PsIP: How would you organize this kitchen?

[lolc]

If you just moved in and this was your cabinet/drawer space, how would you organize it? Where would you put your silverware? Your bowls, plates, mixing bowls, corningware, pots/pans etc etc etc?


A few FYI's: We have a walk-in pantry...

And in picture 3, to the right is a small stationery area.

Also, numbers 3, 8, 16, and 17 are numbered across 2 cabinets because they represent one large(r) space on the inside.

Cabinets 6 and 18 have a regular single cabinet door but they are deep - they stretch all the way to the corners.

Picture 1


Picture 2


Picture 3


I'd appreciate your input! We've been here over 6 months and I don't really like the way we are set up now. There is a lot of unused space, then space that seems too cluttered.

So please humor me and pretend this is your space - wwyd with it?? (besides gut it and remodel/update, which I would love to do but won't be able to for a few years!)

[Deleted]

Let me take a stab at this:

1 and 2 I would use for your dishes. Decently close to the sink/dishwasher and near the stove.

3 I would use for large bottles of oil and things you probably dump in smaller containers. Otherwise, booze.

4,5,6,7 I would use for boxed goods, cereal, and canned goods.

8 I would stash the serving pieces you never use.

9 I would use for cofee, tea, drink mixes, coffee filters, travel mugs, water bottles that sort of junk

10 and 11 I would use for silverware, mixing spoons that sort of thing

12 and 13 I would use for potholders and spices (I moved all my spaces so they lay flat in a drawer, best thing ever!)

14 I would use for ziplocs, saran wrap, etc.

15 I would use for a junk drawer (twist ties, matches, flashlights, phone books that sort of thing)

16 I would use for baking sheets, corningware etc.

17 I would use for your cookware or crockpots and the like

**If you don't have a lot of cooking gear, maybe use 17 for more food storage if you don't have enough in your cabinets, but I'm assuming most of that is in the pantry anyways.**

18 I would use for your most used serving pieces and tupperware

I'm not sure about 19...I'd be inclined to shove things like lunch totes, trash bags, resuable bags etc. in there. Maybe pet food if you have a pet.

[hausfrau]

I can't imagine having that many cabinets and a pantry too! Our kitchen is pretty low on storage space.

Here's how I think I would approach it:

1, 2, 16: Cookware/bakeware
10, 11: Cooking/baking utensils (I keep spatulas, big spoons, etc. in a jar on the counter, but other gadgets, openers, etc. or things not daily/weekly used would go in drawers)
3: Oils, spices, salt & pepper that I use daily/weekly
4, 5, 17: dishware in uppers, serving pieces used daily/weekly in lower
12, 13: flatware
6, 7, 18: Electrics like crockpot, waffle iron, blender, etc.
14: plastic bags, foil, clingfilm
8: Oddly sized serving pieces I don't use often, vases if they fit
9: Glassware, stemware, vases
15: Bar gadgets (corkscrews, bottle openers, paring knives)
19: Alcohol, any cookbooks I consult on the regular

Storage under the sink would be used for cleaning supplies. If there are any drawers near the sink, I would use those as catch-alls or fit any wraps or foils that don't go in 14.

[peach]

Cabinet 9 and the counter space below would be my coffee/tea bar area!

[pitterwoo]

1-2: everyday dishes

drawers 10-11: flatwear and dishtowels

16: pots and pans

3: spices, vinegar, oil

4-7: mixing bowls, measuring cups, baking supplies

12: spices and seasonings

13-14: knives and implements

17: casseroles and baking dishes

18: reusable containers, lunch packing supplies, paper napkins

8: stuff used infrequently- for me probably shoe polish, light bulbs and stuff like that if you don't have it somewhere else

9: beverages and mugs

15: utility drawer for dog nail clippers, flashlight, tape measure, rubber bands

19: plastic wrap, aluminum foil, baggies


I think your kitchen layout is pretty intuitive. Just think in grouping things in zones where you would use them.

