Sunday, December 20, 2009

A Recipe for Organizing Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen organization is tested the most during the holiday season. That is why this time of year is a perfect time to reevaluate your cooking needs and organizational systems!



To start I took a "before" shot of the pots, pans, and Corningware cabinet. Pots and pans are up top, lids are contained up front by a rack, in the back is a pressure cooker, and stacked in the middle are Corningware/glass containers. This is only one side of the cabinet and on the other side is more of the same. A new system had to be "cooked" up so that I was not stopping mid-cooking to find a lid that matched a pan, picking up the Corningware that had fallen, and overall a better use of the space up top.......

I now have a general knowledge of everything that is in this space . Clearing out the cabinet then grouping like with like will help me assess how much of each I truly have.....












Next, comes the fun part, purging! On the bottom shelf was a pressure cooker that never got used. My husband is the only one who cooks with it, and needless to say it hadn't been used in a couple years! It now has a loving home with its original owner. Look at that sparkle! Can't you tell how excited Mr. Pressure is to be going home?


Also, lids that were doubled, pans that were similar in size, and one's that were only getting used once a year got put away in a box. The box is sealed in the garage and labeled "Extra Kitchenware- Donate if not opened by 5-25-2010". That way if I don't open the box in six months, I know for sure that there is nothing important that I will have given away.
The after picture shows all pots and pans WITH their lids, skillets grouped together, and Corningware stacked the full height of the cabinet! The rack that held all the lids has a new function! Placing pots on top of it makes for easy access to things in the back of the cabinet.

This project only took half an hour to complete, but will leave me breathing easy for months to come..... Ahhh, now if only cooking with those pots and pans were as much fun as organizing them! :)

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