Room by Room: Kitchen (Gadgets)

I'm going to dedicate the next number of posts to ideas for each room of the house. We'll start with one of my favorite places...the kitchen.

Utensil Drawer Before

I mentioned last time that I was going to sort through my kitchen utensils and gadgets. It feels so good to have this finished! I have a whole drawer dedicated to my gadgets as well as part of a silverware drawer and a utensil crock on the counter. Honestly, I had a problem pulling the drawer all the way out to empty it. There was too much stuff jammed at the back. I finally got it out and carried the drawer to the dishwasher so that I could run everything through a fast wash (see below). As I loaded, I counted. Though I thought I'd have more, there were around 75 gadgets, spoons, and serving pieces. And yes, I'm a Pampered Chef-a-holic!

A Quick Wash

I wiped out the drawers and hand-washed the utensil crock and silverware divider while everything else was in the dishwasher. Where did all the crumbs come from?

As I emptied the dishwasher, I reviewed each item, and tried to think of what recipes I used it for and when. There were a handful of things I knew that I hadn't used in a long time (a melon baller, a second meat thermometer, mesh sieves, corn cob handles, etc). I packed those into a box and labeled it with the date. If more than a year goes by without me needing something from the box, those items are going to the thrift shop or to be sold at a yard sale. I like a year, because it allows you to go through a full cycle of holidays and seasonal recipes.

As I was reloading the drawers and crock, I tried to group things together--spatulas (or if you prefer, rubber scrapers), serving items, wooden spoons, cutting tools, both can openers (one top, one side), so on and so forth. Here's the final result below. Now, to make sure I take a little extra care to put things away nicely after I use them in the future!

Silverware Drawer After

Utensil Drawer After

One other idea that I have for you: Pick up a second or third set of inexpensive measuring cups and spoons. Keep a cup or spoon in the container with frequently used items. For instance, there's a one cup measure in my flour canister and a half cup in the sugar. The majority of my recipes use those ingredients in similar proportions. We have a third cup in our oatmeal, and a tablespoon in our coffee. This cuts down on how often I wash/put away those utensils since they are always touching the same thing, and it can really help with the pre-coffee morning fog.

Happy Cooking!