).
One other thing I asked for when we were designing the new kitchen (identical layout to the old, but better arranged), was that the shelves in the cupboards be moveable. So I can have short shelves for tins and small baking items, with higher shelves for the pasta, rice, flour and cereals jars.
And I got a great set of bars to put on the wall, with some hooks hanging off it (holds the sieve and a few utensils), an attachment to hold a roll of paper towels, and what looks like a flower pot to hold my washup brushes and scrubber (there are drainage holes in this) - these hang over the sink. Mine is from IKEA, but there are lots of versions available.
I am looking out (still) for a small rectangular glass tray to hold my two oil bottles on the worksurface (I decant olive and sunflower oils from the bulk bottles into 2 small corked bottles for everyday use, but they do dribble a little on the counter). My mum has one that she's used for years and it really saves the counter, and keeps the bottles in one place too.
I also kept nice glass corked bottles (they originally held nice lemonades that we got as presents or treats) and decant the squashes into those for the counter top. They are easy to grab when setting the table for dinner, look nice (instead of the old plastic bottles) and means that if I get a bargain on the 3l plastic bottle, I don't mind as no one will see the carton. I store the large bottles of oil and squashes, as well as a few cans of coke and fizzy orange, in a cupboard low down.
I must organise my herbs and spices as they are in a bad way. But we got a new kitchen last winter (part of an extension) and we asked for the wal cupboards to go to the ceiling rather than leaving wasted space of about 2 feet on the top that the standard ones do.
I love removing cartons and boxes and packaging as soon possible. I keep all my pasta (about 4 types), rice (2 types), flour (2), sugar (4), dried fruits (3) biscuits, savoury crackers and cereals (3) in different glass and plastic cannisters which are sealed. It started when I got an infestation in the flour (still unopened from the store) a number of years ago, but actually really keeps everything fresh and saves soo much space too. I must get a few more small ones for different dried fruits, nuts and chocolate chips for the baking cupboard. I also have an open plastic tub for choclate bars and muesli bars, which I tend to buy in multipacks and dump the packaging fast. Packets of cereal that don't all fit into the plastic tubs, I seal the inner bag with a clippit (it's a plastic sealer that clips together - I used to use clean clothes pegs) and throw away the cardboard outer packaging into the recycling.
I have a corner cupboard just below the main prep surface, where I keep my Kenwood chef, food processor and deep fat fryer, and the hand blender (as well as the baking tins and the casserole dishes). There are a couple of plugs behind the worktop here too (it's a peninsular unit, but the wall is a foot higher at the back to hide everything from the dining side of the room and have a breakfast bar on top), and it is very easy to pull out what I need, without anything cluttering up that surface all the time.
The cupboard beside the cooker has my spices and seasonings, tea/coffee/cocoa/fixings, cereals, biscuits, and also a couple of tins for everyday use (tomatoes, tinned spaghetti, beans in tomato sauce, tuna, sweetcorn) - ones I'd use a lot. But only 1 or 2 of each. I have a cupboard which is futher away and more awkward for everyday use, that I use to put the bulk batches of those kinds of tins and jars of sauces - tuna is often sold in sets of 4 a lot cheaper than 1 individually, but I keep 3 of them in the storecupboard and only 1 in the everyday one. Or the bulk box of teabags, with just a good handful in a nice glass jar for everyday. Or the unopened packets of coffee (get them in a different store that is rarely visited, so we buy a good few packets at once).
One other thing I asked for when we were designing the new kitchen (identical layout to the old, but better arranged), was that the shelves in the cupboards be moveable. So I can have short shelves for tins and small baking items, with higher shelves for the pasta, rice, flour and cereals jars.
And I got a great set of bars to put on the wall, with some hooks hanging off it (holds the sieve and a few utensils), an attachment to hold a roll of paper towels, and what looks like a flower pot to hold my washup brushes and scrubber (there are drainage holes in this) - these hang over the sink. Mine is from IKEA, but there are lots of versions available.
I have simplified my kitchen through the eyes of my grandmother.
