A kitchen is a place where you can prepare and share meals with family and friends. Thanks to a well thought out design and layout (and not forgetting spacious kitchen cupboards from Durban’s Cupboard Value) this should be an easy and relaxing experience – not a stressful one.
If you find that your kitchen time is filled with scrambling to find the right ingredients, pots or pans, then it’s time you mastered your kitchen organisation skills, starting with your cupboards.
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Choose items that multitask
When picking appliances and decorations for your kitchen, ensure that every item on display serves a purpose, whether it be to store cutlery or house spice jars. By doing this you will keep your kitchen looking good and ensure that no space is being taken up by clutter creating items that are attractive but serve no real function and take up valuable counter space.
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Use the ‘one in, one out’ principle
For those of you with large kitchens, this isn’t likely to be an issue. But for everyone else, the ‘one in, one out’ principle applies. Ensure that a new item is only introduced into your kitchen if something else is removed. This will ensure you’re maintaining the area and only replacing what needs to be replaced, instead of purchasing unnecessary bits and bobs that will need to be stored somewhere. It also ensures that you’re regularly taking stock of the contents of your pantry and keeping it filled with new ingredients. If something’s been languishing past its sell-by date, toss it out!
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Keep frequently used items near
The more often you rely on something when cooking, the closer it needs to be to your stove or oven. This might require a complete overhaul of the layout of your kitchen cupboards by dedicating an afternoon to reorganising it will save you hours in the future. Massive pans and pots, your mother’s fine china and infrequently used cooking ingredients can be stowed out of sight. Keep frequently used utensils, spices and pantry staples like rice and sugar within easy reach.
At the heart of any well-organised kitchen are plentiful, spacious and well-placed kitchen cupboards. If your current cupboards aren’t working for you, it’s never too late to invest in better ones.
