Sometimes a simple storage solution is all that's needed to create more organisation in your kitchen. Here's how a quick trick worked for me...
I aim to do a good kitchen clean-out and purge once a quarter. I find that kitchens can really accumulate a lot of 'stuff', so I like to do this on a fairly regular basis to stay on top of the clutter. My clean-out involves:
removing everything from each drawer or cabinet
giving the empty space a good wipe-down
finding new storage ideas [if/when necessary]
decluttering and purging where possible, and
organising everything as it is put it back in place.
One thing that has always frustrated me about our current kitchen is that even though my 4 small drawers are organised within an inch of their lives, they still seemed so chock-a-block! Yet, I couldn't seem to get rid of anything because I did actually use all of the cooking utensils contained within the drawers.
So I decided to divide the drawer contents into 4 distinct categories - cutlery, 'occasional' tools, baking and cooking, and food wraps. The 'occasional' tools includes things like fancy salad servers, larger serving spoons, a soup ladle, spatulas, an extra whisk etc. I don't use these often, but do still need them on occasion.
Baking tools includes measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, cupcake liners, piping bags, cookie cutters etc.
I realised that it would make much more sense to have the utensils I use when I'm cooking close-at-hand, rather than having to rummage through drawers searching for what I needed. And the ideal place for these tools was in the cooking zone, right next to the stove-top!
I picked up one of these pots from Ikea. They are actually planter pots, but can be used for lots of different purposes, and come in a range of different sizes. The one I chose is nice and tall, and is wide enough to fit quite a few utensils.
In the utensil holder, there are 2 wooden spoons, 2 deeper spoons for serving, 2 kinds of spatulas, a whisk, a skimmer, 2 pairs of tongs, 2 turners/flippers, and a microplane grater. These are the items I use most frequently, but I might whittle this collection down over time.
It is great to have everything I need close at hand when I'm cooking. It also makes unloading the dishwasher nice and easy, as I just grab all the utensils and pop them straight in! This simple storage solution really has proved to be a big time and effort saver already!
