Egg separators, citrus peelers beware. Your days may be numbered. That’s right… it’s time for the 10 gadget getout. Grab a bag, grab a box, or if you’re brave enough clear a pitching path to the garbage can. It’s time to pitch 10 items from your kitchen. The goal is to do it fast. Don’t stand over the drawer dreaming of days when you’ll zest lemons and make your own fettuccine. Move fast so second thoughts have no time to enter your path. 10 things quick. You won’t miss them in the kitchen, and you’ll have more room for free and clear movement in your kitchen Zone.

What’s the Zone? It’s that area where you find yourself — sometimes more often than you’d like — making meals for yourself and your family. For me it’s the spot between sink, fridge, cabinets and garbage. Efficiency in the Zone is key for quick cooking and even quicker cleanup. So what’s nearest the Zone are the most-used ingredients and the most-used kitchen utensils. Everything else is in the outskirts of the kitchen.

Get rid of your 10 gadgets today, and make more room for a well-oiled machine of a kitchen Zone.

Hi all. Welcome to all the new members, and thank you for subscribing to my blog. The newspaper article really got the word out, and I’m glad to have you on board.

At the end of every week, I’m going to give you tips on getting your kitchen in primo Organizing Dinner shape. For it’s not just the cooking that gives some of us a challenge, it’s the space in which we do it. And it’s not like there are options… for the most part, it’s the one place we can do most of the prep, cooking and executing of our family meals. It makes sense then that it’s a place that works as hard for us as we do in it.

Next week I’ll start with the tips. This week, you have some homework… assess your kitchen. What is it about your kitchen that keeps you from enjoying it. Sticky pans or other cooking items aren’t working for you, perhaps? Peeling wallpaper? Clutter? Disorganized food storage. Stand in your spot, your “zone” we’ll be calling it… that one spot in your kitchen somewhere between sink, fridge, garbage can and stove where you find yourself standing for many minutes, and what can be hours, a day — and think about it. Give it a good 3 minutes, and then ponder it the rest of the week. Comment here on the blog about some of the things you can’t stand.

Starting at the end of next week, we’ll tackle the kitchen, step by step, bit by painless pit, turning into an efficient, well-oiled machine that you not only enjoy, but feel powerful being in. You’re going to learn to treat dinner as a game, and you my friend, are going to win!