Organizing a Kitchen for Storage Efficiency

• Organinzing a Kitchen for Storage Efficiency
• Put Pots and Pans in Their Place
• Keep Small Appliances Handy-But Out of Sight
• Improving Storage Cabinets-Or Adding More
• Storage Tips

Storage Tips

Storage in a kitchen is truly a challenge, but once it has been organized and your equipment and supplies are in order you will find that time and energy will be saved and that food preparation and clean up is more enjoyable.

In organizing your kitchen, keep in mind these three basic principles:

• storage at center of use
• clear visibility of all supplies
• easy accessibility of the desired item

Here are some tips to help you carry out these principles.

1. Store items at the first or last place of use. As noted earlier, most cooks store all pans in the cooking area, when several sauce pans are initially used at the sink. Another step saving idea is to locate the dinnerware and flatware by the table, rather than the sink.
2. Store items used for different tasks in multiple locations. Measuring spoons and cups might be needed at the sink and in the food preparation area. A set of tools placed at each point of use will be more essential.
3. Items used together should be stored together. Recipe books, paper and pencils should be grouped in a menu-planning center.
4. Stored items should be easy to locate and easy to grasp. Cabinets must be more than simple boxes with shelves. Interior storage aids are essential.
5. Similar articles should be stored or grouped together. Canned goods that are organized in storage units according to likeness of contents make selection simple. Frequently used items should be stored within accessible reach. Accessible reach usually is defined as between eye-level and hip-level, at the front of a cabinet shelf. This ideal space should be reserved for foodstuffs and equipment that are used daily.
6. Items should be easy to grasp at the point of storage. Nestling or stacking one item on top of another should be avoided. Vertical partitions within the cabinets will help you separate such equipment. Items should be easily removed without removing other items first. Step shelving within a cabinet makes for easy sight and reach and is not difficult to install.
7. Heavy or bulky appliances should be stored at or near floor level to make for easier and less dangerous removal (a bulky, heavy appliance stored on a high shelf could accidentally fall on the person removing it.)
8. All space should be utilized for utmost efficiency. As Ellen Cheever (kitchen expert) said, "If an item hasn't been used in two years, perhaps you should decide who you are going to give it to rather than where you are going to store it."