I have found the secret:
Think you don't have enough room to put all your stuff away? You don't need a big, country-style kitchen to get organized or cook fabulous meals:
Home cooks in Paris likewise turn out great meals with few gadgets and little space.
It's taken me 45 years to figure this out. Why don't cleaning and organizing gurus tell us this instead of, say, putting on shoes? You can't build an enterprise on advice like this. You can't sell containers if there isn't much to contain. And like a lot of good advice, it isn't easy to take. People would rather hear they can keep all their stuff, shop for more, and still have a place that looks like something out of a magazine.
- Get rid of everything you don't need. Everything. Toaster? Brown your grain-free bread under the broiler. Countertop can opener? Use a hand-held model--get a battery-powered one if needed. Anything that cuts things? Use a knife. Anything you haven't used in a year? Get it out of there.
- Put away everything you don't use daily. Containerized clutter is still clutter. Clean clutter is clutter. Clever clutter is clutter. Get it? A block of knives, a cutting board, a coffee pot, soap, and maybe a juicer or blender should be about all that's left on your counters. Cookbooks can stay, but likewise, clear out cookbooks you rarely use.
- Clean it up. Now that your kitchen is de-cluttered, this should be a snap. You know how it's harder to get ready to paint than it is to actually paint--because you have to paint around things? Same with cleaning: there's nothing hard about moving a paper towel or a soapy sponge around. The hard part is getting the clutter out of the way, cleaning where the clutter was, cleaning the clutter, then putting the clutter back.
Think you don't have enough room to put all your stuff away? You don't need a big, country-style kitchen to get organized or cook fabulous meals:
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| Galley of the Orient Express. Image from http://www.pret-a-voyager.com/2011/10/digesting-the-orient-express/. |
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| Galley of the Maharajas Express, where they make... |
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| ...food like this. See more images at http://www.the-maharajas.com/maharajas/maharajas-train-kitchen.html |
It's taken me 45 years to figure this out. Why don't cleaning and organizing gurus tell us this instead of, say, putting on shoes? You can't build an enterprise on advice like this. You can't sell containers if there isn't much to contain. And like a lot of good advice, it isn't easy to take. People would rather hear they can keep all their stuff, shop for more, and still have a place that looks like something out of a magazine.
Comments
In my Florida house we have an open floor plan, and I like it. It is like a huge kitchen I have never had before, even though our real estate agent told us our kitchen was designed for the people who didn't cook much - not enough of cooking surfaces.
My kitchen needs to be updated - Formica counter-top looks shabby, and linoleum floors are worn out. It was new 14 years ago. We opted for cheapest options because bank requested from us a 30% down-payment -because we were then on a working visa. On a positive side - it allowed us to be mortgage-free in 7 years after the purchase . My husband doesn't like to live through renovations, so we are not ready to start yet. I was thinking about stainless-still countertops, but he didn't like the idea.
Stainless steel countertops would be durable and sanitary, but a little industrial for a house.
And mortgage-free in seven years--rock on!
I'm ready to give up on the compost pail sitting by the washing machine. I have a composter outside, but nothing seems to rot here in the land of fossils. And the food scraps splatter when I put the in the bucket, even though I'm careful.
Yes, the industrial look of steel countertops is what my husband objects - it wouldn't be fitting for the kitchen inside a living space idea. Since walls painting doesn't require his consent, it is up to date - I am the designated painter/decorator in our household. Our maple cabinets look good against dark green olive paint. Other walls in the house are different shades of sage, floor is lite grey. I have many pictures on walls, even in the kitchen there is an oil painting of a still life with red/green peppers, eggplant and garlic.
I keep and use some of my gadgets (foreman grill, pressure cooker, toaster oven) in the garage in order not to heat house, so it is not inside my kitchen, but there are still some unnecessary items even though not many appliances. I don't have a food processor and use instead a German made Borner v-slicer , good knives (99% I use a Swiss army long bread serrated knife on everything) and a stick blender. My meat grinder is manual too. People mostly keep electrical appliances on countertops, not manual ones.
The outside of my house is painted sage with white trim and dark gray accents--and plants running amok.
Whatever space you have don't you find you use it to the full ...and perhaps overflowing?
Feng Shui and all that jazz.
All the best Jan