My kitchen annoys me, so I'm fixing it

Unless I want to eat raw and vegan, growing much of my own food means I'm spending lots more time in the kitchen. I generally enjoy cooking and baking, but the more time I spent in my kitchen, the more I realized it annoyed me. I'm fixing it, and it got me curious what others do. So…

How do you streamline your kitchen tasks? How do you make being in the kitchen and doing kitchen chores more enjoyable?

What has helped me:
Made peace with where my husband puts things. There were a handful of things that he consistently put in the wrong places. I finally rearranged the cupboards to accommodate where he put those things.

Have a memory foam mat under my feet and a padded stool to sit on.

Rearranged under the kitchen sink. I grew up having cleaning supplies and flower vases under the sink, though the vases were used maybe twice each year. And the cleaning supplies were for the entire house, not just the kitchen. I put those things where they made sense in the house and kept just kitchen items under the sink.

Hang up things for easier access. My aprons are now inside the pantry door, and my favorite oven mitts are hanging beside the stove.

Decluttered drawers so they easily close. It was annoying to jostle the drawers every day.

Made conversion measurement charts and cooking sheets for the things I frequently had to look up (like internal temperature of meat) and hung them inside cupboard doors.

Made a sheet of "where to find…" for things that I rarely use or that are hidden up high.

Having a grateful mindset. I'm thankful for the food, the means to cook it, hot water to clean with, etc.

Keeping a fan nearby for miserably hot days.

The more common things, like batch prepping foods, making freezer meals, and listening to an audiobook or podcast while cooking.

Still to do:
Add more color.
Produce fewer dirty dishes.
Move more things lower so I can reach them.
Put pans and baking dishes on racks so I don't have to unstack them to get to the bottom one.

Yes, optimize ruthlessly and endlessly. Tiny details matter. The kitchen is the most important workshop on the property. If the kitchen is out of order, everything else will fall to pieces.

Being a western barbarian in Japan means I'm too big for everything. My kitchen is too low for me. It can be really hard for me to stand at the counter and work for a long time comfortably. So I usually break up long cooking tasks into smaller bits. I pre-chop vegetables and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator. Sometimes we chop vegetables for 2-3 meals (if we can manage to plan that well) and then have them already done.

As for organization... it's a living changing thing. I used to want to have a SET place for everything. But I realized I needed to compromise. I now am okay with having "For the time being" attached to SET places.

We've had to change things to keep dangerous things out of reach of small kids.

Keeping commonly used kitchen tools hanging over the cooking range was a good improvement, and removing unused or rarely used tools from the same hanging place improved it even more.

Getting a big drying rack helped a lot. Actually I think we're up to three dish drying spaces now. And we actively wipe and put dishes away... Some things just take a while to dry. Mold and mildew are a big problem in our climate.

We have a window behind our sink and counter space. Keeping flowers, herbs, regenerating vegetables like green onions, and others in water on the window sill has improved my cooking experience a lot. I also use the space for drying seeds I'm saving before I put them away in origami seed packs.

I'd like to have pots and pans that stack. Some of ours do, but others slide around. It's a bit aggravating.

I want to have a poster that motivates and inspires me on the open wall space. It will probably get oil splatter though, so nothing expensive.

I forgot to mention, but the same window looks out onto my garden. When the weather is agreeable I love to open it and gaze at the garden while cooking. It really keeps me in the zone.

L. Johnson wrote:I forgot to mention, but the same window looks out onto my garden. When the weather is agreeable I love to open it and gaze at the garden while cooking. It really keeps me in the zone.

I would love to see my garden out my kitchen window! That sounds calming. I need to do something with my front yard to give myself a nicer view.

"For the time being" is a great description for the mindset of set places. Between my husband's different views of organizing, my recently mobile baby, and me learning new cooking skills, many set places have been changing lately. I had it in my head that I wanted to find the BEST and permanent spot for things, but that's not realistic and just caused more stress.

I want to put inspirational quotes or huge photos on my cabinet doors. It would be unconventional, but it would make the kitchen look fun.

The thing I've found that helps the most with less cleaning & easier organization is to have less stuff.

