byAlma Abell

The kitchen is at the heart of most homes, the kitchen is where the kids come to after school looking for snacks and it’s the place the family tends to congregate when there is a delicious smelling roast in the oven. With all the activity and all the coming-and-going it is easy to see why a kitchen can become disorganised so quickly which in turn causes undue stress while food is being prepared and chaos when it comes time to clean it. Granted, it is not always possible to keep your kitchen tidy but there are ways to make your kitchen more organised, let’s look at a few.

Before you do anything, start with a clean slate. Take everything out of the cabinets and the drawers and place them on the table or kitchen counter. This is also an ideal time to give the cabinets and drawers a good cleaning.

1. Divide into zones: There are a number of definite activities that take place in a typical kitchen. Consider diving your kitchen into zones; food preparation is one, baking is another; others are a serving zone, storage zone and cleaning. Consider the concept known as the “kitchen work triangle.” The bulk of work in a kitchen takes place between the stove or range, the sink and the refrigerator. There are some basic concepts to this triangle; some may work while others may be more difficult. The triangle should not cut through an island, the sink should be between the stove and refrigerator and the triangle should not be in a traffic area. Try to keep all your cooking utensils near the stove, keep the food storage area closer to the refrigerator while the cleaning supplies are near the sink.

2. Sort and eliminate: Go through everything that is on the table and counter, throw out things you no longer have any use for. Throw out broken or chipped dishes or items which are missing parts. Once you have completed this, sort what is left into categories that make sense. Put your everyday dishes in one area and your fine china elsewhere.

3. Keep things together: One great way to make your kitchen more organised is to make sure everything that you need is kept close together. Keep all your pots, pans and utensils used for cooking close to the stove; keep bowls, measuring cups and baking items in the baking zone. Any items that are used infrequently can be kept on the top shelves.

By keeping things together and by laying out your kitchen to minimise walking you can accomplish a lot more in less time and it is easier to maintain.

There are many ways to make your kitchen more organised. Walk-in pantries, centre islands, built in appliances, etc are all ideal ways to maximise the efficiency of your kitchen. You are invited to contact Konstruct Interior Solutions for many more solutions.