Home Organization Tips

My husband moved into our new home about a month before the kids and I did so that he could start unpacking the boxes, take care of last minute construction details, and make sure that all of the major appliances were properly installed before I brought the kids into a messy place. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and to a large extent, I’m sure it was. Out of some 170+ boxes, probably only 40-50 were left by the time I got to the house. The beds were made and there was food in the fridge (which was the only appliance that actually worked, but that’s a whole other story). I spent at least 12 hours a day unpacking and cleaning in my first week home (really!), and thought that things were finally almost all in order. That’s when I decided it was time to bake muffins.

You’re probably thinking it’s crazy to bake muffins when not everything is unpacked, but by that time, I was yearning for a bit of homemade cooking, something more than frozen hotdogs or yogurt. The muffins were delicious- but they took two hours from start to finish, which I know from experience was an hour and a half way too long. The reason: I couldn’t find anything that I needed in my brand new (and very spacious) kitchen. As promised, my husband had filled up all the cabinets with the boxes marked ‘kitchen’. But, as I quickly realized, the baking powder wasn’t next to the sugar, and the muffin tins weren’t next to the cookie sheets, and the mixing bowls somehow ended up in the cabinet with the dishes.

After I ultimately put my muffins in the oven, I set to work reorganizing the kitchen so that all of the baking supplies were on the same shelf, the pans were arranged properly, and the pantry items showed some semblance of order. It took until 1 am, but I definitely learned a lot in the process: I’m pretty sure that this was not a case of the male brain vs. the female brain. It was the creation of a classically disorganized kitchen, one that could be easily remedied with a bit of thought and attention to detail.

The most useful thing I did was to properly arrange all of my food supplies, both those that I use regularly and those that are I keep ‘just in case’. By placing the things that I use the most, such as my baking supplies and arsenal of vinegars, on sliding pantry shelves at arm-level, I have ensured that they are easy to reach in the midst of preparing a recipe, and that I can always see with a quick scan of the eye which supplies are running low and need to be replenished. On the sliding shelf right below the things that are used the most frequently, I placed my collection of canned goods, with the things that I use most often (like tuna) in the front, and things that I seldom use (like green olives) in the back. On the lowermost shelf, I placed extra supplies of ketchup, pasta and assorted other assorted food supplies that I replace with semi-frequency and like to have on hand when the need arises. It might sound silly, but I am excited by the comfort of being able to just pull out the shelves and find what I want, instead of having to unload everything just to reach the items in the back, as I did in my last kitchen.

I have also found that smaller food items are best placed in a Lazy Susan in a top corner cabinet, which is not only a wonderful way to use an otherwise hard-to-reach space, but also creates additional storage space for food items that could not be stored in the pantry. In the days before I finally splurged and purchased a spice rack, I used to store my spices in this Lazy Susan, as well as other condiments and oils. Although Lazy Susans arguably fill similar roles as pull-out pantry shelves, they are also helpful in storing smaller and lighter items, so as to make room for bulkier things in the pantry.

Although my husband may have been somewhat insulted that I felt the need to rearrange his handiwork, I think he agrees with me that makes life a lot easier when similar foods are stored together, instead of being stashed in random spaces. And, although I don’t expect him to reach for the baking powder anytime soon, I am so much more relaxed knowing that it’s easily accessible and strategically placed, so that I can make my next batch of muffins without also having to complete a scavenger hunt.

Posted on November 26th, 2006 by Sari
Filed under: organizing tips