Operation Kitchen Organization

Another popular resolution this New Year is to 'Get Organized.' We recommend starting in the kitchen. Here are some helpful and creative tips to maximize your kitchen space, reduce waste and make you a more efficient cook:

• Start with a trash bag. Weed out all of your junk drawers....and narrow it down to one. We only need one drawer with loose tools, pens, receipts, etc. narrow it down and make this happen! Once your drawer is set - organize it. Whether you use small baskets, a utensil holder or rubber bands - organize your drawer so that your junk is at the ready!
• A kitchen should be organized so that your items are stored nearest to where they should be used. This makes for a better working kitchen. Keep your knives in the same area as your cutting boards, and your cooking utensils close to the stove. Cups should be closest to the sink and pots and pans nearest to the stove. Rethink your layout - and adjust. House your everyday plates and bowls on your lower shelves and your Special Occasion tableware up high.
• If you find yourself lacking space for storage - here is a creative tip from Martha Stewart herself: Use a serving tray to create an additional shelf, housing your larger glasses on the bottom and smaller on top:
• The tip above can also be used in the refrigerator as well. Ever notice all the unused space above your bottom shelf? Place a wire shelf inside and you will have twice the storage space.
• Clean up your spice cabinet by moving all of your spices to labeled glass jars. Use a cake plate or Lazy Susan to maximize space - and make those rarely-used spices a little easier to find when needed.
• The Tupperware drawer or cabinet is everyone's biggest gripe in the kitchen. Start out with a clean slate. Make sure that all of your storage containers have a matching lid. If they don't toss them or find another use for them, but get them our of your Tupperware home! Put together your like sizes and store the lids close by their containers. The key to keeping this cabinet maintained is when you are putting your clean dishes away - make sure you are putting your containers with their lids in their correct homes.
• We love the crafty idea of using curtain tension rods to organized your cleaning products underneath the sink. Using buckets and containers to store soaps and sponges helps to reduce clutter as well. We also love Martha Stewart's suggestion to use hooks (use Command Strips to prevent cabinet damage) on the inside of the cabinet door to hang your dish washing gloves, kitchen rags and drying towels.

As we mentioned earlier - the key to keeping your kitchen organized is sticking with it - take the time to put everything back where it belongs...and you will find yourself getting things done even fast in your kitchen!