It would be great to have a view of the garden from the kitchen. Beyond the picnic table in this pic you can barely see my garden fence. The only thing missing is a kitchen. And the rest of the house that hurricane Zeta destroyed. I want to rebuilt it as a log cabin around the fireplace someday. Or possibly a greenhouse with a kitchen.

We moved to our current house when our youngest was 2 and a bit. My mom and I had designed cabinets for the kitchen in Ottawa, but Hubby got transferred. I didn't have the time or energy to do that again, so we've had to put up with what was here which *looks* good, but is in fact terribly inefficient in many ways.

However, since 2 of you have mentioned children: There was a built-in "desk" that is lower than usual counter height with a very narrow drawer. I found a low-profile plastic cutlery organizer which fit in which meant that children could see in and help set the table and empty the dishwasher. About 2 feet away was a deep but narrow pantry closet. We have Corel dishes, so not easy to break, so I put most of them on a single shelf that was an easy reach for the kids. It was right opposite the kitchen table so easy for setting, although it was a bit further from the dishwasher.  Dishwasher emptying is a great kids job from a surprisingly early age so long as you use minimal glass and no sharps which we did until the kids were a bit older.

To a great extent, I had to organize things based on where they would fit, rather than total efficiency. However, since the plates were over in the pantry closet, the large cupboard over the only workable chunk of counter has 2 levels of all my frequently used cooking pots, kettle and teapot. The top layer has some of the small, light-weight baking pans/pie plates.

If I ever get to redesign the kitchen, it will have uninterrupted 5' sections of countertop, and the pantry closets will be designed as one wide one instead of 3 narrow ones you can't get to the back of.  I want lots of wide banks of drawers instead of awkward lower cabinets.  I do a lot of baking, and canning and drying in the harvesting season, so I really need places to work.

Mike Barkley wrote:The thing I've found that helps the most with less cleaning & easier organization is to have less stuff.

It would be great to have a view of the garden from the kitchen. Beyond the picnic table in this pic you can barely see my garden fence. The only thing missing is a kitchen. And the rest of the house that hurricane Zeta destroyed. I want to rebuilt it as a log cabin around the fireplace someday. Or possibly a greenhouse with a kitchen.

Mike, has that monolith been inspiring you to try recipes you never conceived of before?

Nikki Roche wrote:How do you streamline your kitchen tasks? How do you make being in the kitchen and doing kitchen chores more enjoyable?

To me, some principles of permaculture can work in the kitchen, mainly the use of Zones.

There are usually four zones present: food preparation, baking, cooking, and cleaning.  We usually have to work with an already designed kitchen so lets set up one that will flow easily.  With careful planning, working in your kitchen can become a pleasure.

Since the first zone of the kitchen is food preparation and with some careful planning, this area can be made to be ergonomic friendly.

Dishes and silverware near the sink and dishwasher if you have one.
Pots and pans near the stove.  Food prep area near the sink and the stove.

This thread may give you a few suggestions, especially the use of a triangle:

The kitchen work triangle principles are used by kitchen designers.

https://permies.com/t/84920/purity/Kitchen-Work-Share-Ideas-Tips
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Nikki said "Produce fewer dirty dishes.

To make dishwashing easier, I have been washing a lot of plates and silverware with just hot water.  I don't wash things that just had bread on it.  I don't put them with the dirty dishes I wash them immediately with just hot water and put them in the dish drain.

Anne Miller wrote:
To make dishwashing easier, I have been washing a lot of plates and silverware with just hot water.  I don't wash things that just had bread on it.  I don't put them with the dirty dishes I wash them immediately with just hot water and put them in the dish drain.

Thanks for the link! I need to just rinse more of my dishes. If I'm baking and just measuring flour or other dry things, I'll do a simple rinse. Now to get my husband doing the same!

I found the same thing happening to me a few years ago, and redid my kitchen.

My kitchen is small (so it's easy), so I made everything within a step or a pivot-- fridge, pantry, stove, sink.
Pans I use the most are hung on a rack over the window, and Frequently used utensils hung above the sink. Stuff that doesn't get used gets moved progressively farther away from my "work center"-- and eventually, donated. Be functional or get out!
I started keeping extra food outside the kitchen, in a pantry annex, to not "lose" things in the cabinet (the Great Covid Bean Collection of 2020!). It makes it easier for me to keep track.

