Kitchens are often the most used room in the house. They’re a place for social gatherings, lingering conversations, and school projects. Seeing as our lives are generally clocked by food, wouldn’t it make sense to make this space as efficient as possible? Having an efficiently-run kitchen will save you tons of time, confusion and stress. You’ll always know what’s in your cupboards, you won’t have to root through old jars of questionable contents when trying to find something to eat, and your family will be better able to navigate through.
The Triangle:
An industry term, the triangle is a well-known design scheme that are often seen in kitchens. The triangle comprises of your sink, fridge and stove. In most kitchens, the placement of these 3 appliances make the shape of a triangle. This is purposely done, in order to maximize your efficiency, and prevent you from having to take too many steps to complete a task. While changing the layout or kitchen remodeling might not be possible, you can increase your efficiency by placing pots, pans and other stove-top requirements close to the stove, rather than in a drawer far away. You can also keep dishcloths and soap bottles near the sink, or under it. Keeping the triangle in mind will help you plan your kitchen in a more user-friendly way.
Zones:
Try to think of your kitchen as a series of zones. There’s the prepping zone, the cooking zone, the consuming zone, the non-consuming zone, and the washing/cleaning zone. Once you have that in mind, you can organize your kitchen to appeal to each of these zones. As mentioned above, store cutlery and cookware in areas close to the cooking and eating zones, and have your dish towels and soap bottles near the washing zones. The prepping zone should hold items for food preparation such as mixing bowls, cutting boards, knife blocks etc. Your consuming zone is all the things that you can eat and that are needed for cooking, so things like food items, sauces, herbs and spices should go there. The last zone, the non-consuming zone should hold items such as silverware, glassware and Tupperware.
Main Appliances:
The main appliances in a standard kitchen are the fridge, the stove, and the dishwasher. Everything else present in the kitchen is made to be arranged around these three items, making these appliances the most important part of your kitchen. Whether you’re creating your brand-new dream kitchen from scratch, or updating your current one, keep in mind efficiency, layouts and your appliance triangle. Your custom kitchen cabinets, the finishes, the storage are all important as well, but when it comes to layout, design and functionality, your appliances as well as smart technologies trump everything else. You’ll want to take into consideration your family’s particular lifestyle and habits, and design the kitchen around that. How much do you entertain, do you have young children and pets, do you cook a lot or a little? By answering questions on your needs, you can begin to customize your kitchen appliances to suit your taste. For those who entertain a lot, a larger capacity stove and oven might work better, and for families who are over-busy, a speed-cooking oven and large freezer might be best.
How to Organize Your Appliances:
Scaling down and organizing your appliances will help you run a more efficient kitchen, and allow you to get the best use out of your space. These are some steps you can take to effectively organize your kitchen:
Pare Down and Group by Use:
You can group your appliances into three categories – frequently used, rarely used, and never used. Using your storage wisely, especially if limited, is vital here, so keep what you use often front and center. The rest can be put away or even given away if not ever used. If buying new appliances, think about combining functionalities to reduce clutter – a high-quality blender that can act as a food processor works great, and a panini press isn’t really necessary if you already have a waffle iron.
Say Goodbye to the Never Used:
As touched on above, the appliances that are never used should be given a new home. While it’s hard for us to justify giving away or selling perfectly good gadgets, because of the ever-looming “what if”, the truth is, if you haven’t used it yet, you most likely won’t in the future.
Organize:
Now that you’ve gotten rid of the excess appliances, it’s time to organize the existing ones. Remember when we talked about creating efficiency within the triangle? Here’s where you can apply that. Stack your appliances in areas where you will be using them (immersion blenders in cupboards near stove-tops, juicers near the sink, etc.). Cut the clutter by ensuring each appliance has its own place. You won’t be scouring around looking for it at the last minute, and it’ll ensure everything stays neat and tidy.
