Today I’m going to take you through my first mini- series the Kitchen. My aim is to walk you through the different aspects of my kitchen and how I try to remain ‘Clean and Organised’. I believe that the kitchen is the hub of your home and if it is, it should be a reflection of how you are living your everyday life. I often find that if my life gets unexpectedly busy or stressful, one of the first places to get messy is my kitchen. I generally find that if I take the time to ensure that my kitchen is clean and unclutterd, then the stress in my life seems more manageable. It is amazing how clutter can add to the feeling of weighing you down.
Benches. They are the first thing I see when I walk into my kitchen and it is the bane of my existence to have a messy bench. This is the first house that my husband and I have had a dishwasher and many the comment has been tossed around of “how have we ever lived like this before”. We have gotten into a routine now of ensuring that all our dirty items go straight into the dishwasher out of sight ready for their wash at the end of the day. Inevitably there are going to be a few items that cannot be run through the dishwasher so I ensure that they are stacked in a neat pile beside the sink. I then hand wash these items every night after dinner as soon as I put the dishwasher on, or if especially full I’ll make an executive decision in the day to wash them at lunchtime. With only the two of us at home it is not often that this becomes necessary.
I personally don’t like appliances taking up a lot of my valuable bench space so they all have their own specific home in my kitchen cupboards. My toaster is always put away after each use also my kettle (unless I have visitors). I will take you through and show you where these live in future posts. This helps ensure my benches are clean and clutter free.
Another choice I make is not to have a ‘stationary corner’ on my kitchen bench. I understand the need to have a container of pens at the ready or note paper to jot down, but my view is that place is not the kitchen. I have a nice little desk/command centre just off my kitchen, but we will get to that later.
Recently I purchased a sink caddy which now contains my scrubbing brush, washing liquid, hand soap and scourer. With these items having their own designated space I know I can place my hands on them easily at a moment’s notice. Beside my caddy is my mini bin. This is for food scraps only and is emptied every day and placed into the freezer ready for bin day. It is handy to have on the bench top when chopping, peeling or cracking eggs ensuring that meal preparation remains smooth and organised. The meal planner sits to the right of my bin, but it will have its own post at a later time.
Beside my stove top are my chopping knives. I like them sitting there so my husband and I have easy access and not searching in a drawer trying to find the size we need. On the other side is a caddy with utensils in. The bulk of my utensils sit in my second drawer so the caddy contains only the ones that are used most in my household. E.g. spoons, spatulas and lifters. I try to limit it to the ones that are most integral to the cooking process itself as I can place my hands on the others quickly as I need.
Next time I will take you through my kitchen cupboards in an effort to try to become ‘Clean and Organised’.
Clean and Organised 
Leave a comment