Seriously, Take The Time To Reorganize Your Kitchen Every Few Months

Everyone likes a clean, organized kitchen. It can give the home cook a sense of peace to know where everything is, especially when it comes time to bake your favorite holiday cookies from around the world or that birthday cake Hagrid gave to Harry Potter. But it is easy for things to go south really fast. Making dinner on the fly before you have to leave to take kids to extracurricular activities might have you putting food items on shelves where they normally don't belong. Kids unloading the dishwasher can lead to a game of hide-and-seek when looking for a measuring cup or favorite mixing bowl. This is why it's important to take time to reorganize your kitchen every few months.

Think of it as a kitchen reset. It might not be your favorite task, but it will allow you to create a more efficient cooking and baking environment. Not to mention it can also help you determine what flours, spices, and leavening agents might be past their prime or close to expiration so you can use them and not add to food waste. But where to start? 

An organized kitchen will improve your cooking game. To get to this point, start with your kitchen drawers and cabinets. This will allow you to make sure your favorite peeler is where it should be, that an errant measuring spoon or spatula didn't end up with your tableware because someone didn't know where to put it, and that your herbs and spices are all accounted for. It also affords you the opportunity to wipe everything down while you're at it. Even if you clean as you go when you cook, it's easy to put something back with sticky hands if you are feeling rushed. 

It also allows you to rearrange food items in your cabinets and pantry. In the fall, you might be more likely to bake and want to have your flour, sugars, and extracts more readily accessible; however, when summer rolls around and you do everything in your power to stay away from a hot oven, you may want to have your containers of meat rubs and grilling seasonings for those summer cookouts.

Reorganizing your kitchen every few months also allows you to rotate small appliances that may or may not be in use. If you've started a workout routine that includes making protein shakes or smoothies in the morning, maybe you want to find a spot for your blender that puts it in a storage space that is easy to get to. At the same time, perhaps it's time to clean and store the toaster until school starts up again and the kids need it for their morning toast or frozen waffles. 

You might also find that you want to group different foods or kitchen tools together based on your current cooking trends. And don't forget to declutter. Counterspace can be precious real estate in a small or large kitchen. When your workspace is clean and unencumbered with non-perishable groceries that have yet to be put away or whatever tends to have taken up residency on your countertops, you feel less anxious, and you have room to maneuver.