7 Clever Organizational Ideas for Your Kitchen

Today, I am featuring a guest post written by Jane Blanchard. She writes for Modernize, a new website which features home ideas and inspiration. Modernize is a place to gather new information and see how other homeowners have transformed their houses. Please stop by and visit this new website for inspiring ideas to create the home of your dreams.

When it comes to cooking, a lot of us find out the hard way that less is more. Structure is important. And proper seasoning is a must. The same can be said of how the kitchen itself is organized.

While taking the time to properly organize your kitchen may seem like a chore much more ominous than figuring out (let alone mastering) Julia Child’s recipe for beef bourguignon, thinking of it as an investment in your cooking future may help soften the blow.

Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve found that require minimal effort and investment, but yield satisfying dividends:

Food Network icon Alton Brown knows his business, and has for years voiced his very strong opinion against using anything single-purpose, such as a garlic press or melon baller, in the kitchen. Instead, find secondary uses for common household items, like attaching a magazine rack inside a cabinet for storing those boxes of baggies and aluminum foil that don’t seem to fit anywhere else.

via Listotic

There really is only so much space in those cabinets and drawers regardless of how well organized they may be. The solution? Utilize other methods of storage outside the limits of the drawers by hanging baskets to hold frequently used utensils in handy places where you do most of your food prep.

via Remodelista

Contain those Spices

Depending on where you shop for spices, their packaging comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes that can be clumsy to effectively and practically organize. Fortunately, there is also a wide variety of spice storage options out there that don’t necessarily require taking up precious real estate on kitchen counters. Everyone’s spice collection and needs may be a little different, so consider what will be best suited for your style of food preparation and cooking.

via Table for Two Blog

When it comes to having organized kitchen appliances, there is no greater mountain to climb that the main source of supplies. The refrigerator can be a primary source of headaches for the unorganized home cook. Yet organizing it doesn’t have to be a source of anxiety if proper organizational steps are taken, such as using baskets to store like items.

image Shandy Showers

Storage

Whoever designed pots and pans clearly had a sense of humor when it comes to storage. To make organizational matters worse, it is, at least for the average home cook, far less complicated to simply head to the nearest home improvement store and purchase custom racks than to attempt to construct something on their own. Yet it is something that will make one’s cooking life so much simpler.

Via: Kevinandamanda.com

Organize!

Organization doesn’t have to be all about the storage bins, baskets and other compartments. It’s okay to have a little fun with it, too. Labeling is one way to customize organizational techniques to one’s personal style, ranging from the simplicity of a label maker to using Scrabble pieces to label cabinet space for those special kitchen appliances that need a home.

Via: Brit.co

Keep it Clean

A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen. For some home cooks, that means having proper cleaning supplies on hand is a must. Yet there is no need to settle with “that area” of the countertop where dish soap and cleanser accumulate. Make it fun by finding a clever way to display all things clean.

Via: Liz Marie Blog

For more home ideas and other tips and tricks, head to Modernize.com.

Thank you, Jane Blanchard. Please read another blog post by Jane, titled Where to Buy Modern House Numbers.

I am not being paid to feature this article. Modernize is a new website and as a blogger I want to give them some publicity. I have enjoyed working with Kevin and I wish their website much success.