I also decided to make a firm line: food is me, dishes is my husband. If he makes a mess putting things away, so be it. I don't want to do it all myself, so I need to lower my standards.

In my ergonomic efforts, I also bought a new fridge with the freezer at the bottom (no more dropping a whole chicken breast on my feet.... I hope). Mat or rug to stand on is absolutely essential. And I have 3 knives I love- most of the rest of the kitchen could disappear, but if I have those knives I'll be okay.

I love Lew's comment about being the Wookie in a Japanese kitchen. I was for years, then left... today my kitchen is not much bigger than the one in my Japanese apartment, and I used a lot of the techniques from back then-- although eventually I'll be building one of those great above-sink cabinets with the built in drainage, which are just sublime.
My #1 tip would be to create an easy-access space for whatever you use every single day. Mine is a small tray containing garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and vinegar (and Angry Lady sauce). I use one of those every day, so they live on the counter. Salt would live there too if I didn't live in a place with 85% humidity.

Another thing that I think must be mentioned is planning. I tire quickly of menu planning, but I will go through the cabinets and freezer on Sunday to at least make a list of what needs to be used, if not an actual menu list for the week. This helps me decide how to stack functions and processes (if I'm soaking or sprouting beans, have to wake the sourdough, defrost/marinade meat.....). When I'm feeling motivated I'll carefully plan a menu, but even just a basic checklist for the week is helpful.

Yes, the kitchen is the nerve center of the house! Four streamlining tricks really transformed my appreciation for this kitchen.
The first involves three large foot-lockers on wheels: two for brewing and one for baking. I store the large wheeled containers in the adjacent laundry room/pantry and roll the appropriate bin out on baking or brewing day. This cleared out so much stuff!
The second is a utility sink in the laundry room where I can plug the drain and place a strainer for scrap composting. Instead of the tedious work of putting scraps in a lidded bin on the counter or floor by the kitchen sink, I can simply dump the non-soapy wash basin in the strainer and easily separate the liquid from veg scraps by raising the strainer out of the sink into a bucket in the laundry room when its time to dump the compost. A hose is coiled on that utility sink so I can direct the water to the garden.
Third is a snack/coffee/drink station that is out of the kitchen work area. It includes a water dispenser, electric kettle, glasses, mugs and flatware so no one goes to the sink or uses the kitchen while I'm working.
Forth is a large, custom made (by me) wooden butcher block island, 6' x 30" x 4" thick. It fits the space in the center of the U-shaped kitchen with room for stove and fridge doors to open. All the counter gadgets and supplies are stored under butcher block on an open rack. All counters are mostly clear. With this block, the cook is able to move easily and visitors to the kitchen see that the space is reserved for work. The social area is by the drink station away from the block. That personal space really helps me be efficient.

^^ Brilliant! ^^

Things I have done to make working in my kitchen easier.   Our kitchen was not designed for people who really cook all the time and it is a bit of a nightmare.  Renovating it is on the to do list but we have to wait till contractors become available.    I want it far more functional for 2 people to work in and be adapted to allow me to cook long term as my physical limitations increase.  Until we can do the renovation here are some small things we have done to make life easier.  

Rarely used and seasonally used kitchen gear is stored in the basement.  I don't have the space to in the kitchen for items I don't use all the time.  My canning and preserving supplies, giant stock pots, and rarely used small kitchen appliances are all out of my way till I need them. They are all on 1 shelving unit near the basement stairs and organized.
Most of our pantry is in the basement too on other shelving units so the kitchen is less cluttered.

We installed a stainless steel hinged towel rack on my kitchen cabinet so it swings out over the sink.  This is great for hanging washed reusable bags, canning lid rings, light weight  stock pots, buckets, and small hand wash cloth items to dry.  They drip over the sink and the rack swings out of the way when not in use.

We have a small hamper in the kitchen for dishcloths, cloth napkins,  and cleaning rags .  It is much easier to get everyone else to use cloth items if easy to collect and wash them.

A small adjustable height table on wheels is great for doing large amounts of prep work because I can do it sitting down.  It also allows 2 people to work in my poorly laid out kitchen at the same time.  

We had to replace our sink and swapped the smallish double basin sink for a single basin sink so I  no longer have to  wash large stock pots, canners, and sheet pans in my bathtub.

