Kitchen Organization #2: The Zone

So, last week we had the 10-gadget getout, where you cleared some clutter for your kitchen space. Now you’ve got some room in which to move things around, and organize the Zone. You know, the place you stand to do most of your cooking or prep work. That place where you chop, where you’re most likely to be caught making school lunches, where you often squeeze in your cup of coffee between defrosting some meat for the night’s dinner or unloading the dishwasher. Every kitchen’s got one. Is yours a place you enjoy? Since there are so many reasons you have to be there, it should be. Here’s some ways to help you enjoy your Zone time.

Organization & Placement

I don’t care what you keep in the rest of your rooms, or even the outskirts of your kitchen, but what you keep in the Zone should be the key elements of making your everyday dining a success…. the obvious spoons, plates and cups, but also the top two serving utensils, prep bowls and cutting boards. Not your wrapping paper (as we found at a recent in-home party), not your spare light bulbs, and even not the 1001 must-have kitchen items that may be a “must-have” for somebody… but for you they just take up space. For most people, clutter is unsettling, and if you are unsettled where you’re cooking, of course you won’t enjoy it.

I have several different measuring pieces in my kitchen. But in my primary small drawer in my Zone, I keep just the basic cup and spoon measurers. They’re always there, within reach, in an uncluttered drawer. In a life that is elsewhere full of clutter, this little bit of releief makes dinner just that much easier to whip out. And the spoons that much easier to put away. I grab em, use em, wash em… back in the drawer.

Fun

Since there are so many reasons you’ve gotta be there, make it a place you enjoy. Put a radio or tv nearby so you are entertained, or decorate your zone with flowers, pictures of your kids or something else that makes you happy. Make your Zone work for you, and make cooking dinner as much fun as eating it.

Let us know what “treasures” you found in your Zone when you took a second look.