In order to make the most of our Dallas kitchen storage solutions, it’s important to first become what we call a “Streamlined Chef.” This kind of home cook who embraces the necessity of a well-stock kitchen, but balances this need against the benefits and aesthetic potential of a clean, minimalist space.
We’re the first to admit that kitchens are simply more work to keep clean than the rest of the home. Embracing a healthy lifestyle means cooking at least once per day, even for single professionals who work long hours. Dishes tend to stack up, appliances accumulate on counter tops, and the front of the refrigerator disappears under layers of paper.
However, with the right methods and custom organization solutions for your home kitchen, we think virtually anyone can become a streamlined chef! The same powerful decluttering and regrouping techniques we’ve throughout our blog still apply to the home kitchen, provided you pay strong attention to how you really care for—and want to use—your space.
1. Clear Off the Counter Tops
The magic of the modern kitchen is also its downfall. While counter top appliances like stand mixers, blenders, espresso machines, and burr grinders are wonderful tools that have made world-class culinary techniques available to the home cook, it can also be an absolute nightmare to try to navigate around these tools when cooking.
Even in a large kitchen, we advise our clients to limit counter top appliances to no more than three (though aiming for two is usually best). Examine your habits, then decide: which two or three appliances do you use most? Keep those on the counter.
The rest should be stored where you can easily retrieve and replace them. You likely do not have the space yet, but after following this tutorial and working with our custom storage experts, you’ll have no problem tucking that pressure cooker out of sight.
2. Downsize Your Cookware
When assessing cookware, it can be difficult to decide to downsize. Assuming your cookware is in good shape, it can all look equally worth keeping.
In such cases, it can be helpful to consider which items you’ve used in the past year. Wedding gifts, hand-me-downs, and items purchased on impulse are the most common clutter culprits!
If an item of cookware has not been used this year or last, donate it to a family in need.
3. That’s Too Many Knives
Admittedly, we can’t see your knife drawer from here, but you probably have too many knives. If you’re not a professional chef, you kneed:
- One very good cook’s knife
- A bread knife
- One paring knife
If you serve large cuts of meat often, you may want to add a carving set to this list. We find that the average family tends to have in excess of TEN knives in their kitchen. Rather than investing in storage and display solutions for these (often) low-quality knives, we suggest downsizing to a few high-quality knives.
4. Aunt Mildred Never Liked Those Dishes
This phrase can be useful when assessing heirloom pieces. Sometimes items have inherent value, but other times keeping hand-me-downs can be living in a home stuffed full of items you don’t even enjoy.
Realizing that it’s possible the original owner didn’t enthusiastically choose these items can be helpful when you’re trying to let go of things you yourself don’t love. Maybe Aunt Mildred was gifted these dishes in the first place!
You deserve a kitchen that works for your life. You do not have to pay to store items just because they used to belong to someone you loved.
5. Determine Your Kitchen’s Purpose
Today’s home kitchen has become a congregating zone for the whole family. The family togetherness this represents is wonderful, but less warm and fuzzy are the piles of belongings that get left behind on counters and stool seats.
By determining the proper purpose for each zone of the kitchen, it can be easier to enforce boundaries around tidiness. If the counters are “food prep zones,” for example, one would never place a purse or backpack there.
Make sure everything you own has a proper place, and then do not deviate from your design.
6. Embrace Proper Storage Solutions
Once your tower of kitchen “stuff” has been reduced to manageable proportions, it becomes simple for a Dallas Custom Closets storage professionals to step in and help you determine the perfect storage solutions for your kitchen.
Once streamlined, organized, and recreated with a clear sense of purpose, your kitchen will better suit your pursuit of a happy, healthy life. Contact us when you are ready to begin creating your custom storage solutions. We look forward to working with you!
