FIRST STEPS PURGING DEEP CLEAN DEFINE YOUR KITCHEN ZONES

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2 We ll let you in on an early secret: a functional kitchen space will always trump a huge, lavish kitchen. Functionality means finding and maintaining ingenious ways to make your life easier, and to make the kitchen an accommodating space that supports good conversation, good food, and togetherness. A gourmet kitchen may leave your jaw on the floor with its expensive materials and fresh modern style, but if the space is clunky, unorganized, and counter-intuitive to the culinary process, the kitchen isn t functioning as it should. As much as we adore and respect form - Kitchen Art Design is a strong supporter of factoring function into kitchen remodel projects. To achieve this balance, you don t need to banish evidence of life in your kitchen, nor does everything have to live in a labelled container. In this ebook on kitchen organization, we re unpacking our favourite ways to get and stay organized.

3 FIRST STEPS PURGING DEEP CLEAN DEFINE YOUR KITCHEN ZONES

4 To begin a major kitchen organization project, it s always beneficial to begin with a clean slate, this sets your mind at ease and allows you to see your space with fresh eyes, and a renewed sense of optimism. Begin by pulling everything out of its hiding places and taking a good hard look at the problem areas to assess where you should start. Next, create three distinct piles for all of your newly exposed stuff: A donate pile A toss pile A keep pile Think critically about each and every item you unearth from your kitchen drawers, cupboards, cabinets, and pantry. In a slow, rigid process, ask yourself three questions: Is this necessary? Do I use it enough to keep it around? Do I need it, or is it just taking up space?

5 If you find yourself struggling to remember the last time you used a long-lost appliance or a mug you ve found at the back on the top shelf, put it aside in the donate pile and rid your kitchen cabinet of that item. If you stumble upon a coffee grinder, a hand blender, or a pressure cooker that no longer works - or doesn t work for you - consider recycling it, or donating it to an organization that helps families in need. Starting from scratch only works when you re able to rationally and consciously purge, reorganize and distribute these items with objective clarity. Don t keep things you don t use, and don t cling to broken or flawed items that hold minor sentimental value. Free up that space and watch your kitchen space grow and evolve into a more organized space, simply by getting rid of junk. DONATE TOSS IT KEEP Is this necessary? Do I use it enough to keep it around? Do I need it, or is it just taking up space?

6 When your piles have been created and you ve mentally laid out new homes for all of the things in your keep pile, it s time to do a serious deep clean on your entire kitchen space to prepare for the rebuild. We routinely clean our cooking, prep, and waste surfaces; the floors, tile work, backsplash, etc - but underneath the kitchen sink, above the upper cabinets, and in the back of your food storage spaces are rarely - if ever - cleaned thoroughly. Take this opportunity to disinfect, sanitize, and freshen up these long-lost corners of the kitchen and benefit from knowing there s no crumbs, spills, mildew or mold in the space when you begin re-assembling your stuff.

7 This stage is crucial. You ve purged the unnecessary things in your kitchen, reorganized your approach to restocking your goods, and you ve deep cleaned the entire room. Now is the time to prep for re-organization by grouping drawers and cabinet uses into zones. Begin this step by clearly and objectively defining your kitchen zones to work better than before. Outline where and how you use each space, and determine if that use has served you well in the past. Define where things go, and ask yourself if that s the best space for it - if it s not, shift your kitchen zone to better accommodate your needs.

8 For example, let s imagine you re reworking your kitchen work triangle and your utensil drawer has always been just out of reach from your prep space, this is the perfect time to move and optimize your kitchen drawer organization game plan to better serve that zone in your kitchen. Likewise, take stock of where your waste bins are located, and consider moving them to be closer to your food prep space so you're not carting scraps and food trimmings to and from the waste bin on the other side of the kitchen. Align your waste bins so you can easily access them at your food prep space. When it comes to your cooking space, ask yourself where your cooking oils and spices currently live. This is the perfect time to rehouse these items near your cooking area, maybe in the upper cabinets beside your range hood, or on a lazy Susan that sits beside your stove and also houses your cooking utensils.

