organizing the kitchen tips

[kally]

let's share questions and tips about how you make the kitchen work for you. Mine is ready for an overhaul.

My first question: where do you store your cutting boards? Mine seem to flip flop around and have no real home?

[Kathy WI]

We have one of those wood cutting boards that slides out from under the counter. I buy those thin plastic cutting boards and set one on top of the wooden one. It's easier to clean and I just leave it on the wooden cutting board under the counter when not using it.

We have an old fashioned pantry that's a separate room, and almost all the food is in there. But I keep tea, cereal, bread and hot cocoa mix in the kitchen so making breakfast is more convenient.

[lhamo]

We have a rack thing where we keep our knives and there is a little wire shelf like thing on the side of it that just happens to perfectly hold most of our assortment of cutting boards. We have several -- large and small wooden ones (used mostly for bread), plus two different plastic ones from Ikea (one for raw meats, one for other stuff), plus one very thin plastic cutting mat that I mostly use for veggies. that whole contraption fits into the corner near our stove. We also have one more cutting board that we use for fruits. That gets used a lot, and leans against the wall by the sink.

I think for me the main thing about kitchen organization is to try to keep stuff as close to where you use it as possible. And resisting the urge to buy too much stuff.

lhamo

[janharker]

Next to the dishwasher is a door. Upon opening it there's a space about 8 inches wide, the height and depth of the dishwasher. I keep my cutting boards and cookie sheets in there, standing on edge.

[Mrs. Hermit]

I keep my cutting boards with my cookie sheets, too. They work perfectly in the slim cabinet. I try to keep the spices within arm's reach of the stove, and I keep the flour/sugar/baking ingredients within arm's reach of my Kitchen Aid. I call it my "baking center". I don't have to step away to get most things while I'm mixing up a recipe. Pots, pans, and bakeware I keep near the stove, and storage stuff--tupperware, tinfoil, etc-- I keep on the periphery of the kitchen. What kitchen equipment I use infrequently (few times a year) I store in the basement.

[Zoebird]

we have a shelf for all of those things. on it is our mugs (2), glasses (4), serving dishes (3), salad plates (4), bowls (3), cutlery (basket; 4 settings), knives (basket), pie plate (1), mixing/serving bowl (1), and cutting board (1). We keep plastics in a drawer (big) which we collected from yogurt containers and use as our tupperware. We have several, but I just culled a fair few.

We keep the tea pot, pot, and skillet on the stovetop, and the crock pot on the countertop next to the stove. In the pantry, we use one self for spices, vinegars, oils, and sweet potatoes.

[Merski]

In our new home I planned a baking cupboard which in practice is everything I hoped for! I have dry and wet measuring cups, pull out small bins for spices, nut, choc. chips all of my liquid e.g. vanilla etc. Sugar, cake flour cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Sigh! I love baking and I get in the mood when I open those two doors and see it all there organized and waiting for me.

[IshbelRobertson]

I have cutting board holders fixed to 3 of the lower-level kitchen units. They store 2 boards apiece. I have a similar device but free standing in which I stack my baking trays and flat bun tins.

[catherine]

I stand the wooden cutting board propped up behind the sink. If it's wet and I lay it flat, it warps over time. Plus, it's easy to access. I also have a tempered glass cutting board that does double duty--as a cutting board and to hide a big burn mark from a pot my husband put on the counter.

[tgardella]

I have 3 cutting boards, each a different size, that I keep standing up on my counter against the backsplash. My knive block resides right next to the cutting boards so I have both the knives and boards easily accessible to me when I'm prepping food.