Nobody likes the look of clutter.

So far, 2018 has been the year of self-care.

We’re all scheduling time in to sit and read, or colour, we’re cancelling plans just to get an early night, and setting our alarms for earlier to ensure that we get a great breakfast to fuel our days.

But the ultimate self-care task has always been, and will always be, the art of organisation.

Cleaning, decluttering and organising our spaces is the most practical way to clear space in our minds, generating the most satisfying feeling afterwards.

We’re all going crazy for bullet journals, innovative storage hacks and capsule wardrobes, and the mantra that your space is far more valuable than your possessions is becoming ever more popular.

But if you’re not quite ready to throw out three quarters of your worldly possessions, and paint everything in shades of brilliant white just yet, then why not ease yourself in gently with some of our top tips below on how to organise your kitchen?

 

1. Ok, you’re going to have to throw some stuff out

This seems obvious, but it can be the most painful part. We’re not just talking about out of date produce or mismatched crockery that was bought for your first university house decades ago.

You’re going to need to get rid of some of the bigger stuff, like those appliances that you never use.

Believe it or not, if you keep on top of your washing up, you don’t actually need 9 or 10 mismatched plates!

The more space you can make now, the easier our next job will be.

2. Start using that dead space

You know those annoying spaces in tiny nooks or far at the back of corner cupboards, where it’s neigh-on impossible to reach?

It’s time to start using that space.

Pull-out spice racks, hangers for the back of your cupboards and tension rods are great to create emergency hanging space or drawer separators.

The chances are that with a little bit of creative space usage, you’ll unlock a wealth of previously untouched space in your kitchen.

3. Create purposed work zones in your kitchen

Categorise spaces in your kitchen into cleaning, cooking, preparation, and storage for non-consumables and consumables.

This is relatively easy to do with any sized kitchen or style.

It means that you should keep your pots and pans close to your cooker, your cleaning products close to your sink, your dry food should be stored close to your fridge, and your crockery and utensils in one place.

This way, not only is everything that you need for the task that you’re completing much easier to reach, but it makes clean-up so much easier too.

4. Meal prep

There’s nothing more frustrating than having to mercilessly throw out unused, unopened food produce because it’s surpassed its use by date.

It’s like setting fire to your money, and food shopping isn’t getting any cheaper.

One great way to combat this is to meal plan for the week, and only buy the specific ingredients that you’ll need without deviating for the plan.

You might need a chalk board or a pin board to display your plan so that you can easily organise yourself throughout the week for this one.

5. Make your food visible

For the more spontaneous amongst us, the idea of tying yourself to a strict meal plan for the week seems horribly claustrophobic and regimented.

What happens if you don’t fancy stir fry on Thursday, but if you make something else you’ll be leaving mismatched ingredients behind?

For the freer spirited person, it’s a great idea to display your food clearly and transparently.

‘Transparently’ is meant in its most literal form; you should purchase transparent containers for foods like cereal, pasta, oats and biscuits.

Ideally they’ll all match and be selected for their efficient space saving properties, but we can’t win them all.

The idea is that you’ll be able to open your pantry door and actually see all of the food that you have in at the moment, and plan a meal this way, so you’re less likely to forget about long lasting ingredients.

6. If you’re tight on space, It’s time to start getting creative

There are loads of quirky things that you can do to create storage or give items a dual purpose, thus saving space.

A great example is attaching magnets to everyday products – like utensils, and storing them on your fridge front.

Some companies even manufacture products specifically for this, like magnetised spice containers!

7. Make decorations out of your everyday items

Pretty mugs can be hung from cupboards for a farmhouse feel, cake stands can be used as fruit bowls or as centrepieces for dining tables or breakfast bar.

The creative possibilities are endless! With each quirky decoration that you make, more cupboard space is saved.

8. Or you could install screw hooks to the top of that pesky corner cupboard

That way, you can hang pots in size order inside your cupboards.

Not only will you save space, but imagine how much easier life will be when you can reach for the wok with ease.

Forget having to lift umpteen frying pans out first.

Each pan can have its own dedicated hook, and in time you’ll be able to reach for the one you need without even looking. If that isn’t the dream, then we don’t know what is.

9. You can also buy pan separators

You could say they do the same job, but they definitely aren’t as fun.

They’re great if you’ve got less time on your hands. You can get ones for your baking trays too, which means that the godawful noise that ensues when the pesky things slide out of their pile and onto the floor, will be no more.

All in all, the skill is in examining your space critically.

Utilising vertical space, awkward space and little bits of wasted space with quirky, innovative storage hacks is the only way to get the most out of your kitchen.

The ultimate goal is to streamline your possessions so that you only have the stuff that you really need and giving everything its own individual place within your kitchen.

If, once everything is organised, you can stand in your kitchen and identify where each of your belongings are with your eyes closed, then you’ve achieved true organisation hero status.

Go you!

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Visit our kitchen showroom for a range of modern kitchens, storage and organisation ideas.

Call us today on 01706 826 557 or book a kitchen design consultation here.