How Proper Organization Can Making Cooking at Home Easier and More Joyful

Finding the motivation to cook from home can be difficult, especially when it’s so easy to pick up take out or order delivery. However, cooking from home is a great way to save money, eat healthier, and spend more time with your family. Not only will you be able to enjoy delicious meals that you prepared in your kitchen, but cooking will be easier and more joyful when your kitchen is organized.

A messy kitchen can be a turn-off, and it’s part of the reason many choose not to cook at home. It takes too long to clean or too long to cook. This is often because of an unorganized small kitchen.

When cooking at home, there are a few important things you need to have, such as counter space, kitchen tools within reach, proper food storage, and overall accessibility. With these in place, cooking will be a breeze and you’ll say goodbye to expensive takeout.

Store Leftovers Where You Can See Them

One of the best parts about cooking from home is leftovers. Whenever you cook a big meal, you’ll have leftovers. Leftovers are great to bring to work, pack for children’s lunch the next day, or even to have as dinner the day after. However, many of us allow our leftovers to go bad, and we end up throwing them away.

To make sure you use your leftovers while they’re still good, store them in Tupperware containers and keep them where you can see them. Put them in the front of your fridge or cabinet so you’re reminded that they’re there every time you open it.

Use a Whiteboard to Track Fridge and Freezer Items

If you’re the kind of person that goes grocery shopping and buys a ton of different items to make meals for the week only to let them spoil, you may want to consider tracking the items you purchase. The best way to do this is with a whiteboard that you can stick right on your refrigerator door.

This way, you can track the items in your fridge and freezer that will expire quickly, like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meat. This is a great reminder and may help you with meal planning throughout the week.

Keep Frequently Used Items Within Reach

To make cooking easy, make sure to keep the items that you use the most within reach. This means that when you’re cooking, you should have all your kitchen tools (like spatulas, spoons, and more) close by. In your pantry, you should keep the things you use the most frequently within reach as well.

Keeping these items close to you limits the amount of movement around your kitchen. If you don’t have to spend time digging through a junk drawer looking for something, you’re saving time and energy.

Organize Your Pantry into Zones

Organizing your pantry may seem like a headache, but once it’s done you’ll be thankful that you took the time. When your pantry is unorganized it can be hard to find things. You may let foods expire more often and you may repurchase things you already have, simply because you can’t find them.

Separating your pantry into zones is the best way to ensure that everything is visible and easy access at all times. You can create these zones however you best see fit, but they should include:

• Staples, or things you reach for frequently like pasta, rice, and cereal
• Ready-to-eat meals
• Baking supplies
• Snacks
• Kid-specific foods and snacks
• Canned foods

You should also have an area where you store backups, such as cans, as placing them all on one shelf may take up too much space.

Make Sure Everything Has a Home

The most important part of organizing your kitchen is this: make sure that everything has a home. It’s so much easier to cook and clean when you know exactly where something should go. When you’re done using something, it should always return back to its home for easy access next time.

Using pull-out drawers or draw inserts is a great way to ensure that everything has a specific place to live. Labeling is also a great way to make sure that everything always ends up in the right place.

How Storage Solutions from Art of Drawers Can Help Make Cooking at Home More Joyful

If you’re looking to organize your kitchen, Art of Drawers can help you. Here at Art of Drawers, we understand how hectic your life is, and how overwhelming a cluttered and disorganized kitchen may seem. We want to take away your frustrations and turn your kitchen into a place where you want to spend time, where you want to cook and hang out with your loved ones.

With solution options like pull-out drawers, drawer inserts, pull-down shelving, lazy Susans, and more, we’ll transform your kitchen into a space that’s organized and easily accessible. Let Art of Drawers help you enjoy your kitchen.

For more information or to schedule a free design consultation, please contact us online or call us at 770-800-8410.