Day 28: Declutter your kitchen

I have tried a number of ways to declutter my kitchen and a mix of ideas have worked.
but as I was surfing the net, I found this wonderful article on Good Housekeeping.


Enjoy reading the tips:Declutter Your Kitchen

Whether your specialty is risotto or Rice-A-Roni, the prep process likely could be streamlined if your kitchen cabinets and drawers were in better order (admit it: that pot-lid avalanche is getting pretty old). Un-jumble your tools and spiff up cookware now — before the holiday-cooking season starts. Read on for ways to make kitchen time less of a chore.

By Kate Mathis
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COOKWARE CLEANUP

How to organize your kitchen gear — fast

1. Take Stock: Be ruthless as you clear out cabinets — there's probably stuff in there that's been collecting dust since your wedding.

Make three piles: Always Used, Seldom Used, and Never Used or Useless (see sidebar for what to keep versus what to toss). Ditch or donate anything that ends up in the last group.

Box seldom-used and seasonal items — such as the ice cream maker and corn-on-the-cob holders — and move those out of the kitchen's prime real estate. Consider storing holiday dishes and servingware with corresponding decorations so you can get to them when needed.

Think outside the cabinet when putting things back: There's no reason to stash your favorite cooking utensils in a crowded drawer, for instance, if you can pop them in a countertop vessel by the stove. Also...

2. Repurpose to Reorganize:Try these household helpers or pro tools to restore kitchen order

A letter or file organizer or a small dish rack keeps pot lids in place. Or, buy a specially designed lid rack (we like the ones that go on the backs of cabinet doors).

Small curtain tension rods, sprung vertically in a cabinet, create slots to stash cookie sheets on end. The store-bought version: Rev-A-Shelf's Tray Dividers ($18 for two; rev-a-shelf.com).

A copier-paper-box lid, a boot box (sans top), or another low-profile carton becomes a slide-out "drawer" at the bottom of a cabinet. Or, splurge on Oxo's Large Roll-Out Bin ($20; oxo.com) for the same purpose.

Paper plates make perfect liners to protect pots and pans if you have to stack them. Limit piles to three so no pan is a pain to get at.

KEEP OR TOSS?

Some well-worn cookware just needs a little love — and some is a lost cause

LIDS WITH MISSING KNOBS

KEEP If the pan or pot is still in working order, contact the manufacturer for the replacement part. If the knob has merely become detached, take it and the lid to the hardware store to buy a replacement screw. For a tighter fit, add a metal washer just below the screw head.

MISMATCHED LIDS

TOSS If the pots are long gone, why save the tops? Clear out the lot and spend about $15 on a universal lid like RSVP's (bigkitchen.com), which has ridges to fit most pots and pans.

DISCOLORED STAINLESS STEEL

KEEP Caused by high heat, the blue tint won't affect performance. Scrub it with a stainless steel cleaner, like Cameo's ($1.09; churchdwight.com). Bonus: That'll take off brown grease spatters, too.

WARPED BAKING PANS

TOSS Use these, and baked goods will come out misshapen and may cook unevenly. Next time, let hot sheets cool before soaking them in the sink; thermal shock causes that warping.

SCRATCHED NONSTICK

KEEP (IF YOU WANT) While some wear will diminish its ability to "release" food, the pan isn't dangerous to use (do toss a chipped or flaking pan, however). If your bigger complaint is a gummed-up surface, simmer water in the pan with a generous sprinkling of baking soda added. Once cool, clean with a soft nylon scrubber. Also: Stop using cooking spray, which gunks up surfaces fastest. These pans are called "nonstick" for a reason.