Organized Kitchen for the Daily Cook
You're in the kitchen every day, whipping up the lasagna, the roast, the tacos, the chicken fingers....For you, an efficient setup is all about access and speed -- quick in, quick out.

The Strategies
Keep necessities within easy reach. You don't want to waste precious time during dinner prep looking for things. Make a place in the hot zone (around the stove and the sink) for the essentials: oil, vinegar, knives, cutting board. Move special-occasion cookware, like a fondue pot, out of cabinets in the zone so what's left can be neatly organized and easily spotted. "Beware 'The bowls are buried -- let's get takeout' syndrome," says David Davies, an architect in Newburyport, Massachusetts, who specializes in family-friendly kitchens. And ask not where ingredients and tools fit; ask where you will be using them. Keep the basket of potatoes near the cutting board, sugar and flour near the stand mixer, and your best-loved pan on the front burner.


Use under-cabinet space. Under-cabinet lighting strips (attached with screws or double-stick Velcro) keep the focus on the onions at hand. A battery-operated version won't dangle a cord or steal an outlet from the microwave. An under-shelf cookbook holder pulls down when you need it and folds back up when you don't.


Put the walls to work. Don't let them just sit there. Put up racks or pegs to keep favorite utensils, the dinner recipe, pot holders, and dish towels in plain sight. Oversize Post-it notes or hanging rolls of paper are useful for all kinds of reminders.


Make recycling efficient, too. Having a bin for bottles and cans right next to the one for regular trash, instead of out in the garage or in the mudroom, streamlines end-of-meal cleanup.

Organization for the Sunday Cook>