We put shelves in a small coat closet to create a pantry between the kitchen and side door to the house.  This allowed us to remove a lower cabinet so we could have a dishwasher installed.

Great thread, filled with great ideas!
I will offer a few:
1. Counter tops are not for storage
2. Wire shelves above the sink, for drying dishes.
3.The refrigerator door should have a spice rack.
4.Low cabinets, suck , drawers only from  countertop down
4.5 .File cabinets are cheap, durable, and keep rodents out of your stuff.
5.Nothing but kitchen stuff should be in the kitchen.
6.Seldom used kitchen stuff can be stored anywhere, not just the kitchen.
7.This one is aspirational: One sink for cleaning dishes. Another for prepping food. A third for washing hands.

My kitchen is quite large, but it's not user friendly. There's not much surface space and the space that there is is constantly interrupted.  What I mean by that is that there is one cupboards worth of surface and then the sink, then one cupboard worth of surface and then the corner, then the cooker and then another cupboard worth of surface. For a person who cooks having only 60cm of uninterrupted surface is incredibly limiting. You want to strain something from one pot to another and have a bucket for the waste? urm no one of the 3 has to be in the sink or on the cooker.
The counters are also to low, and I think most people will find this, we are on average (or were) still getting taller so the surfaces put in in 1981 for the woman of the house are not tall enough for me who was born in 81. The extractor over the cooker smacks me in the head if I lean over to much, but at least I can reach all the cupboards!
My husband also does the washing up and putting away, and yes that means things end up where he thinks they should live, not where I think they should, but I can remember (mostly) where they are and I let him get on with it, after all he doesn't try to tell me how to cook, why would I try to tell him how to wash up/put away.
Large saucepans, the fish kettle, brewing items live in the utility room as do other rarely used items. Day to day food is in the kitchen, spares and storage foods are in the cellar.

So for my kitchen, I want more continuous surface space, I have unused wall space that could be used.
Unlike other commentators I don't want anything hanging anywhere in the kitchen nor do I want any unenclosed shelves, they are just dust and grease magnets.
Power sockets! My kitchen has 4 singles, one by the dining room door that is used with an extension cord for the microwave, one between two doors which cannot be used for anything, one behind a cupboard which the fridge uses and one directly over the sink. So more power sockets and not placed so stupidly.
Good lighting, the lighting is (or was) fashionable so it's basically useless.

So much depends on what you have available.  What your space is like and what kind of equipment you have.  I do agree that open shelves are a PITA with grease, dust, etc.  

For that same reason, surfaces should be smooth and easy to clean.  That cuts out barn wood, decorative rock, decorative brick, etc. - why?  Because you can't clean them unless you want to bring a power washer into your kitchen.  And in a kitchen that actually gets used, they're going to get messy at some point.  If ease of cleaning is designed in, then its likely to be cleaner over time since its not a major undertaking to clean it.  Instead of a power washer and a toothbrush, it's a quick swipe of a rag with some soap and orange oil.  

Counterspace should be ample,  There is no such thing as too much of it.   I prefer extra deep counters so that I have somewhere for my appliances to live - coffee maker, food processor, stand mixer, microwave blender, toaster, etc.  Things that get used regularly (at least at my house) so I hate dragging them out and putting them away constantly.  Your list will vary but you get the idea.  Having a section of counter top that's extra deep with extra outlets = appliance haven.  Another thing to consider is place for all the pot lids and your smaller appliances (stick blender, tiny food chopper, spice grinder, hand mixer, tea kettle, etc.) that don't get used constantly.  

In a kitchen there is no such thing as too many cabinets, too many outlets and or too many lights.   This is magnified if there's more than 1 person trying to cook at a time.  I highly recommend the LED "neon" strips for under cabinets and toe kicks.  

If your surfaces aren't continuous, look at getting covers for your sink and cooktop that let you use them as countertops.  That may help your situation.  Also, look at getting an island of some kind or replacing your table base with one of those sit/stand desk bases to make it useable as a countertop.  

Light and fresh air are also not to be under-estimated.  Oxygen and sun light are highly germicidal in addition to just making for a nice place to hang out.  When the inevitable happens and something burns, its nice to be able to open a window and get rid of the smell.  Also handy if you're making onion soup, fish, or anything else with a strong and often lingering aroma.  If you can't get a window, maybe you can get a skylight that opens.  

