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9 Tricks To Keep Your Kitchen Organized And Tidy

Smart Ways To Keep Your Kitchen Tidy

Depending on the size of your kitchen, you may sometimes have difficulty finding what you need. Could it be that you have too much stuff? Or is your kitchen disorganized?

Keeping your kitchen in order can make things much easier for you. It's not the daunting task that you may have imagined. Here's how you can keep your kitchen in order.

1Take Out Old Stocks In The Pantry

Start by removing everything from your pantry or food cabinets. Go through every product and check to make sure that the expiration date hasn't passed. While you might still be able to use a container of frosting that expired six months ago, you definitely don't want to use a pancake mix that has been open since 2005. For your health and that of everyone in your family, if in doubt, throw it out.

If you find that you have too many cans of pumpkin or too much of another item that you'll never use by their expiration dates, take them to your local food bank rather than throwing them out. They're happy to accept donations at any time of the year. What you donate could be the difference between a family going hungry or feeling nourished when they go to bed tonight.

2Sort And Organize Food Items

Separate the items according to their kind. Gather all your canned goods together: soups, vegetables, sauces, fruits, and others. Place each type of canned goods together, such as all fruit cocktails, in one spot.

If you do, you'll be able to see at a glance whether you need to add an item to your grocery list. Do the same thing with boxed or bagged foods. These would be cereal, crackers, and dessert mixes.

3Store Similar Items In One Container

If you have more than one box of mashed potatoes open, they may have the same directions. If so, you can mix them together in one box. This will help you maximize the space you have in your pantry.

4Do The Same With The Fridge

Follow the same process above for the fridge. Clean up your fridge by getting rid of the expired items and tossing anything that may not be good anymore. Store like items together.

5Store Away Old And Least Used Dishes

Do you have too many glasses, bowls, or plates? If you do, not only are they taking up cabinet space, but it also means more dishes to wash. Pack away any wares that you don't use regularly or old dishes or serving items that you can't bear to part with, like your grandmother's old dishes. You can always pull them back out if you have a larger number of people at your home.

6Remove Unlidded Bowls From The Cabinet

If you can't find the lid that goes with a particular bowl, remove it from your cabinet. You may still get some use out of the bowls without lids. Use them for mixing craft paints or for storing things.

7Dedicate An Area As A Cooking Spot

Decide if the flow of your kitchen is adequate for how you cook. Dedicate an area of the kitchen for your essential cooking and baking tools. Keep spices near the stove within easy reach, and place your small baking utensils or trays in the same cabinet.

8Only Keep Cookbooks You Use

You may want to keep these close to the baking center of your kitchen. Go through your cookbooks and get rid of any that you don't use. If they have sentimental value, store them at a place other than the kitchen.

9Try To Replace Chairs With A Bench

Are your table and chairs adequate for your needs? You may want to replace the chairs on one side with a bench that can be pushed under the table when you're not using it. This might open up some floor space as well as provide more seating when you have extra people at your table.

If you think about how you use your kitchen and the atmosphere that you'd like to convey, you can organize it so that you can better enjoy the time you spend there. It may take some effort and some time to achieve this. However, when you have an organized kitchen that's ready for use, you'll be so glad that you took the time to do it.



About Author

Jackie Wing

Jackie Wing is an Alaska native, who enjoys snowboarding more than is probably socially acceptable. She lives in Anchorage with her two dogs Reese and Peanut, or as she likes to call them "Thing 1" and "Thing 2."