One of the many blessings that we got in this house was a large kitchen with quite a bit of cabinet space. When we moved in, I set everything up in a way that mimicked they way my mom organized dishes in my childhood home. It had been tested and approved, so it had to be the best solution, right?
I spent that last 31 days following a series on Domestic Fashionista called
31 Days of Creative Homemaking. In Ashley's post about her kitchen layout, I realized that my ow kitchen is not as efficient as it could be. Not that moms way of doing things was wrong, it's just that her kitchen was laid out differently. I wanted to put everything in the spot where I would use it most. Then I began the great shuffle. Poor hubby woke up in another dimension! (Have I ever mentioned how great he is at putting up with my crazy antics? He just shrugs his shoulders and say "whatever you like best honey". I heart him!)
Anyway here are some pictures of my final layout.
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| I moved all of our dishes to the cabinets near the table. I put the everyday stuff on the lower shelf and the extras for parties up higher. I also put the silverware in the drawer below. I wanted it to be close to the eating area to make it easy for the kids to set the table. |
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| For the most part I just cleaned out the pantry. After removing expired food items I organized everything so that there is nothing on the floor and so that I had room on my top shelf for all of my white platters and serving dishes. |
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| I moved the cups next to the refrigerator. I did have them over the washer but then we were having to walk around the island, across the kitchen to get our drinks. We don't use the glass cups as often as we used to because they tend to get broken from little hands picking them up, so those are higher up, along with my stemware for special occasions. |
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| In the cabinet below the cups, I put the storage containers. I like that they are right next to the fridge and the table. I usually serve dinner "family style", so all of the left overs can be packed up straight from the table. We also pack daddy's lunch at the island which is right next to this area so that is helpful. |
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| Above the stove/oven is all of my baking supplies and spices. These were relocated from the cabinet by the table, it is nice to have things within arms reach while doing prep at the island or cooking on the stove. |
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| Under that area are all of my pots and pans, pretty self explanatory. To the right are all of my candles and vases. I put them there mostly because they are the only space big enough to hold the tall items and because my gas shut off valve needs to be easily accessible. I used the broiler to make some salmon and the heat didn't seem to effect the wax at all. |
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| Next to the dishwasher are two thin cabinets, I used one for all of my dish washing supplies and the other for my tea pot, pitchers and drink mixes. |
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| Before the big move, under my island was not utilized very well. I had my trash can and cleaning supply bin down there... why?? So after a nice long scrub down, I moved my appliances and dutch oven down there. I always do my prep in this area but for some reason I was lugging my heavy Kitchen Aid across the room every time I wanted to bake. just having to lift it up is much better in my opinion! |
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| Last, I moved my plastic bags and foil into a drawer, before they were in a skinny lower shelf but it was always a mess with bags all over the place and boxes falling over themselves. I hope this works out better for us. |
I didn't think this project would ever end but after several hours and my Pandora Dance Cardio Mix... it is done! And I actually have a few empty cabinets and drawers! I had to catch myself going to the old layout when cooking dinner but I am sure after a few times unloading the dishwasher, we will all be used to it.
Have you ever changed up your kitchen to work better for you? Do you feel the need to?
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