[tarheels]

1 and 2 - Dishes

3 - Cooking spray, vegetable oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil - all those cooking liquids

4 and 5 - Tupperware and food storage - take it off the stove straight to leftovers containers

6 and 7 - glasses

8 - Vases, pitchers, things you don't use often

9 - Coffee mugs

10 - silverware

11 and 12 - potholders, wooden spoons, ladles, toothpicks for checking baked goods

13 - spatulas and other baking utensils

14 - utensil and tool odds and ends - peelers, graters, can opener, etc

15 - junk drawer

16 - mixing bowls and pyrex dishes (glass and ceramic things)

17 - pie plates, bread pans, cake pans, etc (aluminum things)

18 - cookie sheets if you don't keep them under the stove. Liquor if you do

19 - serving trays


To help with the sense of clutter, I'd take the canisters off the counter. Unless you're baking several times a week, there's no reason those things can't live in the WIP.

[TBM]

I think most of the above recs are good, except that cabinet three shouldn't have oils, spices or booze in it....all of them deteriorate more quickly when exposed to heat. I like to keep oils in the pantry, except for small bottles on the counter ready to use, and I like to keep my spices in a drawer near the stove, handy to reach (but not too near to be affected by heat),

I think that I would use 9, 15 and 19 for things that we keep in the kitchen to have handy, but aren't our food/dishes....pet related stuff, a place to stash mail and other clutter, junk drawer stuff, and maybe pet related stuff.

[lolc]

Wow these are all great responses, thank you!!! And Hausfrau, I can relate! The kitchen in my old house was much smaller and had much less in the way of cabinets and drawers. And we had a pantry but it wasn't walk in at all. So this is new to me!

Here is how our kitchen is currently set up (I will italicize the things that make me feel a little twitchy):

1&2: Bowls and dishes (though both sides have a top shelf that is empty... well, one side has our electric carving knife that DH randomly put up there)

3: Empty

4: Measuring cups. And sometimes a mixing bowl or two

5: Bin of sippy cups, also plastic (reusable) water bottles

6: Cups, glasses, mugs, etc

7: Spices and cooking oils

8: Empty

9: First aid, household medicines (like the kids tylenol, pepto bismol

10: Wooden spoons, spatulas, measuring spoons - italicized because the way I have it set up it makes me feel like its all hodge-podge... there's no real organization to it and I can never find anything quick (like the measuring spoons)

11: Silverware

12: nothing

13: Knives until I get my new knife block set (we threw out our old block)

14: Pot holders

15: Junk drawer

16: Pots & pans

17: Mixing bowls, a foreman grill, hodge podge

18: Corningware, deep dishes, hodge podge (disorganized)

19: Blender storage

Under the kitchen sink/in the bar area is where I store all of my cleaning supplies, garbage bags, and vases

All of my cereals, canned goods, bottled water, snacks, sandwich bags, saran wrap are in the pantry. But it's still in a disorganized state. For instance the cereal can be found in two different spots in the pantry, and the sandwich bags are nowhere near the saran wrap or aluminum foil.

I appreciate everyone's input! This gives me a good guide to work from.

[hausfrau]

Jan 5, 2013 17:18:03 GMT -5 lolc said:

Wow these are all great responses, thank you!!! And Hausfrau, I can relate! The kitchen in my old house was much smaller and had much less in the way of cabinets and drawers. And we had a pantry but it wasn't walk in at all. So this is new to me!

Ha! Whenever we move, I'm sure we will have the same "problem" of lots of space and no idea how to use it all. It's great though that you have such a nice workable kitchen area with lots of options for storage.

[TBM]

Jan 5, 2013 17:18:03 GMT -5 lolc said:

Wow these are all great responses, thank you!!! And Hausfrau, I can relate! The kitchen in my old house was much smaller and had much less in the way of cabinets and drawers. And we had a pantry but it wasn't walk in at all. So this is new to me!

I am so jealous....we have a dinky, not very functional kitchen and enough stuff to fill your cabinets and pantry. We actually use all of it and store it in cabinets in our garage for now....I can't wait to find a house with a bigger kitchen.


I like to keep my plastic wrap, sandwich bags, etc. close to where I use them, so in the pantry would not make sense to me. Ours are slightly out of the way now because I switched them with my spices and seasonings, (in a drawer) so that they would be more readily available while cooking, but the wrap/bags/foil aren't so far off that I have to take more than a few steps to reach them.