De-Clutter your kitchen !

This may seem unlikely coming from me, but I have had a lot of time on my
hands lately !!

-bigmike

How To Declutter Your Kitchen

Regardless of how much time you spend in your kitchen, you can make life a
lot easier by organizing it and getting rid of all the clutter that seems
essential but in actual fact is now a hindrance.

1. Firstly you should get rid of any dirty dishes and wipe down all the
counters. Then move onto your cabinets and give them a good cleaning. Empty
them completely. Throw away all the old ingredients that have sat in the
back for years - you haven't used them more than once so it's more than
likely you won't use them again. Alternatively, throw them away and buy new
ones e.g. Spices or baking staples like baking powder; things that last for
some time.

2. Once you have worked out what you are going to keep, organize them into
categories, such as all the baking ingredients like flour, sugar and dried
fruits on one shelf, canned food on another, and jars of sauces should also
be stored separately. This way there will be no more rooting around the back
of the cabinet trying to locate the container you need. Make sure any
ingredients which you remove from the original packing and place in storage
containers are clearly labeled, especially flours and sugars.

3. You might also find it helpful to designate certain counter tops in your
kitchen to certain tasks, like mixing, rolling pastry, and if possible keep
all the utensils you need close at hand. Either way make sure you store your
utensils properly, don't just fling them anywhere. Some people like to keep
them hanging on the wall, or in a pretty storage jar or container.

4. Make sure you have the right equipment and use it efficiently. An
irritating problem when cooking or baking can be measuring dry and sticky
ingredients on the same scales. Either invest in another bowl for your
scales, or make sure you measure the dry ingredient first, then the sticky
one. If the recipe says you must add the sticky ingredient first, then
measure the dry one and place it in another bowl and add it when required to
the main mixture. This saves having to wash and dry the measuring bowl for
the scales as remnants of the dry ingredient will not affect the sticky one.

5. Make sure you stock your refrigerator and freezer properly. It is
tempting after every shopping trip to simply load the food in on top of what
is there, but this means that you forget what you bought a few weeks ago and
it lies at the bottom until it will be thrown out. To prevent this waste,
each time you add food, check the dates of what is already there and move
certain things to the top if they must be used sooner . Throw away anything
that you find that smells bad or that you know has been in there for some
time. Never take the risk of using it even if it "looks/smells okay". Even
frozen vegetables and butter can go bad so try and use things in order of
best before dates.

6. Some people find it saves a lot of time during the working week if they
prepare the meals for the following week in advance, or at least work out
what they will cook and make sure they have the right ingredients. If you
have some time at the weekends, use it to cook things that have a long
preparation or cooking time, like casseroles or roasting large pieces of
meat. If you make double quantities you can freeze them and defrost during
the week too.

7. Before you start to cook, read the recipe and assemble all the
ingredients and utensils you will need beforehand. Remember to check if you
need to preheat the oven or start boiling water. If you have to leave
something to simmer for a while, remember you can use this time to peel
potatoes or even just set the table.

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