The kitchen is bursting at the seams and you are desperately looking for new storage space? With the right system you create more space and order. You can find out exactly how this works here.
It is one of the most used rooms and that is exactly why it often sinks into chaos: the kitchen. Although there is plenty of storage space here, the upper and lower cabinets, drawers and shelves are jam-packed. But is it really because you’ve been hoarding more and more groceries in recent years – or could it be that you’ve spread dishes and cutlery, pots and pans, spices and baked goods around the kitchen without any real system? The next time you find yourself looking for something specific for more than five minutes but can’t find it, you might want to rethink your organization system and reorganize the kitchen.
Clean out your kitchen
While it’s not great fun, decluttering is still necessary – and the first step to recovery is clearing out all of the cupboards and drawers that are in your kitchen and sorting out anything that’s broken, duplicated, or unusable . The things either end up in the garbage or you donate the discarded things that are too good to throw away but no longer have a place in your kitchen.
In the second step, you should thoroughly clean the kitchen cupboards and drawers once they have been emptied – you won’t be able to do this anytime soon, so use it! Before you put away any leftover items, it makes sense to divide them into different categories, i.e. crockery and cutlery, pots and pans, tins and spices.
The same applies to your groceries: organize your stocks so that you always have the foods together that you need more often, that you have bought in advance and that you need for cooking. Also pay attention to which foodstuffs are not going to last as long so that they do not end up in the garbage. Incidentally, this does not apply to canned goods – the contents can be consumed for much longer than stated.
Clear out the drawers
Do you also have a kind of “knick knack” drawer in which you store all sorts of things that you think you can use again someday? Then you’ve probably lost track of things long ago. Here you can bring more order into the system by using a sorting aid to use. So-called drawer organizers are available in different sizes and different designs, here is an example:
Always keep everything to hand
Store all household items so that everything you need more often is within reach. In other words, the drawers near the stove are best suited for the cutlery or the spices that you need for cooking – there are also these special missions. Pots and pans should be kept close to the cooking surface, sharp knives close to the work surface: use a space-saving one for this, for example magnetic barthat is attached to the wall.
Make full use of the interior closets
Valuable storage space is wasted all too often: starting with the rubbish bin, which in many households finds a place in the base cabinets. Apart from the fact that leftover food releases moisture and mold forms more quickly, the area can be used very well for other purposes. Better to use a separate one instead trash can with lidwhich you put in the kitchen.
Does your kitchen have a corner cabinet? Then you will surely store a lot of household appliances there that you do not use very often – because they are difficult to reach. Better to use a special one here Corner cabinet swivel fitting, which not only offers space on several levels, but can also be rotated so that you can easily access everything. The cheaper alternative would be a closet roundel.
Sort your groceries Everything you need regularly in the kitchen should be within easy reach © Andrei Dragomir / Getty Images
Regardless of whether you have a pantry or just a drawer or a base cabinet in which you store food: You can also create order here by organizing the stocks systematically. All products that are used the most get the best place. To give you a better overview, storage jars recommended, which you ideally label (don’t confuse salt and sugar) – for example with a label printer.
Create more storage space
It is particularly difficult to create storage space in small kitchens. At least that’s what most people think. The fact is that there are many little tricks that will help you to have more storage space – no matter how big the room is. Use the kitchen cabinet doors to hang smaller items on the inside. There are also special devices for this, such as adjustable ones curtain rods (plus kitchen hooks), a door shelf or even one cabinet insert (e.g. for cups).
Load the fridge properly
You can also create order in the fridge, because what many people don’t know is that every device has different climate zones, i.e. the temperature varies between the individual compartments. If the refrigerator has been set to the recommended average temperature of seven degrees, there are around twelve degrees in the vegetable compartment (at the bottom) and almost four degrees in the top compartment – and that has a good reason to make food last longer. However, eggs, milk and vegetables all like it cold to varying degrees, and some foods even have no place in the refrigerator at all. Therefore, it is best to proceed as follows when clearing.
- As the name suggests, the vegetable compartment at the bottom of the refrigerator is best suited for sensitive foods such as salad, fruit and vegetables – the temperature here is between ten and 13 degrees.
- All food that perishes particularly quickly, such as fresh fish and meat, but also sausage and cheese, should be stored in the bottom compartment – the temperature here is between four and five degrees.
- All dairy products feel particularly comfortable in the middle compartment, i.e. quark and yoghurt dishes, cream and milk, but also fresh eggs – the temperature here is ideally between six and seven degrees.
- The top compartment is the warmest because warm air rises. It is best to store dishes that have already been prepared here, or sauces and jams – the temperature here is between seven and ten degrees.
Tip: You can check the temperatures with a special Thermometer for the fridge.
There are also different climate zones in the refrigerator door. The best way to arrange the food here is as follows:
- Drinks go to the bottom – except for the milk, it’s too warm there for them
- Mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise or dressings go in the middle compartment
- Butter and margarine, i.e. foods that keep for a long time, go into the upper compartment
And one more tip at the end: Tomatoes, lemons, garlic, onions, avocados and bananas do not belong in the refrigerator – these foods should be stored at room temperature, as they cannot develop their full aroma in cold temperatures.
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