As a mom, who is constantly racing against the clock, hearing the word efficiency is synonymous with the feeling kids get when you hand them candy. With so much to do and so little time, it is easy to find yourself compromising on a lot of things, like having your family eat more take-outs than necessary.
Having an efficient kitchen does not necessarily mean you have to remodel, as the process involved in re-modeling involves a huge financial commitment. Simply, investing in the right set of tools and rearranging cabinets can make you more enthusiastic about cooking save you the cost of eating out and become more financially literate.
1. Have Premium Utensils
Premium utensils include knives, cookware, bakeware, and grill pans and can go a long way to make your kitchen more efficient. The last thing you want to do is try to chop things quickly with a blunt knife. Also, a powerful blender is great for making smoothies, sauces, dips, or soups.
Stocking up on new quality essentials can be difficult but sometimes your equipment does not need to be replaced. More so, your kitchen and dish-washer parts are probably just faulty and a simple look to find the parts you need will have them fixed and running efficiently again.
2. Set Up Stations
Even if you have a small kitchen, try to set up kitchen zones and work stations. This helps you to discern where things are without having to flip the kitchen upside down. The basic work zones to consider are first, the consumables zone which is where you store your foods – your refrigerator should be placed in this zone.
Second, there’s the non-consumables zone which is where you store your dishes, glasses, mugs, etc. Then we have the cleaning zone which should be located where your dishwasher and sink are built. The fourth is your preparation zone which can simply be a countertop, since it’s where most of your preparations take place. Last but not least is the cooking zone and this should be located near your oven, microwave, and stovetop.
3. Get Organized
This tip is rather obvious but still worth mentioning as a lot of moms have a problem sticking to it. A great way to stay organized is to keep your counters clean and clutter-free at all times. Also, keep your utensils and appliances where you use them.
If you have set up zones and storages for each kitchen activity then the utensils used to work in that station should be close by. A good example is having things like your mixer, blender, knives, and chopping board close to your preparation station.
To Conclude
Organizing your kitchen increases functionality, which in turn leads to efficiency. The important thing to remember in all this is that you don’t even need to spend a lot. Simply invest in quality utensils from the onset, have a repairman look into replacing the parts of some of your appliances and voila! You now have a kitchen that is ready to serve you efficiently.
