1. Location, Location, Location
Reposition kitchen contents where they most make sense. Think about location, prime location and accessibility.
If you use something less frequently then place it in the harder to reach cupboards. If you use something daily, never put something in front of it.
2. Move Shelves
So many people forget that most kitchen shelves move up and down, so use this to your advantage. Move shelving up by the side of your cooker to fit tall oils and vinegars – if you’re storing small/shorter items, move shelving down so you can utilise the space below or above.
3. Occasional Items
In kitchen terms, this means crockery that is only used at dinner parties, excess glasses taking up prime spots in your cupboards, the bread maker, or the chocolate fountain that only comes out at birthdays. Label them neatly and then store these items elsewhere – in the garage, store cupboard or under the stairs perhaps.
Use your daily space for the items that are constantly being used.
4. Tea and Coffee Station
It makes no sense doing three laps of the kitchen just to make a coffee. Your mugs and cups should be in a cupboard above your kettle, next to your tea and coffees, and if the cutlery drawer isn’t practically placed near this then a little jar of extra teaspoons should be placed neatly with your mugs too.
Streamlining your mornings (especially when it comes to your first coffee of the day!) will make everything more efficient and save you time.
5. Look With Fresh Eyes
If your work surfaces are covered in bits and bobs you will never truly feel organised. Take a look at your space with fresh eyes – what is in your cupboards that you don’t need anymore? What is taking precedence over the items you need to put away? I bet with these fresh eyes you will see things you haven’t even noticed for months.
It’s like being mindful of your space… it will be a sudden eye opener for many who are simply trying to get out of the house each day with no time to spare!
6. How Many Do You Need?
There is no real need for spares and triples of utensils and crockery (unless we go through them extremely frequently), yet our drawers are cluttered with multiples of everything.
How many wooden spoons do have? Mixing bowls? Mugs? These are some of the main culprits I see so many of, yet they just aren’t being used.
Be realistic. Can you live without three spatulas?
7. Your Home Is Not A Shop
I’m not quite sure why we all panic about running out of certain foods when there are, for most people, a mass of shops on every corner. In an absolute disaster we could find what we need pretty easily I suspect.
Learn to have just enough at home and not enough to last the next 6 months. You shouldn’t have to search for storage in your home to house the 20 bottles of almond milk – chances are you will end up with a cupboard of expired goods.
If you shop online, have a regular shopping list and perhaps even a fortnightly or monthly one. It will be obvious to you what you need more regularly. And always check your cupboards before you shop!
8. A Gadget Should Be Useful
How many times do you reach for a knife when cutting an avocado, chopping an apple or slicing an egg?
I believe most people do, and therefore the avocado dicer, the apple corer and the egg slicer become redundant. In the 50’s they managed fine with just a knife.
And if you’re looking to have less and appreciate more, we can all use this way of thinking to simplify and streamline our lives.
9. Jars Or No Jars?
There has been an enormous trend of transferring every food you buy into jars. I have a few things to say about this.
- You are causing some extra work here. So if you are going to do this then please know that it’s a big commitment – you transfer, you label, add the use by date and then when you get to the last of the contents you tip them out, pour the new ones in, add the old back on top so you use it first, replace the date etc etc… you can see where I’m going with this. This is more than just a visual addition to your kitchen – it’s extra work.
- You still have to store the refills that don’t fit in the jars, because chances are it’s not all going to fit!
- If you are putting the jars anywhere other than a display shelf then they are not the most space efficient. Stored in cupboards they can be cumbersome and awkward.
I would suggest using square jars so you can store them more efficiently and perhaps only use them for certain foods and not everything in your cupboards. And don’t forget to work out how many you need before buying them.
10. The Biggest Tip Of All
Sometimes the easiest tip of all is the simplest.
If you feel your kitchen is stressing you out, you’ve tried and tried to tidy but before you know it it’s back to how it was… then you probably just have too much stuff – too much for the space you have and too much to be able to organise it sufficiently.
Prioritise what you need – what do you have doubles of? What do you never actually use but keep just in case? What takes up room but doesn’t deserve it and how many people are you catering for in comparison to how many people actually live in and frequent your home?
