Is clutter overtaking your kitchen? Much as we try to stay organized, it happens easily enough.
With a few inspired solutions, counters can be freed from clutter, allowing more space for food preparation and cooking.
The easiest way to make room in the kitchen is to clean out excess: Go through dishes, pots, pans, small appliances and utensils, and consider giving away anything you haven’t touched in the past year or simply don’t like.
Find creative ways to clear the counter. Use a lazy susan to store supplies in hard-to-reach corners. Reimagine a cake stand as a shelf to elevate favorite spices, salt, pepper and olive oil, while leaving an area around the base for additional storage.
Rethink nooks and crannies, such as the top of the fridge, which could house a decorative display of cookbooks, bowls or baking canisters. Tops of kitchen cabinets can hold stainless steel or copper pots and pans, allowing for easy access when needed.
Another simple approach: arrange by use.
When choosing appliances to occupy prime countertop real estate, think about how often they are used. Everyday multitasking tools deserve a spot on the counter.
Save space with versatile appliances like the compact Vitamix S55, a personal blender with four pre-programmed settings that can prepare everything from smoothies and whole-food juices to soups, sauces, vinaigrettes, frozen desserts and more.
You can also arrange serving ware according to how often it reaches the table. Store items such as holiday dishes and platters in the back of cabinets or open shelving. Place everyday items like bowls and salad plates in easy-to-reach cabinets and drawers. Cooking utensils should be housed in a holder close to the stove.
The usual kitchen organization utilizes drawers, cabinets, shelves and countertops. However, you can also work with your walls to make your kitchen more efficient. Apply hooks to hang potholders and aprons (making sure they are a safe distance from the stove). Assuming the walls or ceiling are strong enough to support the extra weight, install a pot rack, which will make room in cabinets for appliances that are not used often.
To squeeze extra space out of your kitchen, hang magnetic strips for items like knives and kitchen scissors, freeing up drawers and removing the knife block from the counter. Spices can also be hung on the strips with the use of magnetic canisters.
Minimizing what’s kept on countertops will maximize the functionality of your kitchen, making it more attractive and user-friendly. — statepoint media