I’ll be honest here. With my husband recovering from major surgery, and my Dad in hospital too, I’ve had to get in a cleaner to help me manage my home this month. There are only so many hours in the day, and the hospital my Dad is in is over an hours drive away. As I visit nearly every day, that’s several hours out of my day gone. So whilst keeping the house is important, it’s one task I’m happy to delegate for the moment.

When she started, the first thing I got my cleaner to do was give my kitchen a deep clean. To do this, she took everything out of the cupboards and wiped them down. However, when she put things back, she organised things in a way that was different to how it was originally. It became obvious to me that how she organised things in my kitchen was based on her own home, not mine. It was only then that I noticed that I’d organised things in my kitchen in a very specific way, and I’d like to share this.

Organising your kitchen

The key function of everyone’s kitchen is the storage, preparation and cooking of food. Some kitchen’s also include a table for the serving of food, however, my dining area is slightly separate from the kitchen, so I’ll stick to the functions of my kitchen if that’s ok.

Food storage

I have two cupboards set aside for food. These two cupboards are either side of the cooker and are at eye level. The things that I use most frequently are close at hand, on the middle shelf. I also noticed that I tend to group items together, for example, tins are together, jars of sauces are together, as are herbs and spices.

I also have a fridge/freezer, which is stored to the left of the sink. I decluttered and organised the fridge a couple of months ago. This post covered what I did.

Food preparation

How I organise my kitchen is based on my habits:

• I keep the kettle close to the sink. You’ll also find tea, coffee and sugar by the kettle and cups in the cupboard above and to the right of the kettle.
• As the sink is where I peel potatoes and prepare vegetables, you’ll also find a container for recycling food scraps.
• I tend to prepare food to the left of the cooker, and have cutlery and the chopping board in drawers in that area.

Cooking

Plates and other crockery are found to the left of the cooker, whereas pots and pans are to the right. As I bake, but not often, all my baking stuff is in cupboards further away from the cooker.

Analysing your own space

When you look at your own kitchen, think about:

• how much you actually use it
• what storage space you have available
• what appliances you use
• what your habits and preferences are e.g. instant coffee v espresso maker, cooking from scratch v ready-made meals

If you’d like some ideas, I have a Pinterest board that contains loads of ideas.