Almost every culture in the world would define the kitchen as the heart of a home. It is the space where we gather with our loved ones to reconnect after a long day spent apart and outside.
It is also the stage on which our daily nourishment occurs. Seeing that it’s an essential place for our comfort, it should always remain neat and organised.
Even the art of feng shui recognises the importance of a clean kitchen. We are what we eat, and so understandably, the kitchen in its best state symbolises health, abundance, and wealth.
To recognise this is to understand that everything in life starts in this multidimensional part of the home.
Now, if your kitchen is not in its best shape, fret not and just read on! Below are ten quick, easy, and no-nonsense steps to organising and optimising its entire perimetre.
1. Eat and plan a healthy diet
Believe it or not, an organised kitchen starts with what you eat, and how much you eat. Everything else, from the groceries you buy to the types of herbs and condiments you keep, revolves around your diet.
With an eating plan that focuses on whole foods, there will be no need to jam up your kitchen with unnecessary cans of processed foods and bottles of sugary drinks.
Also, consuming healthily-portioned fresh foods will require you to plan your meals ahead of time. If you think about it, this routine will eventually set you up for success in other areas integral to a clean kitchen, such as time management and efficient food storage practices.
2. Keep a kitchen calendar
Keeping visible reminders of your planned meals, grocery lists, and supermarket visits on a wallboard can go a long way. How so?
Well, staying on top of the ins and outs of your kitchen will ultimately keep it clutter-free, and your unconscious hoarding habits, in check.
Also, the kitchen is one of the most communal areas in a home. Having a calendar in your kitchen can ultimately motivate your family members to do their part in keeping the space clean, too.
3. Separate your dry and wet kitchens
By definition, a dry kitchen is what you will first see when you enter the kitchen; in short, it is the space where you wash, chop, and clean.
The wet kitchen, on the other hand, is where heavy cooking and baking duties take place.
If big feasts are a regular part of your household, then you should consider keeping your wet and dry kitchen areas completely separate.
Doing so helps compartmentalise your kitchen activities, tools, and supplies accordingly, and also minimise the risk of damaging messes.
Not sure if your space is ample enough for you to have both dry and wet kitchen areas? Don’t worry: we’ve got all the details defined, and steps outlined, just for you!
4. Use transparent containers
It’s all too easy to lose track of your dry ingredients in the pantry or cabinets when they are kept in their original packaging or opaque containers. To make sure you recognise your salt from your sugar, flour, baking powder, and spices, use transparent containers.
Not only will you avoid getting confused in the kitchen, but you can also prevent from purchasing items that you already have at home.
At the same time, the immediate visibility of your ingredients can also help you identify anything that has expired and is no longer edible.
Want to take your organisation to the next level?
Label all the jars and containers, even when they are see-through. You will not know how helpful this step is until your time cooking in the kitchen becomes noticeably shorter after a while!
5. Utilise the back of your cabinet doors
Who knew that the unseen parts of your cabinet doors could double as functional storage spaces?
That’s right: simply attach some sturdy hooks to hang the lids of your pots and pans. If they are made of metal, then strong magnets can work well, too.
Are you tired of seeing your chopping boards and serving trays stacked up in a mess or falling off on the dish rack?
Hang some door frames over your cabinet doors. They can efficiently store the boards upright, inside your cabinets — and most importantly, away from your eyes.
6. Install pull-out steel drawers
Do you often have to dig out your blender, teapot, or French press from the back of your cabinet?
Then worry no more, for some pull-out steel cabinet drawers may just be your best bet to minimise all that hassle. With these add-on solutions, taking out your small appliances is simply a pull away.
7. Store your cookware sets right
While hanging your pots and pans in plain sight may save a lot of space, they can also look messy, especially if they are of mismatched colours and sizes.
So if displaying them above the kitchen island or stove is not your thing, you can opt to store them inside your kitchen cabinetry.
Now, while pots are easily kept in drawers, storing pans with long handles the same way may take up more space than necessary. Store them in upright positions inside your cabinets via a rack organiser.
Indeed, putting your cookware sets are in the right places can make retrieving them more manageable — and renew your interest in your kitchen.
8. Use narrow utensil trays
Don’t have enough space for your cutleries? Some narrow utensil trays can help you fit them all in. With these organisers, you will never have to worry about misplacing your favourite silverware pieces ever again.
And with the way they raise your utensils ever so slightly, grabbing a fork or spoon has never been easier.
9. Arrange items by purpose
It isn’t impossible to permanently remember your way around the kitchen. You just need to keep group similar items and appliances together.
Arranging your things and ingredients by their roles and purposes is a great way to find them, and put them back, in no time.
10. Roll around a cart or three
Thanks to the invention of rolling carts, you can now bid goodbye to the days of having your drinking glasses, wine coupes, and crystal flutes all over the place. You can also keep your bottled spices and everyday utensils aboard these wheeled platforms.
Your beautiful kitchen is just a step away
Every kitchen is different and follows a different set of arrangement rules, depending on its owner’s personality and needs. But one thing’s for sure: with any of these ten simple organising steps, you will quickly amp your kitchen’s functionality by leaps and bounds.
Want more ideas on how to spruce up your cooking space even further? Just check out our ultimate guide to creating the best kitchen design!
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