Cooking can be both creative and relaxing, but not if your kitchen is a disaster zone of expired food and rarely used appliances. Our series of room by room spring cleaning guides continues with a kitchen clutter conquest strategy.
Picture by Ashley
Different room, same principles
The same basic principles that we discussed in yesterday’s post about spring cleaning your home office also apply here. In particular, the SPACE method remains a sensible way to sort out what is in your kitchen, and provides plenty of useful guidance on strategies.
The detailed guides
We’ve covered ways to reorganise your kitchen several times before, so here are the most in-depth guides to get your kitchen revamped:
- Our guide to rebooting your kitchen has lots of specific information on making your kitchen space more functional and efficient.
- Our station-by-station guide to become a kitchen pro offers more specific advice on how to fit out particular areas of your kitchen.
- One particularly helpful strategy is to organise your kitchen like a programmer, using a uniform system of containers and keeping items together by function rather than type.
- Reader Lionel’s diary of a kitchen cleanout gives a step-by-step walkthrough of the process.
Extra tips
Picture by JM Rosenfeld
- The single most useful thing I’ve done in my own kitchen recently is sorting glasses in front-to-back rows in the cupboard — that means any type of glass is instantly available.
- For under-sink storage, a lazy susan can make it easier to get at different items.
- If your kitchen is small, make sure you choose containers that have multiple uses.
- Try and avoid novelty appliances that only produce one kind of food (pie makers, hot dog cookers) — they take up lots of space.
- If space is at a premium, consider converting a filing cabinet into a rolling kitchen cart you can move in and out.
- Adding plexiglass shelving in your fridge can make it more versatile.
- If money is no object and you have a large house, the disappearing kitchen island is awesome.
Even you shop in bulk, kitchens need checking and reorganising more frequently than other rooms. For one thing, foodstuffs expire. For another, you culinary habits shift over time, and your kitchen should evolve to match those needs. Got additional kitchen clutter strategies? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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