Solving the Utensil Dilemma
We all know that half of the battle in the kitchen, or anywhere in life really, is staying organized. I’ve been a bit OCD about this for the last few years, which you are bound to pick up on if you stick with me on this journey. With as much kitchen gadgetry as I have, it’s vital to have a place for everything. My poor husband and boys have had to deal with many a kitchen (and whole-house) rearranging, but I am a slave to efficiency in my old age (tee-hee), so they just have to deal.
Since I have made it my personal mission to learn how to make many things myself the last few years, I usually have at least one recipe going from scratch at any given time. This, as you may guess, uses up a lot of utensils, measuring cups and spoons and since I hate washing dishes, I need a lot of back ups. Also, this house is due for a major kitchen overhaul, starting with drawers that are, I kid you not, less than three inches deep. Not even deep enough to hold a ladle. Thankfully, on one of my pilgrimages to IKEA (it’s about 4 hours away and is my happy place), I was struck with inspiration.
I decided to get all of my most oft used tools and organized them in an easy to reach fashion. so first, I purchased a curtain hanging system, and though its sounds odd, it’s perfect for utensils.
The kit comes with the anchors, wire and clips and is incredibly easy to install with just a tape measure and a drill. I hung it above and to the rear of my stove where I can easily grab what I need and this makes things much more simple when my boys unload the dishwasher. No more, “MOM! Where does this go?” and if that does happen, my reply can be, “Did you forget how to read, my gifted child?” Yes, I’m afraid my sarcasm spills over into my parenting. It was inevitable.
Here’s the link to the product:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60075295/
I feel like I have to add that I normally don’t have cardboard blocking the area between my kitchen and living room, but the back light from the sun through the windows was too bright not to block out for a picture.
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Measuring Cups and Spoons Set Free From Messy Drawer Bondage!
My second idea is even easier, born out of desperation because I really needed somewhere for my measuring cups and spoons, kitchen scissors and other miscellaneous tools. With the utensil holder working nicely, I started looking for other places to hang the essentials.
Under my low-hung cabinets where things like coffee pots and Kitchenaid mixers don’t fit was a perfect place to start. I simply took a 1″ X 2″ piece of strapping and cut it to the length I needed to fit under my cabinets, spraying it with red Rustoleum 2X paint. Yeah, I’m on a red kick lately.
When the paint was dry, I measured and put a mark every 2 inches, then drilled a small hole, twisting in one of these little hooks found at most hardware, grocery and even dollar stores:
I then added labels (Did I mention that I am a wee bit OCD?) so that I could keep them in order and the non-OCD trio with which I live could empty the dishwasher without going insane.
The end result is awesomely efficient! My kids can put things in their place (the husband hasn’t quite figured it out yet) and I know exactly where to grab what I need without digging in a messy drawer. This also helps the boys when I’m teaching them to cook things and is a good excuse to play with the panoramic camera on my phone.
So there you have it for today. Easy steps that make a huge difference.
Suburban Homestead Nerd 