9 The Advantage of Custom Kitchen Cabinets Custom kitchen organization cabinets are without a doubt, the best ways to getting and staying organized. They re purposebuilt and designed to optimize and streamline your cooking experience, provide lasting quality, and to help you enjoy the process of cooking and entertaining in the heart of your home. Custom kitchen organization is best served by utilizing the insights and experience of a dedicated kitchen designer. These professionals work to strategically gauge and decipher your vision for your updated kitchen by suggesting and catering unique custom cabinetry to suit the needs of your reimagined space. Custom kitchen cabinets are superior in every imaginable way when compared to standard or semi-custom cabinetry. More Durable Higher Quality Materials Better Return on Investment High quality materials and custom manufacturing processes such as dovetail joints, solid wood cabinet boxes, and highgrade hardware ensure a quality and a curated fit like no other cabinetry option. They also provide custom spaces for unorthodox and/or out of place appliances, supplies, or tools. In

10 All kitchens are allowed to have that one drawer affectionately known as the junk drawer. That s a staple drawer of every kitchen in Canada, and it serves its purpose well but that s it. Messy drawers abound spell frustration, lost utensils, and inaccessible tools that are jumbled in a mess of whisks, knives, spoons, and spatulas. Custom kitchen drawer organizers is all about easy access, and making the search for your kitchen tools as painless as possible. When everything has its own designated space within a space, it s so much easier and more convenient to find and use what you need, when you need it.

11 Counter space is a premium amenity in any well-organized kitchen. Optimizing a clean, unobstructed countertop space allows you to prepare and serve food, as well as entertain your family and guests in your space while maintaining clean, open lines that contribute to your space feeling larger. Step one in optimizing your counter space is to find ways to eliminate clutter on your counters. Remove any and all fruit bowls, ornamental centerpieces, appliances, speakers, charging cords, etc. and see what kind of space you re working with. Next is finding space for those appliances that you can t toss. This could include a coffee maker, a smoothie blender, toaster, or cleaning supplies like paper towel. Here s the kicker: those things - while they may be useful and necessary to your lifestyle, they don t have to be front row centre taking up valuable real estate on your counter. Corral those appliances elsewhere to maximize the space and aesthetic appeal of a clear countertop. Finding innovative ways to clear your counter doesn t have to stop at appliance clutter when cooking or preparing food, a large cutting board can get in the way of your supplies, utensils, a cookbook, or can invade much-needed entertaining space. Modern and custom kitchen base cabinets can include hidden slide-away cutting boards or butcher blocks as a means of preserving counter space. Aesthetically, a cluttered counter will always appear messy - despite the time and effort you may put into making it look organized; it s always going to look like you ve left things out - so make a calculated effort to clear your counter to help show off your useable space, boosting visual appeal and functionality.

12 Any good ebook about organization needs a solid section to intuitive and innovative storage hacks. The dedicated object of the quintessential hack list is to shed light on ingenious ways to make use of neglected and forgotten spaces. Location, Location, Location Hang Those Coffee Mugs Display Pots and Pans Sort Your Cooking Utensils Rise Up! Easy Access Pantry Use Your Cabinet Doors Store Similar Items Together

13 This stage is crucial. You ve purged the unnecessary things in your kitchen, reorganized your approach to restocking your goods, and you ve deep cleaned the entire room. Now is the time to prep for reorganization by grouping drawers and cabinet uses into zones. Begin this step by clearly and objectively defining your kitchen zones to work better than before. Outline where and how you use each space, and determine if that use has served you well in the past. Define where things go, and ask yourself if that s the best space for it - if it s not, shift your kitchen zone to better accommodate your needs.

14 In a similar fashion to the visual appeal of open shelves and transparent cabinetry, hanging your favourite matching set of coffee mugs in the kitchen is a great way to make the morning routine easier and quicker - and also makes your kitchen more easily accessible for guests. Instead of feeling like a fish out of water, guests benefit from being able to find a mug for after dinner coffee or tea â helping a guest feel at home is the essence of entertaining and sharing your space with family and friends. Displaying your mugs in the open also ushers in a sense of practicality and of humanity. Hiding your dishware and appliances is clever and contributes to a streamline visual appeal, but it also detracts from showcasing the fact that you love and use your kitchen as it should be used. Showing off a few mugs is a simple and easy to demonstrate youâ re someone who appreciates simplicity.

