I want my kitchen to look nice all the time.In most homes, the kitchen is the hub—the one room where friends and family gather regularly to prepare meals, exchange stories, and catch up on the day’s events. So why not make it an efficient workspace and an inviting place to hang out?
—JOANNE KELLAR BOUKNIGHT AND JOHN LOECKE
Can you think of the best conversation you ever had in a kitchen—at a friend’s home, your grandmother’s house, or around your childhood kitchen table? Chances are there was a comfortable chair to sit in, an inviting aroma coming out of the oven, and someone who took the time to talk with you. Yet in many kitchens today, there are piles of paper to move to get to that chair, dirty dishes piled in the sink, and a frantic rush to figure out the answer to the ever-popular question: “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Many of us have such busy schedules that we lack the time to make our kitchen and meals live up to our expectations. But with a plan to simplify the space, your kitchen can become a place of warmth and welcome. After all, it’s likely the most used room in your house when people are home.
Create a Plan
The most important part of simplifying your space is to follow a plan so you know where to begin and where you left off.
To simplify your kitchen, start with your countertops and kitchen table. When your countertops and table are clean, you can walk into your kitchen and have a clear line of sight. Resist the temptation to store excess items on your countertops. Everything needs a place in your kitchen space!
After you’ve followed the steps for a clear line of sight in your kitchen, then you can sort the less visible spaces, such as drawers, cabinets, and the pantry.
Simplify Your Kitchen
Motivation:
I want my kitchen to look nice all the time.
I want cooking and cleanup to be easier.
I want to have room in my kitchen for my family to help cook.
Supplies:
Wastebasket and recycle bin for items to be discarded
Donation box for items to be given away
“Put Away” box for items that belong in other rooms
Time Estimate:
4–6 hours (approximately 15 minutes per drawer or shelf)
Reward:
An organized kitchen that looks nice and is ready to use anytime.
The kitchen is made up of many small spaces, so it is easy to get lost on rabbit trails trying to put things away. To overcome this, select one wall to focus on each day. That way, you will know where to start and stop.
It’s also easy to clean up a drawer or shelf as you’re putting away the dinner dishes. This way, you gradually accumulate completed spaces, which encourages you to complete the room.
Approach It by Sections
Follow these steps with an eye on the clock. Estimate how long each step will take and then see if you can stick to it or move along more quickly. If you get stuck on where an item should go, put it in a “maybe” box to decide at the end of the room sort. You will get better at decision making the more you do it.
Sink
Start with a clean sink by washing and putting away dirty dishes and recent clutter. It may take you about thirty minutes to clear the table, load the dishwasher, and clean the sink. Then commit to washing and putting away dishes after each meal to keep your kitchen sink clutter at bay.
Table
A clean kitchen table can set the tone for your entire home. It is one of the most used gathering spots and should be ready for action anytime.
A simple way to keep your kitchen table looking nice is to keep it cleared except for a tasteful centerpiece. Then it always looks nice whether you are walking by for a drink of water, helping the kids do their homework, or chatting with a neighbor over a cup of coffee. If you keep up on nothing else in your home, keep your kitchen table cleared off and something of interest, such as a silk flower arrangement, as a centerpiece.
Countertops
Pull everything forward and wash each counter and item. Put back only the things you like and use regularly. Place the remaining items in a donation box or wastebasket. Once the front two-thirds of your counters and the top of your kitchen table are clear, the line of sight into your kitchen is clean. This is the key to making your kitchen look clean: keep the countertops and table clear of daily clutter.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #2
Keep your kitchen clean by maintaining a clear line of sight on your table and the front two-thirds of your countertops.
Floor
A clean floor is the second most important visual level for a kitchen after the countertops and table. It’s time to sweep up the crumbs and wash the floor to keep this very large surface clean. People do notice your floors.
It’s wise to determine how often you need to clean the floor to keep it looking nice: does it need to be part of your nightly cleanup routine, once a week, or once every two weeks? The answer depends on the number of people, pets, and traffic in and out of your kitchen. The more often the room is used, the more often you have to clean it. Plus, the rest of your home will be cleaner if people don’t track kitchen dirt into the rest of the house!
Refrigerator
The most clutter in your kitchen is often found on the biggest item in your kitchen—the refrigerator. “Visual tune out” keeps most homeowners from noticing the actual clutter on the door front and on top of the refrigerator.
Take everything off the front of your refrigerator and put magnets on a less visible side. Make it attractive: a grocery list and pen on the side, a magnet for each child’s work on the front, and favorite pictures on the top one-third of the refrigerator doors.
What do you do with the other papers on your refrigerator? Place coupons in a coupon holder in a drawer, photos in a photo album on the coffee table, children’s papers in three-ring memory books in the family room, sales fliers and invitations in a file near your monthly calendar, and phone numbers from magnets in your telephone book.
The top of the refrigerator is best used as a decorative shelf with a silk plant and nice display, not as storage for appliances or food boxes.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #3
Reduce kitchen cleanup time by placing dirty dishes in the dishwasher, returning foods to the refrigerator, and putting countertop items back in cabinets within ten minutes after each meal.
Now that the visible space is clean, you can tackle the “invisible spaces” in your kitchen, such as drawers, cabinets, and the pantry. Move from smaller to larger invisible surfaces. The smaller the contained space (like a drawer or a shelf), the more manageable it is to conquer. Let’s place our three sorting tools (wastebasket, donation box, and “put away” box) next to the area you are organizing.
Drawers
Begin with one drawer at a time, and work from top to bottom in one section. Organize the most used drawers first, such as silverware, cooking utensils, plastic wrap, measuring cups, and so on.
The smaller the items, the shallower the drawer they should be in. Often you will have a drawer with silverware and serving utensils, another with cooking utensils, and another with plastic-wrap boxes lined up side by side.
Be sure to use drawer dividers to keep your particular setup from sliding around. You can do this by measuring the drawer and making a diagram to take with you to the store to select mesh or plastic dividers. Or you can use gift box lids to organize the contents of your drawers.
• Empty one drawer, wipe it out, and use dividers to keep items from sliding around.
• The most used items go in the front one-third of the drawer, the middle section holds the next most used items, and the back holds storage.
• Toss the clutter and donate unused items.
• Keep only what you like and use.
• Keep the drawer simple and visually pleasing.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #4
You can organize any drawer in three simple steps: empty everything, wipe it out, and replace only the contents you currently use.
Each drawer should fill two criteria. First, the drawer should have a “theme” (such as silverware or dishtowels) and be located near where the enclosed items are used. Keep it that way by putting a label on the inner edge of the drawer to remind others to maintain the order.
Second, drawers should only hold items that fit the size and location of the space. Store items vertically if possible so it is easy to see the contents, such as small appliances, cooking utensils, and perhaps even pots and lids. Again, store things near where they are used so everything is within easy reach.
Cabinets
Cabinets can make or break the function and simplicity of your kitchen. Just because items are behind closed doors doesn’t mean they should be disorganized! Don’t let useful items turn into clutter by overfilling the cabinets.
Clean the nearest countertop and then empty one shelf at a time. As you sort through each item in each cabinet, ask yourself, “Is this still part of my current cooking style, or should I pass it on to someone else?” Place items you definitely want to keep on your left, items you maybe want to keep in the middle, and items you want to donate or discard on the right.
When you have pared down a cabinet, replace the useful items with labels facing forward and the front three inches of every shelf empty to maintain a clean look.
Pantry
Your pantry can become overstuffed and useless if food items are difficult to locate or if unused kitchen items are stored there. To keep a simple kitchen, you will want to clean out your pantry just as often as you do your refrigerator.
Just because canned goods stored in the pantry have longer expiration dates than fresh foods in the refrigerator doesn’t mean they can live beyond your careful scrutiny of how long you should keep them. Go through your pantry shelves regularly and ask yourself, “Do I like this food item, and do I still cook with it?” If so, plan a meal with it. If not, pass the excess items on to a mission or shelter that could use them.
Group food items together: canned soups, tomato sauces, and vegetables. Group jars together: pasta sauce, salsa, and jellies. Group bags of chips, pretzels, and dried fruit in containers together for snacks.
Lower shelving should hold the largest items, most used items in the middle, and smaller, lesser used foods on the top shelves. For a neat and clean look, label the shelves with a label maker or masking tape and pen: cereals, baking supplies, vegetables, soups, snacks, and so on. Leave the front three inches open so you and others can read the label and keep your system going.
If the system isn’t working, adjust it until everyone knows where to put things away.
Trash
Clean homes have one thing in common: empty wastebaskets. Empty wastebaskets show attention to detail and make others more likely to throw their trash away! That means less clutter in the house too.
Be sure to keep your trash can and recycle container clean. Wash them as needed.
Lighten Up and Let Go
Once you finish organizing for the day, take your donations to a charity, return items to their owners, and toss the clutter within twenty-four hours. Don’t toss them into the back of your car or hold them in the garage for a spring time garage sale! Get them back into circulation now. This is often the hardest step—to get the sorted items out the door and off the premises.
• One client was surprised to find she had nine frying pans, including duplicates of every size. Now that she had grade-school children and was always on the run, omelets and crepes were not a part of her life. She simplified her kitchen space and gained more room by selecting three frying pans and passing on the rest to a charity.
• Another client organized her drawer of knives and found she had thirteen butcher-type knives from wedding present sets and free cooking demonstrations. She reclaimed an entire drawer by sending all but two off to a rescue mission kitchen.
• Mary had stemware in her kitchen cabinets that wasn’t practical for her college-age children. Her daughter asked her to box it up and save it for her first apartment. Space saved? An entire cabinet shelf while the box was stored in a closet in the basement.
As a final step, stand at the entrance to your kitchen and use this checklist to appreciate your hard work and determine your next steps.
Kitchen Checklist
____ 1. Is the kitchen sink empty and clean?
____ 2. Are the front two-thirds of my counters clear, and the rest attractive and useful?
____ 3. Is the kitchen table wiped off and clutter free?
____ 4. Is the floor clean and washed?
____ 5. Is the refrigerator door tidy, the top clean, and extra papers neatly filed?
____ 6. Are the drawers organized with like items in dividers and easy to use?
____ 7. Are items in cabinets pared down and the front three inches of every shelf empty?
____ 8. Is my pantry clutter free and items easy to find?
____ 9. Is my trash can emptied regularly before it overflows?
____ 10. Am I pleased with how my kitchen looks and functions?
SPACE-SAVING TIP #5
If you can’t go through the kitchen all in one day, then do a little each day while cleaning up after a meal.
Tips from “The Decorating Coach,” Susan Wells
Create decorator touches out of eyesores in the kitchen with some ingenuity. Exchange a commercial container for a striking glass jar, and fill with a dish soap that complements your decor.
Create a simple theme above kitchen cabinets with generous, even spacing between groupings of similar objects (at least ten inches in height). Alternate sets of two or three rectangular baskets storing seasonal items. Accent the groupings with a vase or artificial greenery.
Who said that attractive tableware can’t be functional? Start with pretty placemats. Keep salt and pepper in stylish shakers. Display fruit in an attractive bowl or wire basket. Upgrade from ho-hum plastic to glass serving bowls. Your tableware communicates how special every meal is together.
Manage It Simply
Once you have gone through every section of your kitchen, keep checking back to see that the drawers, cabinets, and pantry stay in order. Do a line-of-sight cleanup across the kitchen counters each day.
Here’s an easy way you can simply manage your kitchen and keep it in great shape:
| What? | When? |
| Sink, Countertops, and Table | Daily cleanup after meals |
| Floor | Daily cleanup after dinner |
| Cabinets and Drawers | Weekly maintenance |
| Refrigerator and Pantry | Daily tidy up one shelf and plan the next day’s meals |
Review: The CALM Kitchen Approach
Create a Plan
Clear the sink, countertops, and table.
Declutter the refrigerator door and pantry.
Organize drawers and cabinets.
Approach It by Sections
Arrange one shelf or drawer per day.
Focus on one wall at a time.
Schedule one big cleaning day to finish the kitchen.
Lighten Up and Let Go
Charities such as the Salvation Army, AmVets, and the American Cancer Society appreciate donations and often provide free pickup service.
Your friends and family may enjoy some of your unneeded items.
Consider donating items to newlyweds, college kids, or others who could put them to good use.
Manage It Simply
Daily—Clear the “line of sight” on countertops, table, refrigerator door, and floor.
Weekly—Check one wall of drawers and cabinets.
Monthly—Review the contents of your pantry.
To simplify your kitchen space, begin with one small space at a time and keep going. Once you have simplified and organized the contents of your kitchen, this space will be much easier for your family to use and keep clean.
Think of your kitchen as a café, a gathering place for fun and conversation. Food preparation is only one of the many functions of this room. Walk into your kitchen and see it with fresh eyes.
—ALEXANDRA STODDARD