Kitchen organization that really works

The kitchen is the most used room in the house. And when it’s time to put a meal together, having an organized kitchen will help you find what you’re looking for when you’re looking for it. By spending some time organizing, mealtimes will be faster and your kitchen will stay neater.

Function

Make sure you can get to what you need when you need it. If you cook frequently, make sure you have a countertop utensil holder that has your most-used items at the ready. Take a spatula to your gardening center to find a nice ceramic planter that is sturdy, is the right height and holds all the utensils you use most often.

The sink is one of the fastest areas for clutter and mess. Add a tip-out on the sink cabinet drawer front to hold items like scouring pads or a toothbrush for cleaning jewelry. It offers easy access and organization, and a set with hinges and trays can be found online for around $20 and takes less than an hour to install. Add a suction sink basket to hold a sponge and dish brush.

Under the sink, add a wire door organizer on one side of the cabinet to hold dishwasher cleaning pods, scouring powder and counter cleaners. On the other side, install a two-tier under-sink drawer that can be screwed into the cabinet base. You’ll get easy, double storage for around $50 in the time it takes to put in four screws. On this side, also add a swing arm towel rack to hold cloths and dish towels.

Clear division

Make sure that you have some hard-working dividers in your kitchen to keep it in shape. Add storage racks to separate cookie sheets and trays. Some dividers can be used both vertically and horizontally. The vertical side holds cookie sheets; when placed horizontally, they hold skillets. To make lids easy to find, keep them in a drawer next to the stove. Add shelf stackers to cabinets to double your dish and cup storage.

To store knives and other utensils, measure your drawer width and depth and add dividers that fit exactly or look for dividers that expand. Add dividers in all your kitchen drawers, not just in the cutlery drawer. Make three dividers solely for knives. Have one for large knives, one for small knives, and one for specialty knives like a bread knife.

Storage

Other sources of clutter are the many small countertop appliances. Work to clear out a shelf in your pantry or cabinet, designate this spot as your appliance shelf, and relocate food processors, blenders and slow cookers here. Your counters will be clear, and you’ll find the items quickly. Only leave the appliances on the counter that you use daily, such as a toaster or coffeemaker.

Add a Lazy Susan to a pantry shelf for bottles, try step stackers for cans, and consider stacking baskets to hold mixes, packaged noodles and envelopes. Create a baking center with a heavy duty baking tray. Add containers of flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder here, so when it’s time to bake, you only take one tray off the shelf to get started.

(For more information, contact Kathryn Weber through her website, www.redlotusletter.com.)

(c) 2018 KATHRYN WEBER. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.