Declutter Your Home: Kitchen

The problem with kitchens is that most of us have more things than we have space for.  Having a think about where things go and choosing the right type of storage is crucial, especially in a smaller kitchen.  There is nothing better than having an organised kitchen to cook in, whether you despise cooking after a long day at work, or your passion is cooking-the time where you escape from the rest of the world.

The general layout of your kitchen can also open it up and make it look bigger.  The easiest way to remember this is to follow the ‘triangle layout’.  This means that the position of the sink, oven and fridge/freezer make a triangle shape.  These are the main focal points of a kitchen and if they are all grouped together you, and guests, will concentrate on this area rather than the space around it.

Many people’s kitchens are not simply for preparing meals; they may also be for storing post, helping the children with their homework, doing your own work and entertaining guests.  As well as this, the kitchen has to store crockery, cutlery, food and other miscellaneous items like lightbulbs and candles.  To create an organised kitchen you need to carefully plan where each type of item will go.  You don’t need to buy a whole new kitchen- there are many fixtures that can transform the space you already have.

A clear worktop gives the implication of a tidy kitchen.  Get things that aren’t used regularly off the worktop and in to cupboards- blenders, juicers, steamers are all things which can be stored in cupboards and clear up a fair amount of space on the worktop.  This also helps to keep the worktops clean and creates more space for food preparation.

Many modern kitchen designs now have islands.  If you are lucky enough to have the sae for an island, it is fantastic for creating more storage, as well as becoming an extra area for food prep.  A good island should have drawers and cupboards that are used wisely.  Since an island is generally the main focal point in a kitchen, the surface must be kept as clear as possible for maximum impact.  If there is no space in your kitchen for an island, a great alternative is a butcher’s trolley.  These are widely available from John Lewis, Habitat or Ikea.  There are many different designs, some with shelves and drawers underneath, some with wine racks.

This one is from John Lewis.  This is only a small sized trolley, but you can already see how much extra storage it provides and that the top provides extra preparation space.  It can be pushed up against a wall when not in use.

In the past, no kitchen was able to function properly without a larder.  Whilst many kitchen designers are incorporating these into modern kitchens, many of us do not have space for a full larder.  If not, it is possible to improvise.  Most cupboards have two shelves inside (including the bottom of the cupboard).  Considering the height of the cupboards, the shelves are far too high and loads of space is being wasted.  If you are able to, put in an extra shelf.  If you organise the cupboards well (i.e. put tins together, cereals together, pasta and rice together), this extra shelf can be a god send.

Nothing is more annoying in the kitchen than open packets spilling out everywhere.  A great fix for this is to store things such as rice and pasta in clear jars.  They look great on a visible shelf or can just be a useful organisation tool in the cupboard.

These glass jars are from Argos and are available at just under £9 for a set of three.

Another way to maximise space is to fit hooks or rails on to the walls or inside cupboards. Items you rarely use should be stored at the top, items you regularly use should be stored in the middle and heavier items at the bottom.  If you are planning a new kitchen, a wall of floor to ceiling cupboards looks very stylish and cleverly conceals all of your storage.

An obvious thing, but one most of us forget in our busy lives, is out of date products.  There is nothing worse than being half way through cooking a particular meal and realising you have run out of one ingredient or the ingredient you need has been sitting at the back of your cupboard and went off last year.  Try to check regularly for out of date foods.  This way, you also have more knowledge of what you already have in your kitchen, and stops you buying duplicates.

The sink is one of the main focal points of a kitchen.  There are few things worse than going to someone’s house for a coffee and seeing a pile of dirty mugs in the sink.  You can’t help wondering if your friend simply rinsed one of the mugs and served your coffee in it.  Somehow the coffee tastes different!  It is so important to keep your sink and the area around it clean and tidy.  There’s no point trying to clean the dishes in a dirty environment!  Buy a cheap but pretty container, in which you can store the washing up liquid, brush, kitchen cloth, rubber gloves and hand wash.  Put this ehind the sink and it instantly clears this area.  The cupboard under the sink is the obvious place to store cleaning products.  It is a good idea to store the things you need for different rooms in separate small plastic baskets.  For example, it is unlikely you will need mirror cleaner in the kitchen or polish in the bathroom.  This makes it easier to find things and it’s then a bit less daunting when the need to clean the house arises.

The main thing when decluttering the kitchen is to get rid of the things you don’t need anymore.  Be brutal!  The pasta maker may have been a wedding present from your husband’s estranged aunt but you’re now into your 8th year of marriage and the selotape is still keeping the box closed.  Face it, you are never going to use it!  This applies for magazine clippings of recipes too.  So many of my friends have accumulated a mammoth amount over their lifetime.  If you really must cut recipes out, make a scrap book of them so they are kept neatly in one book.  Also, many people have cutlery that doesn’t match (also crockery and glasses).  This could be down to some being lost, or broken etc.  Whatever the reason, no household needs more than one or two sets for general, everyday use, and another set for entertaining.  A great space saver for crockery and glasses is to store them on rails on the walls.  If anything is broken or chipped throw it out.  As much as your partner or yourself claim to be waiting to have time to fix the item, realistically, that time will never come.

A quick recap:

Do:

• Plan your layout around the zones- cooking/eating/working
• Store everything according to function- utensils, food etc
• Store food in groups- tins together, cereals together, pasta and rice together
• Special occassion crockery, cutlery etc should be stored elsewhere, such as the dining room or a designated cupboard
• Use every bit of space by using extra fittings inside cupboards and hooks and rails on the walls

Don’t:

• Keep every single item you’ve accumulated during your lifetime.  If you’ve never used it, get rid of it.  If you don’t really like it, get rid of it.  If it’s broken, get rid of it.
• Use another room to prepare food because you have run out of space
• Allow items that belong in other rooms to take permenant residency in the kitchen
• Allow the kitchen to become a dumping ground for unopened post or leaflets