Excerpt
Unruly Cooking Utensils
Problem:
“My cooking utensils always seem to be in a disorganized jumble in my kitchen drawers.”
Solution:
Cooking utensils must have their own home, all to themselves, somewhere convenient to both the sink and stove. Start your organizing project by evicting any intruders (rubber bands, pens, etc.) from your cooking utensils’ current home. Next, go through your utensils and eliminate duplicates, rarely-to-never-used items, and impulse purchases. How many wooden spoons do you really need? (Answer: one. I know it might be dirty when you need to use it, but don’t you have a sink?) Do you need all of those old, chewed-up spatulas? Are you likely to use that candy thermometer again?
Now that you have pared down your possessions, consider storing your utensils in something other than a drawer. Too many utensils in a drawer fit awkwardly, bunching up and rattling, so the drawer itself is difficult to open because the ladle is having relations with the potato masher. Store them instead in a carousel or large “canister” (glass, ceramic, or metal) so that you can see everything you have without having to open a drawer. It is also more efficient to drop clean cooking utensils in a carousel or canister than to wrestle with a stuck drawer. If you decide to use a canister, put your most often-used items in the canister and leave the lesser-used items in the now roomy drawer.
Easy Utensil Organizing
- Remove “intruders” from your cooking utensil storage area.
- Get rid of duplicates and rarely used novelty pieces.
- Store all, or your most often used, cooking utensils in a carousel or canister.