Kitchen & Meal Time Organizing Tips
Most families spend a lot of time in their kitchens, and in many households the kitchen really is the heart of the home. You definitely want to make this room a relaxing family space but also practical, so that family meal times and cooking will be as stress free as possible.
Here are a few kitchen organizing tips to help get you started:
Organize Your Work Stations – To make cooking easier you want to make sure you have everything you need close at hand. Have an area for preparing meals. It’s good to keep your spices and seasonings close to this area. You’ll also want to have chopping boards, knives, and mixing spoons close at hand. Have another area for serving and keep all your dishes, serving spoons, placemats and utensils there. By incorporating work stations into your kitchen and keeping everything you need near each work station, you’ll save a lot of time.
Plan Your Meals – This is by far the easiest and most important technique in organizing your meal times. Take a few minutes and write out a meal plan and shopping list for the upcoming week. Buy everything in advance and stock up on items you use regularly that have a long shelf life. Then stick your menu on your fridge, glance at it each morning, and plan ahead. Thaw any meat that needs thawing or chop and add your items to your crock pot.
Organize Your Fridge – Clean out your fridge and organize things into categories to make finding them easier when you’re in a rush. It’s a good idea to keep all your dairy products together. Place cold cuts in tightly sealed plastic containers and label them. This will keep them fresh and also make it easier to find. You can do the same thing with cheese and left over foods. Separate your fruit and salad items from your other vegetables so that you can find them easier. Often you’ll forget you have those tomatoes in the back drawer and buy more. By keeping things organized you’ll waste and spend less.
Organize Your Pantry - Arrange your pantry or cupboards according to foods. For example, keep all your canned goods in one place and cereal in another. Keep the items you use most within easy reach and put away those appliances you never seem to use. They’re just taking up counter space.
Easier meal preparation is just a few organizational tasks away!
