You can never have enough room in the kitchen. Whether you have a huge space or a tiny pantry, you'll always be scuffling to fit in things. If you are reading this, you probably struggle to keep your kitchen tidy and end up with a rather messy one. Well, having a straight-out-of-a-magazine-cover kitchen may be difficult but it's definitely not impossible. To help you out, here are some tips to organise your kitchen and turn it into a gourmet haven you've always dreamt of. But remember, maintaining a kitchen requires a continuous effort, so make sure you follow these tips regularly and revisit them when it's time again to straighten up your kitchen.
Here're 13 Tips To Have A Well-Organised Kitchen
1. First, Declutter You Kitchen
If there's clutter everywhere - drawer, countertop, shelves, refrigerator - start decluttering right away. Skim through all the edibles first and lob out the ones past expiration date. If possible, label the products that are nearing the expiry date and remember to use them before and throw them after the date. Discard all those tools and appliances you bought of out sheer excitement but never got to use them.
2. Have Easy Access To Essentials
Keep all the everyday-use tools and foods like spices separately, but at arm's reach from your workstation for easy access. You'll save time and won't scramble through your drawers looking for them every time. Likewise, store foods that you frequently use on the front side of your cabinet and let the rest bide their time in the back till you decide to use them.
3. Label All Foods
First, store all perishable food items in see-through containers so that you always know when to restock them. And, since many grains, spice powder etc look alike, label the containers so that you don't make any blunders while rush-cooking.
(Also Read: 4 Storage Jars And Containers That'll Help Organise Your Kitchen Better)
Label all your kitchen containers
Photo Credit: iStock
4. Divide And Group Similar Foods
The age-old method of 'divide and group' has helped many maintain a well-organised kitchen. Start by segregating different kinds of kitchen items, and group together each type and store them together. Mark a designated area for each kind of items in the kitchen and always stick to it. All knifes and cutleries go in one place, all flours should be kept together separately, have a separate place for all spices and so on. You'll know what is where like the back of your hand.
5. Invest In Spice Racks
Not only the spice racks help in freeing up cabinet and drawer space, they also make spices more accessible while cooking. Invest in a good-looking spice rack (which are not really expensive) and designate a separate place for your spices stacked neatly in one place. Here are some excellent spice racks you can buy online.
6. Use The Empty Walls
While your drawers are crammed, the walls are empty. So mount whatever you can, and want to, on the walls using command hooks for pans and sieves, floating shelves for condiments, magnetic holders for knives, and racks for pots and small appliances.
(Also Read: Kitchen Tips: 5 Desi Kitchen Hacks To Make Cooking Easier And Fun)
Mount hooks on walls to hack kitchen items
Photo Credit: iStock
7. Get Drawer Organisers
The internet is full of interesting drawer organiser tools that you'll be spoilt for choice. You can get plastic inserts for drawers, wooden dividers and portable drawers for large cabinets. These tools help compartmentalise your cabinets and keep little things in their place.
8. Opt For Vertical Storage
Consider this, you have all the space from floor to roof, but not from wall to wall. Use an entire wall right up till roof to store your kitchen essentials. Divide large cabinets into two, use shelf risers or even a pegboard wall, which has several holes in it to hang all kinds of kitchen tools. Another great trick that works is - stack you pans in the order of descending size. A smaller pan should fit into the base of a larger pan and so on. And then place all the pan lids in the same manner but upside down on the topmost pan.
9. Hang A Chalkboard In The Kitchen
Let's admit, mental notes wash away from the memory as soon as we step out of the kitchen. Having a chalkboard in the kitchen will let you note down immediately and you'll remember what to buy next for your kitchen.
10. Pull-Out Drawers For The Win
Most modular kitchens today have roll-out drawers to store various kitchen items. If you still don't, you know what to do. These drawers provide so much space that your life in the kitchen will be a lot easier. And if you have them already, try adding a roller cart - a tall container storage rack that can be placed anywhere, even in the space between refrigerator and wall.
(Also Read: 6 Underrated Kitchen Tools To Increase Your Efficiency)
Pull-out drawers offer a ot of storage
Photo Credit: iStock
11. Use Corner Shelves
Yes, now you just realised the corners of your kitchen are lying vacant and ready to be used for storage. Get eye-catchy wooden shelves for those corners and keep your cups, pans, glasses, just anything on them.
12. Hang Side Storage Racks On Refrigerator
Seriously, these racks are a godsend if you know how to use them. Just hang these wired racks on the side of the refrigerator and you'll be able to free up at least one cabinet of your kitchen.
13. Get Creative While Storing
Use your creativity to make more space in the kitchen. Here are a few ideas to get you started. If you hardly use your turntable for baking cakes, use it to store small jars of condiments instead. Use your spare cooling racks to hold tablecloth or cleaning supplies. Don't forget to use up the space under the rack as well.
Kitchen is the cornerstone of a house. Keep it neat and enjoy all your time in there.