Whether you are trying to get or stay healthy, looking to set a good example for your kids, or are just tired of fighting clutter in your kitchen, here are some tips for keeping your kitchen organized.
1. Keep your counters clear, or at least don’t use them as an overflow pantry. A 2015 Cornell study found that what’s on your counter might predict your weight. Women who stored snacks, cereals and sodas on their countertop were on average 20 pounds overweight, compared to women who stored fruit on their counters who were normal weight.
2. Organize your fridge and freezer before you go shopping. No, really, organizing your fridge should take about 10 minutes, and that’s time that you will save once you are in the store. It can help you avoid re-buying things you already have, as well as rebuying things your family never quite gets around to eating.
3. Make sure it’s easy to see in your pantry. Use step risers, clear bins that are labeled, and ensure there is lighting in the pantry to help keep it organized. If you can’t see in your pantry, hire an electrician. The money you save from not throwing out stale mystery foods will easily pay for the electrician’s time.
4. Learn how to build meals with staple foods. Many of these staple foods don’t expire, or they only go bad after a very long time. Beans, grains, quinoa, dried fruit, honey, whole kernel popcorn and winter squash are some great pantry staples.
[bctt tweet=”Women who store snacks, cereals and sodas on their countertop are on average 20 pounds overweight, compared to women who store fruit on their counters and are normal weight. That’s a great reason to get organized in the kitchen! https://heartworkorg.com/” username=”DarlaDeMorrow”]
You can honestly organize your kitchen using what you have right now! But once you’ve gone through the first three steps of SORT and Succeed, if you want to tweak your space a bit more, here are some of my favorite organizing supplies you might consider to keep your kitchen organized:
1. Make it easier to store healthy foods on your organized counter with the VeggieDome, a “cookie jar” for your fruits and veggies.
2. Label items in your fridge and freezer with colorful label tape.
3. Pantry step risers should be in every pantry!
4. Lids, lids, and more lids are a common cause of kitchen clutter. Finally get them organized with this clever, easy to install pull-out lid organizer.
5. Batteries clutter up the kitchen drawers so fast, and who knows if they are every fresh or dead? This handy battery organizer can be mounted on the wall to get batteries out of your junk drawer, has plenty of storage, and has a handy built in tester.
6. Use simple mason jars with erasable labels to store long-lasting dry goods in your pantry, and eliminate the disorganization that comes from slippery plastic, bagged goods.
7. The best organizing tool is an organizing system that works. Not sure how to get started? These five simple steps will help you organize your kitchen and everything else in your home.
