Please see Part 1 in our Creating an Organized Kitchen series.

For the daily cook, an organized kitchen is a must. If you are in your kitchen everyday, there are some basic rules that I feel are necessary, so that you can get meals cooked fast and make clean up a breeze. Who knows – maybe more people would become daily cooks if their kitchen was organized in a way that really worked for them instead of against them.

When I organized my kitchen from what I learned by reading Confessions of an Organized Homemaker, cooking was more fun than it had ever been! I could cook a delicious and healthy meal in under 30 minutes and I could clean up as I prepared the meal, which made clean up no big deal.

Here are some basic rules that are important for the daily cook to follow when organizing the kitchen: (Information gathered from Real Simple Magazine, Organizing from the Inside Out and Confessions of an Organized Homemaker.)

* Keep necessities within easy reach
* Use under-cabinet space
* Put the walls to work
* Center your kitchen
* Only keep items that you use
* Use the right containers

Let’s start by going over what “centering your kitchen” means. (You can use these tips for the other cooking styles, that we will go over in the coming weeks, as well.) This one little rule of thumb that I learned several years ago, changed the way I cooked. Previously I always organized my kitchen with how the kitchen was set up. I never really took the time to organize it how it would work best for me, which possibly meant storing some items in unconventional places.

Here are some different centers that the daily cook might have:

* Mixing center
* Sink center
* Refrigerator center
* Cooking center
* Food serving center
* Food storage center

So, the first thing you need to do is decide what centers your kitchen needs. Then get some boxes and label them with each center. As you are purging and sorting items in your kitchen, the items you decide to keep will go into these separate boxes. You should also have several other boxes: goes in another room, donate, sell, throw away. If this seems like way too many boxes to you, instead of having separate boxes for the centers, you could put a blanket down and designate separate areas of the blanket for the zones. It’s up to you.

Now on to purging and sorting the kitchen. These 2 steps can happen simultaneously.

Go through every drawer and every cabinet and as you look at each item ask yourself some questions:

* Do I really need this? – It’s easy to collect things in the kitchen, like having 5 can openers, 7 whisks, 22 spatuals, etc.. Only keep the items you really use. Also, get rid of the bulky appliances that when you first bought it, you just knew you were going to love it and well, you ended up using it once.
* How long has it been since I used this? If you use it once a year for holidays, try storing it elsewhere so you can free up some extra storage space. If it is used a few times a year to daily, then keep it in the kitchen.
* Which center does it go in? If you decide to keep it, decide which area it is used in and put it in that box or spot on the floor for that center.

It really helps to have someone do this with you. It will make it go so much faster. You purge and then when you figure out where it goes, hand it over to your organizing partner. They can do the leg work for you, while you do the decision making. (Bribe them by promising to make a fantastic dinner after you are all done!)

Here is Julie Morgenstern’s No Brainer Toss List:

* Chipped or broken dishes, glasses, and mugs.
* Duplicate sets of items.
* Pots, pans, utensils, and bake ware that are burnt or rusted.
* Excess stemware.
* Excess plastic containers, bags, and jars.
* Ugly souvenir glasses and mugs. (My side note: unless you love and use them. We have a few of those and nobody better toss them!)
* Plastic tumblers, if your kids are all grown up. Save a few for the grandchildren is you have any.

She also suggest getting rid of fantasy items, and storing sentimental items. If you were dreaming of becoming a gourmet cook at one point in your life and then later realized that’s just never going to happen, then get rid of the items that you bought which you know you will never use. As far as the sentimental items, you do not have to get rid of those, but if you never ever use them, then store them safely in your attic or garage. They can still be special, but there is no need for them to take up precious kitchen space, which is often so limited in the first place.

Here are a few other basic kitchen rules that are good to follow:

* Try to keep counters clear of decorative items for the most part. This will simplify the preparation and the clean up. Who has time to clean and dust all the knickknacks in the kitchen when they get splattered with oil and food. I sure don’t!
* For items you use daily or several times a day, store them with the one-motion storage rule. Meaning that you can open up a drawer or cabinet and it is right there. You do not have to move anything out of the way to get to it.
* Store things at the first-point of use. Let go of what you are use to: storing all the food together, all the pans together, all the dishes together. It will save you time in the kitchen if you think outside the box a little.

