Have you ever seen Mrs. Doubtfire? In the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire looks through the cabinets and looks at all the labeling of the cans and the seasonings. Well we aren’t going to that extreme, but we are going to give you 10 Ways to help organize a kitchen.
10 Ways to help organize a Kitchen
1. You’ll need a pen and paper. As you sort thru your kitchen write down general categories of items you have to help you sort by those categories, i.e. Storage containers, pots and pans, bake ware and so forth.
See Also:
Free Kitchen Checklist printable that will help you take inventory of your kitchen.
Jot down your weekly menu with this FREE Weekly Menu Printable.
2. Toss, keep, sell. Always start with three main categories these will help you get organized pretty quickly. As soon as you have a good size toss pile get rid of it immodestly so you don’t think about it and it’s out.
3. Get ziploc bags.When you sort thru the smaller items in your drawers use ziploc baggies so you can easily put everything away if you have to stop in the middle of your organizing adventure.
4. Keep like items together. When you go to put everything away be sure each section has all like items together i.e. Lids go with lids, all canned food in the same general area, all boxed food together.
5. Place wisely. Really pay attention to how things work in your home. Heavily used dishes go closest to the dishwasher/sink area. Larger bake ware that is seldom used is placed in the bottom cupboards towards the back. Canned food or food that is used slot is closest to the oven and stove. Medicine is kept near the sink above and out of reach from my kids (I recently moved them to a hallway closet where we stapled a shoe organizer to the inside of the door, medicine is placed up high and out of reach). Only you will know what works for your family so be sure to pay attention to what works for you and you may need to change it around a few times until it works for you.
6. Reuse items. Often the best money saving organization is reusing boxes or jar for help with organizing spices, toothpicks, straws, plastic utensils and so forth, no need to buy special items unless you want them.
7. Keep what you use. Be honest with yourself and only keep what you actually use. The biggest downfall for my family is I keep items that we haven’t used for years. I’m not talking about occasional holiday items or the items you got as a gift, I’m talking about the items you have that you’ve used maybe once or twice since getting them and you have no realistic use for them anymore. We have plenty of McDonald cups that fall into this category.
8. Clean that Refrigerator. It should be a no brainier, but if it was I wouldn’t be writing it! At least once a month take some time to really clean out your frig and get rid of expired food, leftovers and food items your family will not eat. Write it down on the calendar to remind yourself. Take the extra step and add it to your calendar and have your phone remind you.
9. Keep a running list. As you go through your kitchen you will start to realize items you don’t have and items you think might help you stay organized, jot them down so you don’t forget. Keep an eye out for items in your home that you can re-purpose to use in the Kitchen.
10. Get rid of junk drawers. Ok this might be a little hard and unrealistic in many cases. You will have a drawer that has what seems to be odds and ends but here is a quick idea to stay organized. Get a separate eating utensil organizer to hold pens, pencils, scissors and so forth. If you are like me who collects box tops, Campbell soup labels and coke caps you will want scissors and a baggy on hand in a specific place to put them and have them organized quickly so you don’t have them all over. Dollar Tree has an assortment of organizational tubs that fit in drawers.
Topic: 10 Ways to help organize a Kitchen