Tidy kitchen

Popular home organization videos may make you think you need to buy a bunch of organizers or acrylic bins to organize your kitchen, or put custom labels on every spice jar. But you can organize your kitchen without spending a fortune on fancy storage systems.

We often make the mistake of giving equal importance to everything in the house, but the items that are used the most often deserve the most attention.

Before you start

Instead of rushing into work, start slowly. Make your favorite tea or coffee, take a breath, and think about how you and your family use the kitchen.

If the kitchen is large, what is the most used area? Does it block the way when multiple people are in the kitchen?

Thinking ahead will make your job easier, especially if you don’t have time to organize the entire kitchen at once.

Think of the process in zones—

1. Kitchen cleaning and cleaning tools

2. Food preservation (storing and refrigeration)

3. Food preparation and cooking tools, serving pieces (dishes, glasses, cutlery)

4. Anything that applies to your kitchen

Thinking about the different ways you use your kitchen will help you decide if you really need to buy new storage or organizers and how to make your kitchen more efficient.

Cleaning the refrigerator

In general, you should empty and clean the refrigerator thoroughly once a month. In addition, check all the shelves and drawers of the refrigerator once a week, throwing out expired and spoiled food.

When cleaning the refrigerator, be sure to turn off the electricity. Turning off the electricity reduces the risk of accidents and makes it easier to clean the interior of the refrigerator. Moreover, if the refrigerator door is open for a long time while the electricity is on, energy can be wasted.

To clean, first remove all the food and empty the refrigerator. Then remove all the shelves and drawers. Now mix one cup of water and one cup of vinegar and wipe the inside of the refrigerator with that mixture. Wipe all the parts dry. It is best to do this process once a month, so that the fridge is always clean and germ-free.

Close the fridge door tightly so that cold air does not escape.

Create ‘zones’ in the fridge

You can also create different zones in the fridge:

1. One for dairy products

2. One for drinks

3. One for food

4. One for other things

Such zones can also be created for dry food storage. That way, everyone in the family will understand where to put what.

Empty the cabinets

Take everything out of each cabinet and check it. Remove or give away items that are not being used, are extra, are broken, or have been forgotten about. Eliminate unnecessary items from each cabinet and drawer in this way.

Create separate areas on the floor for putting away. Most kitchens are short on storage space, so our goal is to keep only the favorite and used items.

Group similar items

Consider how you will most benefit from grouping items after emptying the cabinets.

Group baking items. Group cooking items. Group special entertaining or serving items that are rarely used.

Sort, throw away, recycle, and gift

Take a look at everything in your kitchen and decide what to keep and what to throw away. Keep a trash can handy and gather 4 more containers—perhaps cardboard boxes, plastic tubs, or laundry baskets—to sort items into different categories. Label them: “Keep,” “Recycle,” “Gift,” and “Return.”

You won’t realize how much stuff you have accumulated. And having similar items together will make it easier to make decisions because you can compare items and keep only the best ones.

Get rid of unnecessary duplicate items and those that are broken or missing parts. If you don’t use an appliance, give it to someone else.

Organize thoughtfully

Keep everyday dishes and glasses near the sink so they can be easily washed. Then create zones based on your daily routine, such as a coffee station. Keep coffee beans, filters, and mugs near the coffee maker. Then, keep items near where they are used. For example, place dish towels near the sink and pots and pans near the stove. Keep the most-used items on shelves that are within easy reach.

Buy an organizer

Adding some strategic products like an organizer will help you customize your kitchen as needed. Adding organizers or drawer dividers (acrylic ones are available, but you can also make them out of wood) to your kitchen drawers will help you keep things organized.

You can attach hooks to cabinet doors. You can hang towels, tissue paper, knives, and other tools here.

Store containers and lids together

Get rid of containers without lids. You can use these as drawer organizers if you want. If you have lids, store them all together in one large container to save space. Do the same for pot and pan lids.

Use vertical or upright spaces

Hang mugs on hooks under cabinets. This will free up a lot of space. Hang measuring cups, oven mitts, or other cooking utensils on adhesive hooks inside cabinet doors. Consider using wall space or ceiling racks to hang pots and pans. Use whatever you can hang.

Create a 5-minute “nighttime routine”

How to keep your kitchen in good shape after you’ve cleaned it up? Spend 5 minutes at the end of each day. Use this nighttime routine to clean up your counters, put things away, and put things back in their proper place. This little habit will help keep your kitchen organized.

Take inventory

To have an efficient kitchen, you also need to try to reduce food waste. A quick list of what’s in the fridge and what’s out before you go shopping will help you use existing items, avoid duplicates, and plan meals that will reduce waste and keep your kitchen organized.

Learn to compost

The idea of ​​making compost at home is slowly becoming popular. You can try it too. It is easy and eco-friendly. This compost can meet the nutritional needs of a rooftop or balcony garden.

Put fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds (if any), egg shells, grass clippings and leaves in a large bin. Mix kitchen waste (green material) and dry leaves (brown material) in a 3:1 ratio. Keep the pile moist. Over time, the materials will break down into nutritious compost, which you can use to improve your garden soil. Find out more about this on the internet.

Composting takes a few months to a year. When the compost is ready, it will be dark, crumbly and have an earthy smell. You can add new food waste every day. To ensure proper decomposition, cover the new waste with dry leaves or paper. This prevents odors.

What not to keep in the kitchen

If you have extra space in the kitchen, you should not bring any household items there. Here are some items that should and should not be kept in the kitchen.

Things that should not be kept in the kitchen:

• Cleaning supplies

• Personal care items such as medicines and toiletries

• Papers and bills

• Items that may attract insects, such as open pet food or bird food

• Hazardous materials such as pesticides and chemicals

• Items that produce strong odors, such as paint or gasoline

• Non-food items such as clothes or shoes

• Items that may pose a fire hazard, such as fireworks or matches

A well-organized kitchen will not only make cooking easier, but it will also make spending time in the kitchen more enjoyable. It will also look good. A kitchen becomes the lifeblood of a home when order and creativity work together.