Now on to centering the kitchen. I will list some possible items that you would have here and also the best place in the kitchen for the specific center to be. Now all kitchens are different, so you will have to play around a little.

The Mixing Center - It should contain anything that you use when preparing food for baking, or oven food that requires some mixing first.

* containers of flour and sugar
* baking powder
* baking soda
* spices (the ones you mainly use for baking)
* extracts
* seasonings
* powdered sugar
* brown sugar
* shortening
* a mixer
* food processor
* measuring spoons and cups
* spatulas
* wooden spoons
* mixing bowls

The mixing center is best set up between the stove and the sink. Why? Well for a number of reasons. When you are done with the mixing spoon, you can easily drop it into the sink of hot soapy water you already have gotten ready. (This makes for super easy clean-up!)

The Sink Center - Think of all the things you need the sink for. The daily cook spends a lot of time at the sink for things like washing fruits and veggies, filling up the juice pitcher with water, cleaning (obviously ). The sink is pretty much the center of the kitchen where alot of things happen. Most likely most people don’t put a whole lot of thought into this area, but the sink should be just as organized as the rest of the house.

Here are some items you might consider storing near the sink: (Remember, these are just ideas. Do what works for you!)

* knives and peelers for veggies, cutting boards
* can opener (for opening soups, juices, etc.)
* teakettles, saucepans
* glasses,pitchers
* colanders
* cleaning supplies
* you could store the veggies that do not need refrigeration in baskets or bins near the sink
* dishtowels
* bowl for collecting scraps and trash (Rachel Ray does this on her show. What a great idea. I love her!)

Here are some miscellaneous tips that I thought were very helpful:

* While you are preparing dinner, have the sink filled with hot soapy water. When you are done with an item, throw it in the sink. It will start washing itself and make clean-up a snap!
* One thing I really disliked doing was clearing the table after we ate, then I read this tip. Use a dishpan to set the table and clean up. Before dinner, load all the plates, silverware, napkins, etc. in the dishpan and take it all to the table at once. When it’s cleanup time, load all the dirty dishes into the dishpan. This eliminates extra trips back and forth. It also makes it easy for hubby and kids to help!
* Try to start dinner with an empty dishwasher. Either empty it first thing every morning or while your dinner is baking.

The Refrigerator Center – This is another area that I didn’t put much, okay any, thought into organizing. I mean who organizes their refrigerator?! Well, now I do and I wouldn’t go back.

Here are some refrigerator organizing tips:

* Designate different shelves for different things. Like top shelf holds dairy products, bottom holds leftovers, etc.
* Make a sandwich making kit. (I love this tip!!) Just get a square rectangle container (that you have already checked if it will fit) and fill it with all your sandwich making stuff – like condiments, lunch meat, cheese. We started doing this years ago and it is so easy to pull out the container, make a sandwich and then put it back.
* Use the same size containers to store leftovers. They will stack easier and neater and make more room for other items.
* Put apples or oranges in a bowl in the refrigerator instead of the little bins. I had to do this so that my kids would actually SEE the fruit. They kept telling me they would forget the fruit was there. Well now, they have no excuse. I also did a little expermient to see if the fruit lasted longer in the bin as opposed to the bowl and for my fridge, there was no difference. Ofcourse mine does lean on the cheaper side of the refrigerators.
* Make a point to go through your refrigerator once a week, preferably before you go to the store.

The Cooking Center - This center is at the stove (I know, duh!). It is best to have this center right by the mixing center, but it may not work that way for you. Just be creative and work with what ya’ got!