She has cooked and baked all her life with only 3 pots, a frying pan, a set of dishes, a few baking pans and a wooden spoon with a decent knife.
Out went the blender, bread maker, processor, deep fryer, rotisserie oven...the whole works(some in storage/others given away). It takes a bit more prep time but I've got more time on my hands than space....although I did keep the little hand mixer ;-)
She has cooked and baked all her life with only 3 pots, a frying pan, a set of dishes, a few baking pans and a wooden spoon with a decent knife.
Out went the blender, bread maker, processor, deep fryer, rotisserie oven...the whole works(some in storage/others given away). It takes a bit more prep time but I've got more time on my hands than space....although I did keep the little hand mixer ;-)
Everyones has really great ideas I love reading all the responces.
The kitchen is one of my favorite places to organize...
I keep a large basket on top or my frig for bread and buns...
I too am one to ditch the packaging asap. It usually ends up being snack items that loose there packaging at our house... I have small clear plastic storage containers that go in the pantry and are labled with whats inside, the things that usually go in them are things like the fruit snacks, snack cakes, cookies, granola bars, etc. Im also one to buy snack size ziploc bags and break down chips, pretzles and crackers into serving size bags and put them away in the containers too so the kids can just grap them for a snack when they want them. I also have one labled for cereal odds and ends because it drives me nuts to have boxes of cereal sitting in the pantry with just enough for one more bowl so I usually take the bags out of the box and cut them down then chip clip them and throw them in the cereal odds and ends box.
Another place I had trouble in my kitchen was under the kitchen sink, it always seemed to be a cluttered mess. But something Ive been doing the last year or so is I bought two things for under the sink a storage caddy (which holds all the things for household chores outside the kitchen ex: furniture polish, bathroom cleaning supplies, small trash bags, duster, rags, etc.) Then I bought a table top lazy susan to hold all my kitchen cleaning supplies now I can just spin it around and grab what I need rather than pull everything out to get to something I might need in the back. Love it!
The kitchen is one of my favorite places to organize...
I keep a large basket on top or my frig for bread and buns...
I too am one to ditch the packaging asap. It usually ends up being snack items that loose there packaging at our house... I have small clear plastic storage containers that go in the pantry and are labled with whats inside, the things that usually go in them are things like the fruit snacks, snack cakes, cookies, granola bars, etc. Im also one to buy snack size ziploc bags and break down chips, pretzles and crackers into serving size bags and put them away in the containers too so the kids can just grap them for a snack when they want them. I also have one labled for cereal odds and ends because it drives me nuts to have boxes of cereal sitting in the pantry with just enough for one more bowl so I usually take the bags out of the box and cut them down then chip clip them and throw them in the cereal odds and ends box.
Another place I had trouble in my kitchen was under the kitchen sink, it always seemed to be a cluttered mess. But something Ive been doing the last year or so is I bought two things for under the sink a storage caddy (which holds all the things for household chores outside the kitchen ex: furniture polish, bathroom cleaning supplies, small trash bags, duster, rags, etc.) Then I bought a table top lazy susan to hold all my kitchen cleaning supplies now I can just spin it around and grab what I need rather than pull everything out to get to something I might need in the back. Love it!
I love to cook and my spice collection is extensive. I keep a 2 tier lazy susan for spices. Small bottles go on the bottom and larger ones on the top. I have a small plastic, rectangular basket next to the lazy susan for packet mixes such as salad dressing mixes, buffalo wing spice and taco seasoning. Now, mounted overhead of this shelf (on the under side of the top shelf) I have a small metal basket where I keep birthday candles and boxes of food coloring. DH mounted it there using cup hooks to hold it up suspended.
On the top shelf, I recently found "locker shelves" at Staples. They are metal and taller than most shelving units. I have my sugar candies for decorating cookies there, and under the shelf sits my packages of coconut, salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc.
On the top shelf, I recently found "locker shelves" at Staples. They are metal and taller than most shelving units. I have my sugar candies for decorating cookies there, and under the shelf sits my packages of coconut, salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc.