Center System Organizes Kitchen
From
| May 28, 2009
In Kitchen Basics
Everything I ever needed to know about organizing my kitchen I learned from kindergarten.
In my daughter's kindergarten class Mrs. Curtis divided the entire room into "activity centers": Block center here, paint center there, reading corner here, math and counting over there. I realized my kitchen could use a similar plan.
Although my pantry was organized down to the last can, that's as far as it went. The measuring cups were in one cabinet while the flour was four cabinets down. My mugs were on the opposite side of the kitchen from the coffee pot.
Some areas were easy to fix. The phone, calendar and mail are now clustered around the desk: the family office center. The coffee, filters, sugar bowl and mugs go around the coffee pot: the coffee center. The flour, sugar and other baking ingredients are grouped with the measuring cups; then right below are the baking pans, muffin tins, cookie sheets and bread machine: the baking center.
As I embraced the concept, I grouped my plastic storage containers, lids and bowls near the plastic wrap, aluminum foil and zipper-top bags: the storage center. My spices are lined in one cabinet arranged on "stairs" for easy viewing, with the measuring spoons on a magnetic strip an arm's reach away: the spice center.
So this is how I do it, but there are probably lots of other ways. Comments? Ideas? Am I simply obsessive?!
Comments
From Beth - May 28, 2009
I just finished a major kitchen remodel, and we put serious thought into this exact concept! The bowls are in the same cupboard as the ceral, the bread is stored next to the toaster (along with the peanut butter jars). The glasses, plates & silverware are located in the middle of everything. The "use all the time" staples are kept by the cooking center, the extras and less than everyday staples are kept in another pantry just a few more feet away. It is absolutely awesome to have the kind of kitchen that functions with people milling about in it!
From Margie - May 28, 2009
When remodeling my kitchen a few years back, I actually designed the whole project around my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe! Mixer, ingredients, spices, baking pans, cooling racks and utensils were all within arm's reach and were between the sink and oven. I found that the arrangement served me well for many other things/recipes.
From Beverly Mills - May 28, 2009
I have lived in three kitchens within the last 8 years that other people remodeled not too long before we moved in. My favorite update of all time are cupboards that have shelves that slide out. That way, you can see what's on the back of the shelf and it seems to expand the space more than you'd think. Also I've gone round and round on the Tupperware front -- bowls stacked to conserve space and lids in a different spot but I always end up losing the match or get frustrated trying to find the right lid. So my plastics take up way too much space! Anybody solved that one?
From Alicia Ross - May 28, 2009
Margie, A cookie recipe that deserves a whole kitchen designed around it!? Please share! Send it to us at tellus@kitchenscoop.com
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From Beth - May 28, 2009
I'm just beginning to think about this myself. We're doing a mini remodel of our kitchen right now and, in the process, I've been debating the right way to organize supplies. I'll be watching these comments for further good ideas!