meals, your “prepping dinner” list will probably include a wok, cooking oils, sauces, herbs, cutlery, a cutting board, and wok utensils. If your breakfast routine includes coffee or tea, juice, vitamins, and a baguette with butter, be sure your list includes sweeteners, mugs, juice glasses, pills, a cutting board, and a bread knife. If you drink tea, your list may allow for a dozen blends, along with preferred sweeteners and tea-making equipment.
You can probably guess where all of this is headed. Armed with your lists and priority ratings, you’ll be better prepared to make all sorts of storage and organization decisions that would otherwise be wildly confusing. The final step is to assign activities, and the items associated with them, to specific locations within your kitchen. The best way to do this is to pencil them onto your kitchen floor plan. (See the illustration on pages 36–37.) Begin with your highest-priority activities. If you scored “making coffee” a 9, indicate your preferred location before deciding on where to put a 3-rated “serving wine.” Follow your instincts. Put “preparing dinners” near a counter that is close to the range. Some activities may go in two places. “Unpacking groceries” may be listed near the fridge and the pantry. If two or more activities are vying for the same prime location and there’s not room for both, the one with the higher-use priority should get the nod.
A beverage center is a nice luxury for a kitchen. Include storage for wine and other beverages, glasses, a decanter, and trays—and don’t forget a bottle opener and a corkscrew.
This informal kitchen, with its three sinks, can easily accommodate two cooks. Don’t hesitate to store duplicates of inexpensive cooking aids, such as measuring cups and spoons, if your kitchen has two work stations and you have the space.
Make table-setting easier by storing everything you need near your kitchen table. This table-setting center includes shelves and a rack for tableware as well as drawers for flatware and napkins.
Be Ready to Compromise
Of course, none of this is an exact science. You will need to compromise on the assignment of activities and placement of items based on many variables, including the availability of suitable storage, weight of the item, and indoor “climate” conditions. Spices, for example, are a bit tricky to place. Optimal storage as far as freshness is concerned is a cool, dark place away from light, heat, and humidity. But the farther away from your prep and cooking areas they are, the more time you waste retrieving them. You may want to keep small containers of your most-used spices a few feet (about a meter) from the stove and store the rest in a cabinet or drawer that isn’t too close to any heat or moisture sources. Rarely-used spices can be kept in the freezer.
The best location for an activity or item will not always be clear. Take glasses and mugs, for instance. Where do you put them? Near the dishwasher is often a good choice. Another option is near your dining table. You may want to store glasses near the fridge or sink and mugs near your coffeemaker.
If you’re reorganizing an existing kitchen, you’ll be somewhat limited in where you can put things. Scarce cabinetry around the range, for example, may force you to put some meal-prep items in less-than-ideal spots. But if you’re planning a remodeling, you have an opportunity to better match activities with the appropriate items, and items with ideal storage design. Show the lists to your designer or architect so he or she can accommodate your wishes.
Many cooks like to have flatware near the range for stirring and tasting, so don’t hesitate to store some in a nearby drawer.
Pots, lids, cutting boards, and utensil crocks deserve a home by the range, too.
A pullout pegboard on the side of a range is another great way to store necessary cooking implements at arm’s reach.
Open shelves above and below a cooktop, along with a backsplash rack, will help make cooking a pleasure.
Deep base-cabinet drawers—properly organized, of course—are the stuff of dream kitchens.
Even a narrow shelf under the range hood can make the difference between a good cooking experience and a stressful one.
Install your chopping block next to the base cabinet that houses your pullout trash can or compost pail to make handling kitchen scraps a snap.
Build a snack center around your microwave with a pullout shelf and drawer combo.
Put dish towels where you need them—right beside the sink. This pullout “filler” rack utilizes what might otherwise be wasted space.
A wet bar is a great place for stowing beverage-related supplies.
Exceptions to the Rule
Sometimes putting items in multiple locations makes sense, assuming the items are used frequently and won’t hog too much space. Put one set of measuring tools in your dinner-prep area and another in a baking center. Keep napkins with everything you’ll need for setting the table, but also keep some in a dispenser or basket near the microwave or out on the porch if you eat meals there.
In other cases, you may prefer an entirely different organizational logic just because it’s easier for you to remember. For example, some cooks prefer to keep all large utensils together in a big crock, regardless of their various uses. In a small kitchen it simply may not matter all that much whether you have to walk a few extra steps to grab the implement you need.
A few cleaning activities may also be excluded from the above logic. Cleansers and detergents are typically grouped under the sink or in a broom closet regardless of where they’re used. A cooktop cleaner, for example, needn’t be stored near the cooktop. In general, cleaning supplies are stored together, separate from food items.
The relationship between activity areas is key. It’s easy to dry items in the cleanup area and put them on the