Cabinets should go up to the ceiling, IMHO.  Seasonal items (e.g. Christmas dishes) need a place to live too.  Some builders insist on doing stupid empty soffits that just take up space.  Lots of cabinets should be higher up from the counters to allow for bigger appliances like stand mixers, toaster overs, air fryers or whatever doodad makes your family happy.  

I prefer to have painted cabinets so I can do things like magnetic paint on the outside and chalkboard paint on the inside of the doors.  Use something up, write it on the chalk board.  Want to put up a recipe to follow, magnet it to the outside of the door.  Keeps my flour/dough/whatever covered hands off my phone, tablet or computer.  If I decide I don't like the color(s), I can always paint them again

Floors should be comfortable to stand on for long periods if you're going to be canning, baking, etc.  You can lay at 2x4 on it's side and tack down some plywood to get you up off that concrete slab.  Flow your hardwood or laminate over that.  With a good underlayment and an anti-fatigue mat, you should be good to can or cook all day long without killing yourself.

Sink, Fridge, Dishwasher (if you have one) and stove should all be in good proximity to each other.  Google work triangle for some ideas on how to space them out.  Freezer, pantry, etc. can be father away if you have counter space to stage on.  Otherwise, you'll want to have them close by as well.  Spice rack/basket/cabinet/whatever that actually holds all your spices should be there.

If you're doing a remodel, get yourself a speed rail.  Its incredible for hanging up your most commonly used items - measuring cups/spoons, spatulas, stirring spoons, etc.  

If you have a spot for one, put in a pot rack that holds your 4 or 5 most often used pans.  

Non-obvious Items that should be in your kitchen.  
A good solid stable step ladder that will let you reach the top back of any cabinet or change any light bulb safely.
Locking containers to store things like drain cleaner that might hurt the unwary (e.g. toddlers).  I prefer the fingerprint locks.  They're about $20 on Amazon.  
Vacuum containers for long term storage.  Pro tip, square ones will make more efficient use of space.
A folding or rolling table you can bring out for extra prep space when you need it.  
Label maker - its easier to get others to put things back "where they go" when those spots are labeled.  I think mine has literally saved my husband's life at least twice.
Chalk markers - makes it easy and clean to use the chalkboards inside the cabinets and for me having those chalk boards makes  building a shopping list that much easier each week


One thing I will recommend are some pre-electricity housekeeping manuals that cover kitchen design if you are off grid.  If you are off grid, I also highly recommend doing an outdoor kitchen for summer use so that you're not heating the house to cook at the height of summer.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037644/Victorian-kitchen-remained-untouched-60-years.html

Hi, A friend is wheelchair bound.  She has two cabinets from floor to ceiling. All her lower cabinets pull out like drawers, and her uppers pull out and down.  Therefore she can reach everything, whether she uses it everyday or not.  Her workspace is more like a deep shelf to allow the chair access under it. Her kitchen is only 8 feet long so she uses the converted entry closet to the home as a pantry.  Organization is key. Sink left of prep space, prep utensils in corner of the work space etc... everything in the kitchen is movable. Watching her cook is like watching a ballet artist.

Amy Gardener wrote:
Third is a snack/coffee/drink station that is out of the kitchen work area. It includes a water dispenser, electric kettle, glasses, mugs and flatware so no one goes to the sink or uses the kitchen while I'm working.

So many good ideas on this thread, and this one really made me say, "why didn't I think of that?!" Once I start a big baking a meal prep session, it irritates me when someone comes in for coffee or a snack and leaves a mess or rearranges my stuff. Now I want a rolling cart for his coffee and stuff that I can roll out of the kitchen when I'm working.

I have super limited counter space and always used my table as my work station. We rarely ate dinner at that table so I purchased some bed lifts to put on the feet of the table. It lifted the table to counter height and makes doing lots of kitchen work not hurt my back. I added a bar stool and I’m very happy with it.

My kitchen also lacks storage so the room closest to the kitchen became my pantry. Shelving units hold pots, bowls, canning supplies and appliances. I also have cabinets with my bulk storage and canned goods.

Small folding tables for extra counter space when doing big projects are also invaluable.