That's a good list. Covers a lot of ground with general, applicable advice. It touches upon something I've been thinking about in broader terms. It mentions keeping morning items – tea/coffee, a...
That's a good list. Covers a lot of ground with general, applicable advice.
It touches upon something I've been thinking about in broader terms. It mentions keeping morning items – tea/coffee, a cup or two, sugar, tea spoons etc. – in their own little corner together, as a way to streamline your morning. I've been looking into doing similar things for a while:
Since I spend a lot of time at the work desk, by the laptop, and since I eat there, too, I could keep a separate bin by the desk. Instead of collecting small pieces of garbage – finished bottles, wrappers, tea bags, fruit leftovers – which accumulate quickly on a small desk, I could chuck them into the desk bin, then collect both bins every once in a while.
In my limited kitchen space, I keep much of the tea/coffee-making parts – the kettle, a French press of the drink of choice, and a dedicated spoon – in one corner. This spoon gets special attention – I always wash it immediately after use – but it serves me well, so it deserves it.
When my sister moved out of the apartment, she left a handful of her own kitchen lifehacks, including the pad. It's a small cotton(?) cover the size of your small cutting board. It's the housing for all items of frequent use that are washed or otherwise come in contact with water: the drinking glass for water, the knives, plus whatever small item that may need drying. If you put the drinking glass upside down on the pad, it dries downwards, so the salt from the local water doesn't end up dry on the bottom of the glass.
I've been doing this with a folded paper towel which I replace once in a few days, it's pretty nice as I lack a drying rack (besides not having any space for that anyway!).
When my sister moved out of the apartment, she left a handful of her own kitchen lifehacks, including the pad. It's a small cotton(?) cover the size of your small cutting board. It's the housing for all items of frequent use that are washed or otherwise come in contact with water: the drinking glass for water, the knives, plus whatever small item that may need drying. If you put the drinking glass upside down on the pad, it dries downwards, so the salt from the local water doesn't end up dry on the bottom of the glass.
I've been doing this with a folded paper towel which I replace once in a few days, it's pretty nice as I lack a drying rack (besides not having any space for that anyway!).
Our apartment is new construction (we were literally the first people to occupy it), and it's laid out with more than ample kitchen storage space. We did start with a dedicated coffee/tea/cereal...
Our apartment is new construction (we were literally the first people to occupy it), and it's laid out with more than ample kitchen storage space.
We did start with a dedicated coffee/tea/cereal cabinet right out of the gate. It's been a great help for those bleary-eyed, zombie mornings when you're not certain where you left your head, let alone the tea things.
As there've been months of hasty, unplanned cramming in of things, we're not using all that space well. As I organize, I'm struggling a bit with grouping things by use, rather than in accordance with some mathematically perfect packing algorithm. Kitchen cabinet space is a luxury I haven't had to deal with before, and it clearly influences those perfect magazine photos.
We have accumulated a quantity of esoteric cooking utensils over the years, and they make drawer organization painful. [I'll never part with the melon baller, spouse has a cherry pitter he's very attached to, and yes, there are other uses for each tool.] The pantry has discoveries, like "when did the flour beetles move in?"
There's quite a bit of work here for those stuck indoors without other urgent things to do. I'm finding that it's stress-reducing to have both the physical activity and the resulting streamlined...
There's quite a bit of work here for those stuck indoors without other urgent things to do. I'm finding that it's stress-reducing to have both the physical activity and the resulting streamlined space. It's also an opportunity to gather any items you may have for donation.
Feel free to discuss any unusual finds, tips, donation opportunities, re-purposing, or other ideas below.
That's a good list. Covers a lot of ground with general, applicable advice.
It touches upon something I've been thinking about in broader terms. It mentions keeping morning items – tea/coffee, a cup or two, sugar, tea spoons etc. – in their own little corner together, as a way to streamline your morning. I've been looking into doing similar things for a while:
Since I spend a lot of time at the work desk, by the laptop, and since I eat there, too, I could keep a separate bin by the desk. Instead of collecting small pieces of garbage – finished bottles, wrappers, tea bags, fruit leftovers – which accumulate quickly on a small desk, I could chuck them into the desk bin, then collect both bins every once in a while.
In my limited kitchen space, I keep much of the tea/coffee-making parts – the kettle, a French press of the drink of choice, and a dedicated spoon – in one corner. This spoon gets special attention – I always wash it immediately after use – but it serves me well, so it deserves it.
When my sister moved out of the apartment, she left a handful of her own kitchen lifehacks, including the pad. It's a small cotton(?) cover the size of your small cutting board. It's the housing for all items of frequent use that are washed or otherwise come in contact with water: the drinking glass for water, the knives, plus whatever small item that may need drying. If you put the drinking glass upside down on the pad, it dries downwards, so the salt from the local water doesn't end up dry on the bottom of the glass.
I've been doing this with a folded paper towel which I replace once in a few days, it's pretty nice as I lack a drying rack (besides not having any space for that anyway!).
Our apartment is new construction (we were literally the first people to occupy it), and it's laid out with more than ample kitchen storage space.
We did start with a dedicated coffee/tea/cereal cabinet right out of the gate. It's been a great help for those bleary-eyed, zombie mornings when you're not certain where you left your head, let alone the tea things.
As there've been months of hasty, unplanned cramming in of things, we're not using all that space well. As I organize, I'm struggling a bit with grouping things by use, rather than in accordance with some mathematically perfect packing algorithm. Kitchen cabinet space is a luxury I haven't had to deal with before, and it clearly influences those perfect magazine photos.
We have accumulated a quantity of esoteric cooking utensils over the years, and they make drawer organization painful. [I'll never part with the melon baller, spouse has a cherry pitter he's very attached to, and yes, there are other uses for each tool.] The pantry has discoveries, like "when did the flour beetles move in?"
There's quite a bit of work here for those stuck indoors without other urgent things to do. I'm finding that it's stress-reducing to have both the physical activity and the resulting streamlined space. It's also an opportunity to gather any items you may have for donation.
Feel free to discuss any unusual finds, tips, donation opportunities, re-purposing, or other ideas below.