15 Similar to displaying your mugs or glassware, publicly showcasing your pots and pans is another great way to free up custom cabinet storage space, and visually cue that your kitchen is a functional, practical space. It doesn t hurt that exposed pots and pans hanging from a rack above the kitchen island is a chic and utilitarian style these days. Utensil drawers are like black holes of hopelessness - finding the right spoon, your favourite cooking knife, or a spatula can be difficult and frustrating, so taking some time to organize your drawers into curated utensil storage spaces makes cooking easy

16 Maximizing space in hard-to-reach top shelves and upper cabinets is easily kept well-organized when you use risers to maximize your available space. Risers also help to organize awkwardly shaped bowls, casserole dishes, and special glassware like Shiraz or rocks glasses, martini mixers, silverware, and other seldom used items. Having an easily accessible pantry from which to store, find, and use your dry goods in the kitchen is key to understanding and optimizing organization. But having easy access to your pantry doesn t have to mean having one massive space that holds all of your food. Rather than packing your fridge, or dry food pantry so full that it becomes impossible to find the ingredient youâ re looking for, find ways to spread your dry goods around your kitchen in optimized spaces where you use them regularly. This could include storing avocados, garlic, or cooking onions nearby your stove top rather than out of the way in the larger storage pantry.

17 A great way to minimize countertop clutter is to utilize the backs of your base cabinet doors for unsightly things like dish scrubbers, or tea towels. Invest in a few 3M hooks or adhesive strips to make use of the backs of your cabinet doors to store rags, dish soap, and other utensils in a space that also contributes to keeping the space under the sink well organized and clutter free. The same goes for the back of your pantry door. Adding storage racks to the back of a full size pantry door is a clever and practical way to boost the storage space in your pantry and keep popular spices or ingredients within reach.

18 Group like items to further streamline the organizational process. Looking for a Tupperware container to store some leftovers? That same cabinet could also house travel mugs. Searching for a mixing bowl? That same cupboard should also house measuring cups. Grouping similar items together is all about ensuring your kitchen accoutrement is easily accessible, and readily available. Thereâ s nothing worse than going on a wild goose chase for a rogue Tupperware lid to fit the container; so store them together!

19 Kitchen organization is labourof love. It takes effort, and that s OK. Here are a few ways to tackle sticking to your plan. Kitchen organization isn t a perfect science. You ll organize and optimize your kitchen space in the way you feel will benefit you the most, only to unearth practical roadblocks that can t easily be foreseen until you re using them but you ll learn and adapt asyou go, helping you to refine your efforts and stay organized longer. If something feels out of place, or you find yourself scrounging for a stored appliance a few times per week -reconsider how you can better serve yourself. This is a learning game, not a be-all-end-all science. The same mantra of adaptation goes for areas of your kitchen. If your coffee bar gets in the way of your dish washing, or your food prep space, it doesn t matter how good it looks or how organized it is -it s causing you a headache and the point of organization is to decrease and eliminate the likelihood of feeling overwhelmed or lost. If you find you stand in front of a drawer that others in the kitchen need access to as you cook consider how to optimize youruse of that area and move elsewhere. Stuff will pile up. Areas of your kitchen will become cluttered. Appliances will sit on the counter. And that s totally acceptable -you re a human being, and kitchens are the busiest room in the house. To combat the perpetual pile up of items, take 30 minutes eachweek to declutteran area of the kitchen to stay on top of the organization work you ve done to get this far. As part of your declutter, always do a quick tidy as well. Cleanliness and organization go hand in hand, and it ll aid in feeling like you re on top of things.

20 Good kitchen design is a double-edged sword. It s just as much about the visual appeal of a space as it is about everyday use and practicality. Good health always begins with the heart. Getting and staying organized in the kitchen shows you care about the heart of your home. Taking care of the space your family lives in the most is part-and-parcel to good homeownership practices, and contributes to less stress, more family time, and fewer urges to purge your kitchen once per month and start fresh. We encourage everyone who values their health of the heart of their home to invest the time needed to optimize and organize this space that s become so pivotal to human culture.

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