Here is a list of items you might store there:

* pots, pans, skillets
* cooking utensils (wooden spoons, whisk)
* bakeware
* potholders
* cookbooks
* griddles
* cooking spray and veg. oil
* spices used for stovetop and oven meals
* salt, pepper
* cookie sheets
* muffin tins

As you can see there are several items that you will need in the mixing center and the cooking center, which is why it’s ideal to have them next to each other. You will whip up a batch of cookies in the mixing center, but then you’ll need the cookie sheet to bake them. Just do the best you can.

The Food Serving Center – If you have a buffet then that is the obvious best choice. I don’t because of space issues, so I use the second pantry in my kitchen.

Here are some items you might store here:

* serving platters
* place mats
* napkins
* tablecloths
* serving utensils
* breadbaskets
* salt, pepper shakers
* candlesticks

The Food Storage Center – This could be a pantry, cabinets, or a cabinet you bought because your kitchen has no storage (believe me, we have moved 5 times in 7 years. I’ve had some awful kitchens!).

Items that go in this center are:

* canned goods
* boxed foods
* bottles
* paper products
* cereal
* snack foods
* bread

Well that does it for the centers. I’m going to go ahead and stop here since I have given you alot of information. Next week, I will discuss some items that are great to have in the daily cook’s kitchen. Then after that, it’s on to the Sunday cook.

Pictures: IKEA, Real Simple

Spring is right around the corner and not only do we need to think about spring cleaning our homes, but also our look! Total Beauty has some good ideas for updating your look for spring. Here is my favorite one.

Style Update No. 1: Hair accessories

Hair embellishments like bows and pins are the perfect finishing touch to any outfit this spring. Just don’t go overboard, says Anderson. Keep your look chic by wearing little and big bows in a variety of fabrics and shapes. Small colored clips and barrettes also add a hint of playfulness and color without looking wacky. Place the clip at the traditional spot along the temple, or get creative and place practically anywhere for a fresh statement.

I love her clip! Check out the rest of their ideas for Spring here.

Keeping your kids’ spaces organized is one of the biggest issues I hear from parents. They have so many toys, clothes, papers and treasures that is can seem impossible to find a place for everything.

Here are a few quick tips for keeping those kids’ spaces organized so everyone can find what they need:

* Put up a cork board in your kids’ rooms to display their artwork instead of letting it take over the refrigerator. Kids are proud of their work and should be able to display it. This way everyone is happy.

* Have the whole family do a 5 minute quick clean every morning and night. This helps control clutter. Keeping a house looking neat should not take hours and hours. Preventive maintenance is the key.

* Add hooks over the bathroom door or mounted on the wall or door for robes and extra towels. It makes it easier for kids to hang up their things as opposed to a towel rod.

* Store all your childrens’ crafts in the place where they like to do them. If that is at the dining room table, then put all their paints, crayons, coloring books and paper in a plastic cart with drawers or if in a hutch. There are many decorative organizing items that would look great in the dining room or kitchen. 15 minutes before dinner have them clean up the table and put all the items back in the appropriate drawer.

* Use shelves instead of toy boxes to store your kids’ toys. This way they can see all the toys they have and this will put an end to digging through the toy box and emptying all the contents on the floor.

* Give each of your kids their own basket or container for the bathroom. Have them store all of their toiletries in there. When they are getting ready in the morning or at night for bed, they take out their basket, use what they need, put everything back in and store it under the sink. It helps keep those bathroom counters clear of clutter.

Do you have any tried and true tips that you use for your kids’ spaces? If so, send them on in!

Cooking healthy meals for our family is important to me and one thing I rely on a lot is fresh fish. It’s super healthy, extremely fast to cook and there are so many different ways you can dress up a piece of fish.

This is one of my favorite recipes and I think you just might like it as well. I’ve used it on trout and Tilapia:

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 tsp lemon (or lime) jucie

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. liquid smoke

Direction:

Mix all ingredients together.

Spray a broiling pan with cooking spray.

Place fish on broiling pan and baste with marinade.

Broil for 4 – 6 minutes until you can easily flake the fish with a fork and it’s a nice white color.

Serve with rice and fresh, cut up vegetables.

