Well-organized kitchen cabinets can be heaven for the cook and all other family members who venture into the room. If your kitchen cabinets are in need of reorganizing, then follow these instructions to make the most of the space available to you. The big box stores, as well as specialty kitchen shops, offer an array of organizing supplies to make your kitchen cabinets work harder so that you won't have to. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Completely empty all kitchen cabinets. This would be a good time to clean the inside of the cabinets with warm, soapy water.
2. Purge the contents by recycling, donating or trashing the items you no longer need or use.
3. Assign categories to your cabinet space. Categories could include dishes and glasses, bakeware, plastic storage pieces, small appliances, foodstuffs, large serving pieces, cleaning supplies and seasonal/party ware.
4. Group the contents of your cabinets according to these categories. Don't put anything away just yet. Take a good look at the items, and think about how you use them. Put the most frequently used items close at hand.
5. Dishes and glassware should be placed near or beside the dishwasher, the bakeware near the stove and foodstuffs in the pantry. (If you don't have a pantry, then designate one or two large cabinets for that purpose.) Cleaning supplies should go under the sink or in a broom closet. Take advantage of the organizing units you can purchase to add hanging or shelf space within your cabinet.
6. Use a bin to hold all of your plastic storage pieces, and slide the bin onto a shelf. A smaller bin can hold the plastic lids. Arrange pieces on their ends to utilize vertical space. A small Lazy Susan could contain spices, or a large one could accommodate canned goods.
7. Allot seasonal or little-used items to the hardest-to-reach cabinets. A step stool placed near the cabinets will make these items more accessible.
8. Small appliances, such as your coffee maker, toaster or toaster oven, that are used on a daily basis can remain on the kitchen counter. Store other small appliances in a cabinet in close proximity to where they will be used.
9. Hang your pots and pans on a pot rack near your stove, which will free up a cabinet for other cookware such as casserole dishes and large serving pieces.
10. Experiment with the location of cabinet items to maximize efficiency.
Tags: kitchen cabinets, large serving, large serving pieces, placed near, plastic storage, plastic storage pieces
