Home Improvement Centers

When you start the task of kitchen organizing, it is important to have the right tools on hand. Here are the top five that will make getting your kitchen in shape easier.

Menu Planner
Having a menu planner makes planning and preparing meals easier. You can get these online or you can simply make a plain whiteboard into a menu planner. Your planner should have space for the following: entrée, sides, recipe book and page number for the entrée and sides sections, ingredients needed. It is easiest to sit down once a week, preferably on the weekend, and plan out the meals for the entire week. Check your refrigerator, cupboards, and freezer for any items you already have on hand that you could use. Post your planner somewhere in the kitchen where it is easily visible.

Paper Filer
If your home is like mine, having some way to contain the paper in your kitchen is a must. A desktop filer with folders in each for each person or for the different types of paper that come into your home makes this aspect of kitchen organizing easier. If your kitchen tends to be the area of communication in your home, you can also have a bulletin board with sections for each person in your home. Any communication for that person gets posted in their section of the bulletin board. A mailbox system can also work for organizing all of the paper that ends up in the kitchen.

Utensil Organizer
No matter how big or small your kitchen is, having a utensil organizer helps you find the cooking utensil you are looking for easier. Utensils are best organized in drawers so get a kitchen organizing tool that allows you to separate out your cooking utensils in a drawer. Separate your utensils into categories or by type. Maybe all spoon cooking utensils go in one organizer while spatulas go in another. Or maybe all of the utensils you use frequently go in one organizer.

Spice Rack
The main goal of a spice rack is to simply make it easier for you to find the spices you need when you need them. I like the round ones that have two racks and turn because I can more easily find my spices that way. There are ones that are stepped and ones that hang over a door. As with all kitchen organizing, just find one that works for your kitchen and how you cook.

Plastic Containers
Plastic containers work for more than just storing leftovers. They are also good for storing dried items that would otherwise be difficult to find or store. I store sugar, flour, and nuts in plastic containers to make it easier to measure, keep bugs out, and make it easier to store. It is easy to get a hole in a bag like flour comes in. Storing it in plastic helps ensure that there are no accidental spills.