a Christian Home
Kitchen Set up

back to Good Things and Recipes

One of the things I was thinking I would write to you about this week pertains to the earlier topic of setting up your kitchen according to how you use it. Maybe you are one who likes to bake and therefore your kitchen would be set up much differently than a sister who never or rarely ever bakes. Maybe you like to do a lot of stove top cooking and steaming. So then, again, your kitchen would be arranged in a much different way. You might spend a great deal of time cutting, chopping and slicing---again your kitchen must be functional *to you.* You’ll think this is funny... but one time, I even moved my refrigerator to another place in our kitchen so that I could have my son build me baking shelf to fit in the location the fridge had occupied. It was really a very good solution in that kitchen, as it made for one long continuous counter and I could freely prepare food on the longer counter space. Don’t think I am suggesting that everyone move their fridge, but this is just an example of the limitless possibilities you might think of in order to make your kitchen work more efficiently for you. Maybe the cabinets are just needing rearranging---I mean the contents not the cabinets themselves! So, you be thinking...

Order

One way you can save time in the kitchen is having necessary ingredients strategically set up for the way you cook and the way you use your space. For example, I have all the cooking/baking supplies in the corner cabinet and island portion of the kitchen. This is an old farm house and the kitchen is a pretty fair size and the cabinets are pretty standard. I have all the flours, sugars, and other baking ingredients in this location. I also have the snap lid canisters filled with baking soda, powder, salt, cornstarch... and in them I keep a measuring teaspoon. From time to time I wash them... but this is rarely necessary. In the canisters I keep 1 cup measuring cups. When we were first married, I saw my mother in law keep a cup in a canister and so I began to do this in each one. In my oversized flour canister, I keep a scoop and a two-cup measuring cup so that I can quickly measure out the flour. Like I have shared with you many times, I always have frequently used recipes taped inside the cabinet doors so that all I have to do is open the door to see them---plus, this way, the recipes stay clean. This is also where I keep the lists of bunches of lunches and dinners. One the shelves of my cupboards and cabinets I use heavy plastic bins to keep things sorted. For example, one bin holds measuring cups, spoons, funnels, and glass 2 and 4 and 8 cup measuring cups/bowls. I only buy things that will stack and will fit well. Sometimes this means forgoing something pretty in favor of something more functional.

Well... so there you have some helpful ideas and good things for your home for the week. I will be thinking of other ideas as I work around our home this week. I trust the LORD is continuing to help, guide and encourage you as you seek to serve Him.