I have always wanted to grow fresh herbs in my kitchen and I have tried once, but failed miserably. I think there were two main reasons why it didn’t work for me: not enough sunshine and not watering them properly. So when I laid my eyes on these self-watering pots by Grobal Baby, I was instantly intrigued to try it again.

Style and function perfectly balanced. Grobal is plant care evolved no green thumb necessary. With its unique self watering system, and stylish design by Karim Rashid, Grobal keeps your house plants lush, green, and looking sharp. Grobal draws water and nutrients from the reservoir into the soil in the top chamber. Just check the water level through the water level indicator and refill when needed through the Nutriport.

Grobal does the work, you look good. Cultivate Style.
Grobal is perfect for growing house plants, flowers, culinary herbs, orchids, succulents and more.

At only $15 a piece, I definitely plan on picking up a couple of these. Having fresh herbs in your kitchen will encourage you to cook with them more and they add so much more flavor to a dish.

Here are a few more pictures of the pots. You can order the Grobal Baby pots at VelocityArtandDesign.com.

Clover Cupcakes

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up on March 17th and this is really a fun day to throw a party for your kids’ friends. There are so many cute ideas from recipes, to crafts and games. Family Fun has some fabulous ideas for throwing the perfect St. Patty’s day party!

Recipes:

Shamrock Cupcakes

Pot of Gold Soup

Kiwi Lime Pie

Clover Cupcakes

Crafts:

Wee Leprachaun

To Catch a Leprachaun

Where could you throw a St. Patty’s Day party? Bring a batch of The Luck O’ the Irish cupcakes and some Little Leprechaun coloring sheets to their class. Or, invite a few of their friends over to your house and cook up some Shamrock Toasties and St. Pats Potato Candy. End the party with a St. Patty’s Day Scavenger Hunt! You can see the entire gallery of ideas here.

Cover the table with a green table cloth, set out green and white plates, napkins and cups and you will give them one party to remember.

This is by far one of the most requested desserts when I am asked to bring something – the Cherry Dump Cake dessert. I love the fact that it is so popular because it is so easy and delicious! Fattening, but oh so good.

This is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling
• 1 box of white cake mix
• 2 sticks of butter
• pecans (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat over to 350 degrees F
• Dump the 2 cans of cherry pie filling on the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan
• Spread the white cake mix on top of the cherry pie filling
• Sprinkles pecans over the white cake mix (optional)
• Cut the butter sticks in to thin slabs and lay on top of the pecans, make sure the butter pieces are touching and cover the entire surface
• Bake for 45 minutes, let cool for 15 minutes before serving

Super easy and super delicious!

If you have young children, most likely they don’t have 50 pairs of shoes. But even if they have four pairs of shoes, creating a place for them to keep their shoes organized will help teach them early about organization.

When it comes to organization for kids, there is one word to remember: SIMPLE. The shoe storage solutions that you have in place for your child, should allow them to be able to put their shoes up and get them out by themselves.

Here are some ideas for storing childrens’ shoes:

Under the Bed Shoe storage: There are some great products on the market for under the bed shoe storage for kids. They have a handle and a clear top, which allows for easy access and is easy for them to see their shoes.

Underbed Shoe Organizer – With Sewn In Fabric Shoe Dividers. No Cardboard!

Small Shoe Rack: Not only can they see their shoes easily, but it makes it easy for them to put away and take off.

Whitney Design 2103 Stackable 2-Shelf Chrome Shelving Unit

Hanging Shoe Shelf: You can use the bottom half to store their shoes where they can reach and the top half for items such as sweaters or pants.

Whitney Design Hanging Shoe Storage – Natural Canvas

Shoe Cubby: This is another item that makes it easy for kids to put their shoes away.

ClosetMaid 8505 15-Cube Organizer, White

I do not recommend shoe containers because not only can the lids be difficult to take off, but most children will not want to take off a lid and put it back on just to get a pair of shoes. Remember, simple is the key.

