Marni Jameson
At a time when most expectant parents are nesting, my daughter and her husband removed the kitchen. There was sawdust flying, workers buzzing about, and plates, glasses, pantry items, utensils, pots, pans, cans, and cooking equipment all left in the adjacent living room as if someone had thrown a grenade. This is what nesting looks like.
When baby George arrived four days earlier than expected, eager to know what all the fuss was about, Paige and Adam had just finished rushing to move things in, making game-time decisions about where to put what. Though they were grateful for their beautiful new kitchen and a new baby, having everything in its right place wasn't a priority.
Scene change: Meanwhile, in Florida, I've booked a flight to Colorado to meet and “help” my newborn grandson. On the flight, I have a mantra in mind: Number one, add value. Number two, don't overdo it.
Anyone else reading this…
At the risk of being a mother-in-law (me?), I waited until the second day of my visit to tell them I knew a great kitchen organizer in the area and wanted to call him/her…just make sure to remember to print “Fools Rush In” on a t-shirt.
“It means no interruptions,” I whispered to Paige and Adam, trying not to wake the baby, as the three of us stood in the kitchen. “I'm not saying that you don't have a perfectly organized and logical kitchen! But maybe this organizer can suggest ways to organize your kitchen better and save you time.” Sleep and save time are the two words new parents desire most.
I instantly regretted making this presumptuous offer. Why did I think the idea would be accepted? George opened his eyes and let out a soft squeal. Paige and Adam looked at each other, then at me, and then, to my surprise and delight, probably due to severe sleep deprivation, shrugged their shoulders and said, “Sure!”
Twenty years ago, I met Mary Rogers, a healthy cooking instructor and kitchen organizer from Boulder, Colorado. I was living in Colorado and invited her to my home for a column. She taught me to watch the way I moved around in the kitchen. For example, when I was making scrambled eggs, I would open the fridge to get the eggs, take five steps to get the pan, take another five steps to get the salt, and so on.
“It's math,” Rogers says. “Five extra seconds to grab your ingredients, bowls, and tools may not seem like a big deal, but soon those five seconds become 20 seconds, which becomes a minute. Over a week, it becomes 10 minutes, and over a month, it becomes an hour.” She set up my coffee stand so I could make coffee without moving my feet.
“If your kitchen isn't efficient, you're not going to want to cook,” she says. “If cooking is a hassle, you're not going to cook healthy meals.”
After a quick tour of Paige and Adam's kitchen, Rogers noticed how quickly they prepared properly. They limited their cooking utensils to only what they would use. “In most homes, tidying up is the first step,” she says, “but not here.” They knew they wanted to keep important appliances and food close by, so they kept silverware, glasses, and dishes near the dishwasher.
She then offered the following steps and suggestions to make the couple's new kitchen more efficient:
• Place ingredients where you'll cook them. Cooking ingredients like oil, spices, vinegar, and canned goods should be near the stove. Paige and Adam kept their spices in a drawer near the stove, but when they opened the drawer they could see the lids. They had to pull out each spice one by one to know what it was. Rogers suggested labeling the lids or making an angled spice rack for the drawers. Paige and Adam made a rack. You could also use a turntable. Arrange your spices in alphabetical order.
• Eliminate trips to the pantry. One of Roger's biggest pet peeves is seeing his cooks make trips back and forth to the pantry. He uses the pantry to store extra items like condiments, canned goods, and paper towels, as well as plates and utensils that aren't used often (like a waffle iron). The pantry is also a great place to store snacks that aren't needed for cooking, so Rogers moved those items out of the preparation area and into the pantry.
• Narrow your caddy. Many kitchens have utensil caddies that are filled with tools that cooks rarely use, says Rogers. “So when you take one out, three more come out with it.” Narrow your caddy to hold only the six to 10 utensils you use most often. Move the rest to a nearby drawer.
• Store dishes, glasses and cutlery near the dishwasher. The second best place is near the kitchen table, where it's easy to set the table – and if you can do both, even better. Similarly, store dish towels near the sink and potholders near the stove.
• Clear counters. Keep appliances off the counter, especially those in the cooking triangle between the sink, refrigerator, and stove, unless they're appliances you use often. This will make your kitchen look better and give you more space to mix ingredients or chop vegetables.
• Mix in some cuteness. That being said, Rogers praises any move that makes the kitchen a cozy place, including adding functional decor like a beautiful set of salt and pepper mills, a handmade wooden cutting board, a pretty fruit bowl, or pretty linen dish towels.
• Use boxes strategically. Paige and Adam made good use of labeled boxes for flour, sugar, dog treats, and nuts, but Rogers saw other areas where they could be used, like storing cleaning products under the sink. “Putting them in pull-out boxes makes it easy to access the products.”
After getting used to their new normal, Paige and Adam both admitted that the kitchen organizer was a great idea. “We loved our new kitchen before, but now it's even better,” Paige said. Phew!
Marni Jameson is the author of seven books, including the recently published “Rightsize Today to Create Your Best Life Tomorrow,” “What to Do With Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want,” and “Downsizing the Family Home.” She can be contacted at www.marnijameson.com.
