Order in the kitchen

It's not easy to have a properly organized and tidy kitchen. I think that the order and the organization They are two factors that go hand in hand in all rooms of the house, but In the kitchen it takes on greater relevanceMost of the time we cook, we do so out of necessity: we want to prepare something quick to eat and then get back to work or other tasks later. Having a tidy and organized kitchen will help us cook more quickly and efficiently, giving us more time to complete other tasks. To properly address this issue, we'll divide it into Order and Organization.

Organizing will allow us to always know where each item is, saving us time searching for it. It will also help us have a clean and uncluttered kitchen, free of visible utensils.

What should an orderly kitchen be like?

An orderly kitchen is one that has everything you need to cook, in the right place, and with a clean, uncluttered appearance.

A clean kitchen takes on even greater importance when we find ourselves in open spaces where the kitchen and living room form a single space, where we spend most of our free time.

Most of the elements that make up a kitchen don't usually add warmth to it, so it's advisable to store them within the existing furniture. This is also the reason why, in these cases, most appliances are paneled, which is a great idea.

On the other hand, in these modern spaces, the countertop takes on great importance, and with it, we'll follow the previous advice: always keep it as clear as possible. In my case, the only visible part of my kitchen is the Thermomix, but if I had a sliding panel that allowed me to hide it when not in use (I use it almost daily), I would definitely opt for it hidden.

Visual Kitchen

The primary sense when searching is sight. We have to assume that anything we miss because it's at the back of the pantry will be forgotten and won't be found until we do a thorough cleaning, by which time it'll likely be expired and too late. There are some organizing tools that will help us avoid this situation and are very helpful, for example:

• Removable shelves.
• Glass jars for storing legumes and pasta
• A spice rack that allows you to have access to all the spices (for example, a rotating one).
• Dividers for cutlery drawers.

"Don't hoard things in the kitchen."

Something that will help us a lot to maintain order is to keep only what we actually use. Regarding this issue, we must be quite restrictive regarding what we actually use. Our human nature is tremendously accumulating, so if you have any doubts, it's probably worth recycling or giving it away. It's impossible to give a detailed list of what we need; it's a very personal matter, but in any case, I'll give a general list of what's essential:

• A single cookware set.
• Three pots and a pressure cooker.
• 6 rags.
• a set of knives.
• 2 pieces of crockery, cutlery, glasses, bowls and placemats per family member.

I don't want to go on any longer; my goal is for this list to be an example of the approximate amount of each item needed in a standard family.

Once we've been realistic about what we really need, we'll focus on its distribution.

Space: a scarce commodity

One of the reasons that prompted me to become a professional organizer was seeing how the apartment my husband and I had lived in comfortably was becoming increasingly cramped as our family grew. We were running out of space, and this circumstance encouraged me to research the topic. Over time, I learned that not only was space limited, but easily accessible space was even more scarce, and therefore, the choice of how to use it had to be tailored to our needs. Otherwise, it implies an inefficiency that we must avoid: it will waste a lot of time every day.

Therefore, we will dedicate the easily accessible space to those utensils we use most and gradually the less accessible space to those we use less, taking into account the characteristics of the utensils.

The Kitchen Triangle

This is the name given to the path formed by three imaginary lines between the cooking, storage, and sink areas. We generally sit in the center of this triangle to cook and work in the kitchen. We should consider this entire workflow when determining our storage needs, creating a rationally organized workspace.