HGTV’s Dream Home 2010 Giveaway is in full swing! You can enter today through February 19, 2010 until 5 pm. This year the home is in New Mexico.

Here’s a quick video clip and tour of the Dream Home.

I took a minute yesterday to go through most of the rooms on their 360 degree tour and it was breathtaking. They have a sunrise room! A sunrise room! Here’s how they describe the room:

Surrounded by walls of windows that overlook the desert courtyard, the sunrise room is designed for early-morning contemplation. A soft suede reclining chair and high-pile area rug underfoot begs one to relax. A dramatic wood sculpture connects this indoor space to the desert landscape. “I saw it at a gallery in Texas and knew exactly where it should go,” says interior designer Linda Woodrum. “It looked to me like a piece of wood from the desert. And I just loved it.”

The kitchen, master suite, walk in pantry, home theater and recycling room all caught my attention. Just gorgeous!

One thing I like to do every year when they introduce the new Dream Home is to see what elements I can pull from the home and apply to mine. They have amazing designers who put together each room with such details and with their cool little 360 degree tour feature, you can really stop and take a look at the details.

I have already jotted down some great ideas!

It’s amazing what can get lost in the pantry. It’s also amazing how much food goes to waste when the pantry is not organized. Food always ends up getting pushed to the back and forgotten. The kids may also throw that box of crackers back in there and forget to close up the package. That’s money down the drain when half the box-of-crackers go stale.

Before

Some kitchens have more than one pantry. If you do, then one of them may be your snack pantry which holds all the chips, crackers, drinks, peanut butter, dried fruit and fruit snacks. Everyone’s snack pantry will hold different types of snacks and items, but no matter what yours holds, it can be organized.

Follow these steps on how to organize a snack pantry and put an end to wasted food:

Step one: Sort through all the items in the pantry.

Empty the contents of the pantry one shelf at a time. Group all like items together and throw away anything that has gone bad. You can do this whole process on the kitchen floor.

Step One: SORT

Step two: Clean out the pantry.

Pantries are great at collecting dust and food crumbs. Wipe down all the shelves first and then sweep out the bottom. You will want your new organized to pantry to start off nice and clean.

Step Two: Clean out and wipe down shelves

Step three: Take a look at your inventory and decide if any pantry storage needs to be purchased.

If you would like a uniform look to the inside of your pantry, then you may want to store several items in matching containers. You can buy inexpensive storage containers that will look great and will also help your food to last longer.

You may also want to purchase storage bins for smaller items and also to keep similar items grouped together.

Don’t forget to measure the height and depth of your shelves so that the storage items you purchase will fit. Bring the measurements to the store with you and measure the containers also.

Step Three: Purchase storgae if necessary

Step four: Decide where everything is going to go.

Items that are not used everyday or that are very light weight like bags of chips can go up on the top shelf.

Store snack items that you want your kids to be able to get themselves on a shelf where they can reach it.

The bottom of the pantry can be used to store heavy items like coke bottles or gallons of water.

Step Four: Decide where items will go

Step five: Fill the storage containers you purchased.

You can put crackers and cereal into a sealed containers so they will stay fresher longer. Remind those in your family that putting the lid back on when they are done is important. If they don’t, they may have to eat stale cereal! Yuck.

Fill the rest of the containers and group like items together.

Step Five: Fill storage containers if needed

Step six: Put everything back in the pantry on the designated shelf.

This is the fun part. Your pantry is starting to come together!

Step seven: Label the shelves if you desire.

By labeling the shelves, family members will know where everything goes. They can put back what they got out of the pantry in the right spot. They can also help put up the groceries and they will know exactly where to put things.

Step seven: Label shelves if needed

Step eight: Schedule regular weekly maintenance to keep your pantry organized.

In order for the pantry to stay organized, you will have to go through it on a weekly basis and tidy up a bit. Things may have been placed on the wrong shelf by accident, lids may not be on tightly or there may be some items that need to be thrown away.

Congratulations! You are done and you now have an organized snack pantry that the whole family can enjoy.

After